Lerwick Harbour, strategically located at the heart of Europe's richest fishing grounds, is one of Britain's main centres for the landing, selling, processing and shipment of seafood and for the servicing of vessels.
Over 2,000 fishing vessels, including a modern local fleet, use the port annually, landing over 47,000 tonnes of pelagic fish, white fish, and shellfish valued at over £64 million. Lerwick's well-deserved reputation for product quality and proximity to the fishing grounds all contribute to attracting fishing boats to Shetland.
Facilities at the award-winning fishing port include:
- Deep-water berthing
- Shore power
- New state-of-the-art temperature-controlled whitefish market. Note: To access the fishmarket, users must complete an electronic induction. Please use the following link to complete an induction which covers both Lerwick and Scalloway markets. Complete the Lerwick and Scalloway Fishmarkets Induction
- Electronic auction
- Onshore weighing & grading
- Modern processing sector
- Major pelagic factory
- Fish meal & fish oil processing
- Overnight delivery of quality products to mainland Scotland
- 500kg Spencer-Carter unloading davit crane
Full supply chain services include:
- High capacity quayside ice plant
- Fuel
- Engineering & electronic repair
- Slipway
- Net manufacture & repairs
- Wire rigging
- Refrigeration gases
A new fishmarket was completed in August 2020, doubling the port's landing capacity. The state-of-the-art temperature-controlled fishmarket operates seven days a week and has a fishmarket sale five days a week. Shetland Seafood Auctions, which operates the largest computerised electronic auction system in the UK, provides onshore weighing and grading of high-value species. The various species are processed locally or transported overnight to mainland buyers.
Pelagic fish is landed directly at Europe’s largest processor, Pelagia Shetland Ltd. The geographical location means mackerel and herring are often discharged within hours of being caught. The modern factory’s discharge berth, with nine metres’ water depth and one of the most advanced discharging systems in the world, allows the largest pelagic trawlers to land catches at up to 100 tonnes an hour.
Pelagia (Bressay) Limited at Heogan on Bressay operates a fishmeal plant where industrial species can be landed directly at the factory. The plant's primary raw material source is by-products from other local fish and salmon processors.
Basing vessels at the port minimises sailing time to the rich northern fishing grounds, allowing fishing vessels to make the best use of days-at-sea allowances and saving on fuel costs.
Visit So Much to Sea to learn more about Shetland's prolific seafood sector.
Our Bulletins page provides more information on the Authority's commitment to the fishing industry and future plans.
