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Harbour News 29 May – 25 June 2024,
90 arrivals for the period
Whitefish totalled 14,100 boxes from fourteen Scottish trawlers, three Anglo long-liners and a single landing from an Anglo freezer netter. The Scottish boats have returned to Rockall looking for a better quality haddock and hopefully some squid. Initial landings have been good with squid on the grounds in daylight and decent haddock fishing overnight. The Anglo long-line boats continue to target hake on the shelf edge with mixed results and the freezer netter worked deepwater further west for monkfish.
Once again, shellfish activity was busy; there were twenty-nine landings from visiting prawn trawlers which combined with the efforts of the local fleet. Following a historically barren ‘May no pay’ the fishing in June has been much better in both the North and South Minches.
Non-fishing was once again predominated by the aquaculture and cruise sectors. Twenty-five aquaculture vessels called in for crew changes, fuel, stores and to land salmon. In addition five cruise ships made scheduled visits, the supply boat Ross Eagle made two visits for equipment, the MCA tug Ievoli Black for their monthly crew change and the survey vessel Mintaka for repairs.

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Ullapool Primary Hosts its 1st Silent Disco
The P7’s (English and Gaelic) at Ullapool Primary School organised its last end of year fundraiser – a silent disco!
At a silent disco each person wears a wireless headphone that allows them to enjoy the music. It heightens your connection to the music, allowing people to lose themselves in the music being played.
Silent discos are by no means silent! With everyone wearing headsets, people are more inclined to sing along to the music – and if you want to talk to friends, you just put the headsets on your neck.
The idea of a silent disco came about as Ewan, a P7 pupil with autism had said he’d bought a ticket to the last disco school had hosted, but he didn’t make it into the hall as the music was too loud. Children with autism and other sensory needs can sometimes struggle with loud music and it can become overwhelming. At a silent disco, children are in charge of the volume they want the music to be. Also, the headsets muffle out all the background noise of people singing. “I thought the disco was fantastic” said Ewan, who danced most of the night at his 1st school disco. “It wasn’t too loud as I controlled my own volume.”
The night was a success with more people dancing and singing and immersing themselves into the music than ever before. The school would like to host this kind of disco on a yearly basis to encourage inclusion.
Special thanks go to Alison in the office who spent lots of her own time downloading playlists and making sure it all worked smoothly. Also, a shout out to Tesco who provided snacks. The school and Evie provided fruit which was free to all. The event was jointly funded between the Parent Council and the P7s – so a thanks to all involved. It’s a great way for the P7’s to finish off their Primary School life – introducing something new that’s hopefully going to continue – well done P7’s!