Final landing by Farnella ahead of vessel sale
28th December 2022
Farnella H 135 ended her 22-year career on 11 December, making her final landing into Hanstholm, after which a thank-you breakfast was held for the crew, reports Gaby Bartai.
Owner UK Fisheries announced in November that the vessel would cease fishing at the end of the year, as a consequence of the loss of distant-water quota opportunity in successive end-of-year negotiations with Norway (Fishing News, 17 November, ‘Loss of quota spells end for Farnella’).
On 13 December Farnella sailed for Cuxhaven, where she will be sold. This will leave Kirkella as the only remaining vessel in UK Fisheries’ Hull- based fleet.
Farnella’s crew – 10 of whom are UK nationals – at the thank-you breakfast after the vessel’s last landing.
A UK Fisheries spokesperson told Fishing News: “We’re working with the crews to try to find new opportunities, although through its consistent failure to strike a sensible deal with the Norwegians, the government is making this very difficult for us.
“If it had come away from the Norway talks with anything but a derisory quota in the NEZ, then perhaps there’d be more opportunities with Kirkella.”
Jane Sandell, CEO of UK Fisheries, told FN: “It was a sad day indeed to see Farnella landing for the last time – she’s been a stalwart of the Hull- based fishing industry for more than two decades.
“We’d like to thank our crews for all of their incredible work over the years, and we sincerely hope that the UK government will finally take notice and take practical steps to support fishers in the North East of England, a region it has consistently ignored in its fisheries policy.
“We’d also like to thank all of our suppliers and buyers in Peterhead and Hanstholm. It’s been an excellent relationship, and we’re deeply sorry to see it come to an end.”
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.
