Harbour waives landing fees

Fish landing fees at Macduff Harbour have been waived until next March. Aberdeenshire Council’s harbour service hopes this will help vessel owners reduce overheads and “provide stimulus” for the local fleet, and comes as Macduff Harbour plans to reopen Macduff fish market with an online digital fish auction to directly access UK, European and world markets.

A council spokesman said: “We will review the impact of the decision during the year and consult further with relevant stakeholders.”

Any vessels permanently berthing in Macduff Harbour will also receive an incentive via priority slipping “when space and availability allows.”

Alexander Jack, skipper of the Vision V, which was built in Macduff, has called the new plans “a really smart and out-of-the-box idea.”

He said: “This is what is needed for our corner.

“Every fisherman I’ve spoken to has said it is a really forward thinking and smart idea.

“How they exactly manage to do it, I don’t know, but it’s a great idea regardless.”

Mr Jack believes the plans are a step in the right direction for Macduff, as they beat Peterhead and Fraserburgh in upgrading their auction technology.

In February, Macduff Harbour invested in widening its cradle from six to 10 metres, which the council says has “paved the way for an increase in business activity.”

Macduff Harbour continues to run a full time 24 hours a day, seven days a week staffed service, a three-metre depth throughout the outer and middle basins and benefits from a re-engineered ice plant delivering seven tonnes of flaked ice per day, alongside two recently installed fish chillers.

WELCOMED: The move has been described as ‘a really smart and out-of-the-box idea’.