Ullapool harbour
has long been a focal point of the village for tourists,
situated, as it is in the centre of Shore Street and
also now the ferry terminal for Stornoway. For over
200 years fishing has played an important role in the
economy of the village, which is hardly surprising when
one considers that Ullapool was founded as a fishing
station in 1788 by the British Fisheries Society! In
those days the main species, herring, were netted by
local fishermen from small sailing 'dipping luggers'
and 'Zulu' class fishing boats and during the season
Ullapool was transformed into a hive of industry as
boats and herring gutters arrived from all parts of
Scotland and Ireland to take part in the frantic processing
of the 'silver darlings'. It is said that much of Ullapool
is built on shingle and soil brought over as ballast
in the Irish boats, which then filled up with barrels
of salt, dried or smoked herring.
Over the years,
when the herring failed to materialise in the waters
around Loch Broom, the local fishing fleet went into
decline and the villagers had to look elsewhere for
their livelihoods. However, the industry received a
boost during the Second World War when fishing on the
east coast became too hazardous because of the mining
of those coastal waters. After the war, catching techniques
were vastly improved due to modern technology and the
ever-increasing size of the fishing boats, once again
Ullapool thrived as thousands of tons of herring were
off-loaded on to waiting lorries for processing - mainly
at the east coast ports.
Ullapool pier had
to be almost doubled in size to cope with the increased
activity. However, it was not long before the stocks
became so depleted that a total ban was placed on the
herring fishery. It is interesting to note here, that
during all the changes which took place within the fishing
industry that not one local boatman aspired to progress
towards the purchase of one of the purse-net seiners
with their awesome catching power, which still visit
Ullapool regularly in pursuit of mackerel and herring.
In the late 1960's
to early 1970's low-draft Scandinavian cargo "Klondykers"
appeared in Ullapool to buy the herring. They employed
many local men to ice the herring caught by the east
coast boats which was then taken to Norway, Africa and
the Canaries, etc. These boats would then return laden
with fruit for the home markets.
As the herring again
declined around 1975 and the nutritional value of mackerel
became apparent, we experienced the amazing sight of
up to 70 Eastern Bloc factory ships anchored in Loch
Broom and Annat Bay - long before the end of the "Cold
War" - and often viewed with disbelief by visitors!
On occasions their numbers swelled by Nigerian, Irish,
French and even Japanese klondykers, all intent on cashing
in on the mackerel bonanza - so once again Ullapool
harbour had to be extended to cope with the extra traffic.
The klondykers literally
were processing factories and the end products were
loaded on to reefers to be exported to all parts of
the world. They often stayed for 6 months out of each
year and their crews could increase the population of
Ullapool to over 400! They came ashore in watches, in
small orange 'liberty' boats to buy up all the goods,
which were unavailable in their own countries. Shop
owners smiled happily as their stores were quickly emptied
of all manner of electrical goods, coffee, cosmetics,
ladies tights, etc. and there were even buses laid on
to take the crews on shopping trips to Inverness!
In the early days
of these visits by the Eastern Bloc ships, the crews
had little or no sterling with which to buy our goods,
but not to be outdone, they would often be seen on the
pavements selling shirts, towels, fur hats and beautifully
made model sailing ships. Needless to say, many hotels
and homes in Ullapool now boast one of their carefully
detailed models.
Today the klondykers
are virtually never seen in Loch Broom due to the economic
crisis in Russia and the subsequent disastrous drop
in the prices of mackerel; much to the concern of our
larger East Coast pelagic fleet which now lands relatively
small quantities of mackerel for the home market. Many
people still miss the sight of the klondykers lights
reflecting on the still waters at night, especially
at Hogmanay when they would welcome in the New Year
with rockets and haunting blasts on their sirens.
