SHETLAND
The sea is in our blood.
For thousands of years, Shetlanders’ lives have been dominated by the sea and its harvest. Today, despite the growth of the oil industry, fishing remains, by far, the most important sector to the local economy.
Shetland has a modern fishing fleet supplying its various strategic markets. The vessels are still owned by independent, family businesses. There are around 20 major vessels and many more smaller craft.
The islands of Burra and Whalsay, the historic heavyweights of Shetland fishing effort, are still home to many fishermen. As a result, the industry continues to play a huge role in supporting our more remote communities. The fleet comprises of small under 10-metre vessels right up huge 80-metre pelagic super trawlers.
The smaller boats land their catches daily, the bigger boats land twice weekly, and the larger trawlers tend to land weekly. There is a unique blend of trawl, seine and line caught fish available. We select the best fish to suit our customers’ requirements.
Shetland is the UK’s second largest whitefish port for fish landings. More than one quarter of fish landed in Scotland is set down in Shetland. Indeed, more fish is landed in Shetland than in England, Wales and Northern Ireland combined.
Shetland is home to two state-of-the-art fish markets in the ports of Scalloway and Lerwick. In 2023, over 414,000 boxes were landed marking a return to levels seen pre-Brexit and Covid.
Like you, our passion is in fish.
We hope you can see from our pages and philosophy that we are passionate about what we do and take great care in how we do it.