Marine / ‘The fishing definitely is alive’ – Shetland’s youngest whitefish skipper delighted at rapid rise
SHETLAND’S youngest whitefish skipper says he feels “very proud to be where I am” after a rapid rise to the wheelhouse of the Copious.
Nicol Anderson, 22, has just returned from his first four-week stint at sea at the helm of the vessel, going from deck to skipper’s chair in just six years.
A passionate advocate for fishing and the industry, Anderson said it had been a life-long dream to skipper his own whitefish boat.
“I always set out that I wanted to go to the wheelhouse when I started out on the deck about six years ago,” he told Shetland News.
“It was always on my mind. With people leaving and other things going on, it’s all just happened fairly quickly.”
Anderson stepped up to become skipper of the Copious after his father, who skippers her sister vessel Prolific, asked him if he wanted to do it.
“We’d actually been kind of short of skippers, and dad said to me, ‘do you think you’re ready to do it?’
“I said there was no reason that I couldn’t do it. I felt I was ready to do it and dad certainly thought I was ready.”
At 22, Anderson could potentially be the youngest whitefish skipper in Scotland, Shetland Fishermen’s Association believes, while he is definitely the youngest in Shetland.
He has no hesitation in saying that he is “very proud to be where I am”.
“If I look back six years ago, from where I started to where I am now, I would be absolutely delighted to be where I am,” he said.
“Nothing would have been possible without the encouragement from my dad and from everyone who’s helped me with my training.”
His first four-week stint at sea has just come to an end, something Anderson called a “great experience”.
He was aided at sea for the first fortnight by a 17-year-old, with Shetland Fishermen’s Association highlighting in January that nine new recruits had recently joined the whitefish sector.
Asked whether Anderson is seeing more young people follow his path in going to sea at an early age, he said there was no doubt in his mind.
“It’s a myth that the job is dying out and there’s less young folk going to the fishing,” he said.
“The fishing definitely is alive.”
That is not to say that there are not still challenges for the fishing industry, and the new Copious skipper said that politicians “would need to be doing a lot more” to help them.
His comments are timely with the Scottish elections just one week away – and Anderson thinks the candidates have not gone far enough in backing fishing.
“I really feel like the folk running for election could be doing more and saying more for the fishing industry, especially considering how large of an industry it is for Shetland,” he told Shetland News.
“I’m sitting looking at the LHD wire shop, and there’s L&M engineering vans sitting outside, then there’s the fishmarkets and buyers.
“If the fishing industry is to collapse there’s so many jobs that would be lost.”
So what does he think needs to change, once the new MSP is sworn in?
“We need better science done on the quotas. It just doesn’t reflect what the fishermen are seeing,” he said.
Anderson adds that there should be “some degree of subsidy” on fuel prices too, with fishermen feeling the heat from continuing fluctuations caused by the Iran war.
He is adamant though that the industry “will make a comeback”, and will continue to thrive.
And he encouraged any other young people who might be considering a career in fishing to leap at the opportunity.
“If you really believe it’s what you want to do, absolutely go for it,” Anderson said.
“It’s not doing the same thing every day – every day is different. It’s also just good to be out on the water, most days…”
“It’s a good life.”
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