News / SIC backs £3m fish market development
SCALLOWAY’s fish market is set to be rebuilt and extended as part of a £3 million development to modernise the building to cope with increased activity.
Shetland Islands Council’s harbour board backed the proposal on Wednesday morning after being presented with a range of options on the future of the market.
Chairwoman Andrea Manson said she was “delighted” to endorse the plans.
The council hopes to attract 50 per cent of funding from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), while the remaining £1.5 million could be financed through borrowing.
The fish market, which was built circa 1970 and refurbished and extended in the 1990s, will be turned into a state of the art facility, Manson said.
“Obviously it has to be the best way ahead as you’re future-proofing something that’s going to last 15 to 20 years, rather than trying to repair what we have,” she said.
A report before councillors said the market could cope with up to 1,000 boxes of whitefish, but anything above that sees operations become “increasingly strained and problematic”.
At times of peak activity, however, walkways were obstructed and people often had to stand over fish boxes, the report said.
The harbour board was presented with a total of five options, ranging from demolishing the fish market and shipping elsewhere to building a market on a new quay, which would have cost £15 million.
The decision to rebuild the fish market comes at a time of increased activity, with the value of landings in Scalloway rising from £4.8 million in 2011/12 to £8.8 million in 2015/16.
The market handled almost 100,000 boxes of whitefish in 2015, and increase of 610 per cent to 2004 figures. Vessels wanting to land fish are occasionally turned away due to lack of capacity.
“There was more fish landed recently than what there has been in the last 20 years,” Manson added.
“You can totally justify spending the money, and the harbour board was delighted to be able to recommend it.”
A decision on whether the project will attract EU funding is expected in November.
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