Peterhead surpasses 2015 catch value total - in October

A monthly catch value of £25.3m in October took Peterhead’s cumulative total for the first 10 months of this year past the port’s 2015 total of £131,384,481, reports David Linkie.

Above: Altaire, Hopeful and Harvest Hope were among the pelagic, shellfish and whitefish vessels to contribute to a busy October at Peterhead, during the course of which the 2016 cumulative 10-month total of £148.8m surpassed the port’s 2015 annual total of £131.4m.

Coming from landings of 19,453t, October’s catch value was three times higher than the April 2016 figure of £8.8m.

Catches totalling 139,725t with a value of £148,714,993 were landed at Peterhead between January and October of this year. This represents respective value and tonnage increases of 32% and 15% in relation to the comparative 2015 figures of £112.4m and 123,143t.

The recent rise in mackerel prices to £1,000 per tonne contributed to Peterhead’s figures for October, when 13,334t were discharged for a value of £13,344,344.

At £11.2m from 5,778t, October also marked the highest levels of whitefish activity for the year to date, eclipsing the previous highest monthly (September) total of £10.4m and 5,529t.

51,694t of whitefish with a record value of £88.5m were landed at Peterhead between January and October 2016, compared to 49,990t for £74.8m for the same period last year.

By rising from £4.9m to £7.7m, shellfish catches increased by 57% in value and 34% by weight, which went from 2,578t to 3,454t.

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