Lossiemouth Marina History

Made with Xara

Marina The port became Scotland’s main white fish port during a period of great prosperity. However, entry to the EU saw Scotland’s fishing rights bartered away and the fishing industry rapidly declined. The ELHC, sensing a new liesure industry demand. fitted pontoons. The Marina was born!

Fishing Port Later, the harbour began to attract fishing boats and the arrival of a rail connection allowed rapid transport of fresh fish to the south. Soon the initial basin (now the East Basin) proved inadequuate for the growing number of vessels using the harbour , principally fishing boats, and a new basin was built to the west.

Commercial Harbour Initially, a harbour was built about 1700 at the mouth of the river. It was never a success and over a hundred years later, a new harbour was hewn out of the rock at Stotfield Point. The company who carried this out was named, ‘The Elgin & Lossiemouth Harbour Co. (ELHC) This harbour was a commercial triumph and traded grain, whisky, coal and timber.

Lossiemouth Harbour to Marina - through the years ...

The Harbour also began to attract fishing boats, and with the arrival of the rail connection , sponsored by these same merchant traders , a new fast means arose of transporting their freshly caught produce overnight to the growing markets in the South. The railway lines (some of which remain today) were brought into the harbour area and ran along both sides of the harbour basin. There were soon more potential users of the port than there was space available for them and it was decided to build a new basin to the west, principally for the growing fishing fleet. Likewise , the number of fishing families wishing to reside in the town from all around the Moray Firth grew and led to a major house building programme . The result was the "new town of Branderburgh" linking with the original fishing villages of Lossiemouth and Stotfield . The original mode of fishing was from open decked sailboats operating close inshore, using long-lines baited by the women of the community. With the passage of time the boats became larger and had partial deck protection, to better face the elements. With the invention of the steam engine the possibilities widened . At the turn of the 20th Century the steam drifter gradually replaced the sailboats with the fishermen being ever ready to adapt to new technology. The drift net proved ideal for catching herring and the Lossie drifter fleet ranged around the coasts of Britain following the shoals from Lossiernouth to Lowestoft to Douglas to our west coast ports. Markets opened up for their catch in countries like Russia and Germany.Harbour5 Boat-building was already established and new tradesmen arrived in the town to support businesses from curing yards to preserve the fish to coopering to make and maintain the barrels for transporting the salt herring to engineering to make and maintain the steam engines and capstans for the fleet. The devastation of the First World War largely killed the Russian and German markets and ushered in the decline of the drifter fleet, but not before the skippers and men along with their vessels had played a significant role in supporting the Royal Navy in the war. That decline was worsened by rising fuel costs and signalled the end of drift netting as a method . By the 1920's the enterprising fishermen of Lossie were already looking elsewhere for their future . Whilst visiting herring fishing from the English ports of Yarmouth and Lowestoft, they had seen Danish fishseine netermen operating a new type of net- the seine-net for white fish catching. They tried it, and after a good deal of trial and error they perfected it. The boats needed to operate it could be smaller and require less of a crew - meaning less expense all round . Gradually the transition took place once more led by enterprising fishermen who had no shortage of leaders and by 1939 Lossie had the nation's largest seine-net fleet. Where these men had led , other ports around the country's coasts followed only to be stopped in their tracks by World War 11. Again the fleet were called on to assist the Royal Navy and did so with distinction . Meantime some boats were left at home to fish for a country whose food supply was in danger, crewed by men too old for war service and the younger boy

After the War, on returning to their home port, most of the boats were too dated and tired to carry on effective fishing and helped by a Government grant and loan scheme the fleet was largely rebuilt. These larger higher powered vessels opened up new fishing grounds further afield to the West and the North. Lossie earned the status of Scotland's premier white fish port during a period of unprecedented prosperity. However the warning signs were already present. Increased catching power was outstripping nature's ability to re-generate. Then in the 70's the British Government took the decision to enter the EEC. A large part of the English deep water fleet had been tied up following the "defeat" in the cod war with Iceland. The politicians took no steps to protect Scotland's productive fishing grounds , from envious European eyes. The result was to "throw our waters open to the wolves." The fishing communities around our coasts and a distinct way of life were sacrificed on the altar of political egos and ambitions. Enforced reductions of fleet size followed in several waves with fine vessels being sent to the scrap yard . Lossie Harbour became a shadow of its former self. The Harbour Company, faced with an emptying Harbour and a massive reduction in revenue from lost landing dues, turned its attention to the future. That future appeared to lie in the growing leisure industry. Plans were laid for the installation of the first marina pontoons in the East Basin. The Board's declared policy was that as long as commercial fishermen wished to use the harbour facilities would remain for them. The fishing decline continued however and Lossiemouth lost its status as a recognised landing port. The once fine fleet had reduced to a handful of vessels and now only two remain. The pontoon fitting of the East Basin proved an instant success with every berth soon taken. With the now emptying West Basin, the Board sadly came to the view that it had no alternative but to respond to where the demand was . The result was the fitting out of the West Basin with pontoon berths. Lossiemouth Harbour, now Lossiemouth Marina, with its 100 + berths is now the envy of many other north eastern ports, who did not read the omens and act accordingly.