In recent months there has been a noticeable slowing down of boat sales - in particular the larger class of whitefish vessel. This is partly attributable to the measures introduced last year which linked licences to track records, plus the further reductions in quotas and recent fuel increases.
This can only be bad news for the industry, as sales of secondhand tonnage has previously provided skippers with an opportunity to upgrade their vessels.
Several of the larger seine-netters based at Aberdeen and Peterhead are now fishing under new skippers following recent transactions.
