Lerwick fish market receives HIE funding
LERWICK Port Authority (LPA) has received nearly £600,000 in new funding for its planned replacement fish market in the town.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has put £586,879 towards the £6.3 million project, which is expected to be completed in late 2019.
It comes after funding worth over £1.5 million was secured from the European and Maritime Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and the Scottish Government.
LPA chief executive Sandra Laurenson said the HIE cash was the “final anticipated component in the funding package” for the market.
The replacement market will be built next to the new Mair’s Pier at Holmsgarth. Work is expected to get underway in mid-2018.
It is set to cater for further growth in the whitefish sector – a fishery which landed a record number of boxes in Shetland this year.
HIE area manager Rachel Hunter said the market will “strengthen the future outlook for Shetland’s whitefish sector and local communities across Shetland.”
“LPA’s investment in a replacement fish market, along with HIE and EMFF’s support, will boost the impact of our whitefish sector and ensure Shetland continues to be positioned as a leading landing port in the UK for many years to come,” she added.
“Shetland rightly has a reputation for fish of the highest quality. A new fish market at Lerwick is critical in maintaining this reputation and will allow the industry to efficiently cope with its landings needs and stimulate further growth now and in the long-term.”
The fish market in Scalloway, meanwhile, is also set to be refurbished in the coming years at a cost of £5.6 million.
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