Creel fishers hit by double whammy as catches plummet
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STORMS which battered harbours on the east coast of Caithness at the end of last year have killed off big-money lobster and velvet crabs costing creel boats thousands of pounds.
The Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation say that prolonged cold weather has resulted in landings of lobster falling by 90 per cent as a result of the crustaceans being forced further out to sea to hibernate.
But fishermen in Caithness believe the December storms also destroyed the inshore seabed by washing ashore a significant amount of shellfish.
Lobster and velvet crabs are the two main species of shellfish which have rocketed in price due the low number being caught with fishermen seeing their profits dip.
Joe Bremner (48), who has worked at Lybster Harbour since 1987 and operates two creel boats, said it was the most scarce lobster and velvet crabs have been since the early 1990s.
He said the dearth will continue until warmer weather brings the surviving shellfish out of hibernation.
"Usually this year I would be able to catch 30 to 40 shellfish a day but at the moment we are lucky if we get four or five," he said.
"On average, I would get around £13 a kilo, but at market I am getting around £17 a kilo. Due to the big drop in catches, I was better off when I was catching more and selling at a cheaper price." Added Mr Bremner: "Last week I hauled 900 creel for 23 kg of lobster which is not very much – I would usually catch double or treble that.
"Lobster fishing has almost disappeared since the storms in December destroyed the bottom of the sea bed and killed off most of the smaller lobsters.
"The cold weather has had an impact but in Caithness, the storms has been the biggest factor as to why so little has been caught."
Ian Young (65), also from Lybster, has been working in the fishing industry for 50 years. He usually relies on catching lobster at this time of year but has been able to catch very few.
He said the storm also damaged a large amount of equipment which he has not been able to replace.
"Ever since I started creel fishing in 1994, this is the worst I have seen it," he said.
"The storm has been the biggest factor in the lack of success. I lost 250 creels when the storm hit in December."
Mr Young continued: "I’m not catching many lobsters or velvet crabs at all — at the moment I’m just relying on selling brown crabs.
"There aren’t any lobsters to catch."
The federation estimates creel fishing in Scotland is worth around £39 million a year to the Scottish economy. In the past three weeks, Scottish lobster has risen in price from £15 to £25 a kilo.
Fish conservationist Jim Cowie, who run the Captain’s Galley restaurant in Scrabster, said the temperatures of inshore waters had dropped between three and five degrees compared to last year.
He said creelfishers are not viewing this as a major worry and believes it important the issue is not blown out of proportion.
"The difference in the sea temperature compared to 12 months ago has been considerably colder and has forced lobsters to continue hibernating," he said.
"Creel fishermen and sea anglers are disappointed about the situation, but they are not looking at this as a long-term worry.
"It’s not uncommon for this happening when there has been an extended period of cold weather. Once the weather warms up, they know they will be more successful at sea."
