A faroese fishing trawler has been prevented from offloading its cargo after being blockaded by fishermen in Peterhead over a mackerel wrangle.
The Faroese Trawler The Jupiter was met by over a dozen angry protesters at Peterhead harbour Scotland’s premier fishing port in the early hours of the morning (August 17).
The skipper of The Jupiter, Emil Pederson, said it was a “very bad situation” to be in.
Mackerel quotas set by the Faroe Islands and Iceland governments could be “disastrous” for the Scottish fishing fleet, it was warned last week.
The Faroes has declared a quota of 85,000 tonnes for this year. Previously, Iceland awarded itself 130,000 tonnes.
Skipper Pedersen, said: “ We have fish on board which is good for human consumption”.
Of the blockading fishermen, he said: “ This not their job, this is political matter. They seem to be peaceful, but they are stopping us from working, and I think they should not be allowed to do that.”.
“It’s very strange that the local police cannot stop this”.
Chief Executive of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Federation, Ian Gatt said:
“The protest has been very peaceful, but ythre guys are very very angryW.
Mackerel is the most valuable stock in the Scottish fishing industry.
