Fishermen believe they will be last generation to use historic harbour after losing court battle

FISHERMAN fear they will become the final generation to cast off from a historic Aberdeen harbour after a court ordered them to move their boats.

The Cove Fishermen’s Association lost their longrunning fight to dock their small fleet of about 10 traditional vessels at Cove Harbour last month.

They had been locked in a four-year legal battle with landowner Pralhad Kolhe, who had sought to evict the men and their boats from the sections of the historic site that he owns.

In his judgment, Sheriff Miller ordered the owners of the boats to remove them, as they had “no right” to “occupy and use” the land owned by Mr Kolhe. The vessels have since been moved to a small corner of the harbour, further inland.

Just six boats remain, squeezed into a small piece of land not owned by Mr Kolhe – and where once there had been plenty of winches to go around, the six owners are now forced to share just one.

Jim Adam, leader of the fishermen’s association, said he and his associates will continue to fish from the harbour, just as the local community had done for hundreds of years.

But he fears the days of Cove Harbour’s fishing heritage could soon be at an end.

Mr Adam said: “We’re still going to be fishing here, but because it’s now so much more difficult, I can’t imagine that anyone else in the future will choose to use Cove for fishing – not when there are so much easier, hasslefree places to go, like Stonehaven, or potentially Aberdeen once the new harbour is finished.

“So we’re still going to be going here for a while, but in a few years I don’t know if there will be any fishermen in Cove.”