Summer resident to Rockall for World Record
7th June 2023
Any Fishing News readers near Rockall or who are planning to head out for the summer haddock fishery may want to keep an eye out over the next month or so for a new mission to the island, intent on raising money for charity as well as setting a new world record.
Of the 110 visitors documented as reaching the summit of the isolated rock – which technically has its own continental shelf and could by some definitions be classed as a ‘continent’ – just five, apparently, have stayed longer than a single night. The world record for occupation on Rockall stands at 45 days.
The island was claimed by the UK in 1955 when Royal Marines landed and attached a plaque on the summit, claiming it for the Crown.
A team of three – science teacher Chris ‘Cam’ Cameron and radio operators Nobby Styles and Emil Bergmann – landed there last Tuesday (30 May). They aim to stay on the rock for a week, before Cam is left alone in his bid to set a new world record, whilst raising £50,000 for two military charities, the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity and the ABF/Army Charity. He is aiming to make it to 60 days on the rock.
Older readers of FN may recall the repeated sightings of a pale flashing light, reported by several skippers as coming from Rockall, back in the 1990s. After repeated denials from the UK authorities about this, at a time when the status of the rock was under scrutiny and there were growing calls for a change to the UK EEZ, it transpired that there was in fact a light on the summit, placed there by Greenpeace as part of a publicity exercise.
If any FN readers make visual contact with Mr Cameron, please let us know!
This story was taken from the latest issue of Fishing News. For more up-to-date and in-depth reports on the UK and Irish commercial fishing sector, subscribe to Fishing News here or buy the latest single issue for just £3.30 here.
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