fat cats

[Jaffa]

John Peter took delivery of a brand new Altaire last year. The previous boat (the one involved in these offences) was almost as big.

 

The new Altaire, all £14 million worth :

 

[Guest jay_con]

Holey Makeral. That is huge. Thank god there is nothing like that aropund here. This brings a Whole new meaning to the word "Fat cat".

[Jaffa]

http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/archives/pa..._investment.htm

 

quote:

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Hans J Marter

 

14 October 2004

 

BRITAN’S largest pelagic trawler arrived at her home berth at Collafirth, in Shetland, for the first time yesterday morning (Wednesday).

 

The new £14 million Altaire was christened at the Solstrand shipyard in Tomrefjord (Norway) on Saturday.

 

The 76 metre Altaire, owned by the Altaire Fishing Company Ltd based in Northmavine, Shetland, will replace the previous, slightly smaller vessel with the same name.

 

Yesterday, locals had the chance for the first time to view the new flagship of Shetland’s fleet of modern pelagic trawlers.

 

The vessel has been delivered in time to start fishing in this year’s mackerel season. Pelagic species are presently abundant in the North Sea and Atlantic and are not affected by the present restrictions on the whitefish industry.

 

The chief executive of the Shetland Fish Producers’ Organisation (SFPO), Brian Isbister said he was convinced the huge investment into the local pelagic fleet would pay off.

 

“The pelagic stocks are very well managed and there is nothing to indicate that this might change.

 

“This is a re-investment into the pelagic industry in a controlled fashion. It is not so much an increase in capacity, but an investment in improving efficiency and quality.”

 

Mr Isbister added that the quality of the catch was paramount in today’s pelagic industry at a time when high prices (more than £600 per tonne) could be achieved for first class mackerel.

 

Over the last two years most of the eight pelagic fishing companies in Shetland took delivery of new vessels, including a new Charisma, Research and Antarctic.

 

With eight large pelagic mid water trawlers, Shetland is the home of a quarter of the UK’s pelagic fleet. Shetland’s share in the UK’s fishing quota is 42,000 tonnes for mackerel and 13,000 tonnes for herring.

 

The new Altaire is the first vessel delivered by the Solstrand yard to Shetland owners. Powered by a massive 8000 KW Wärsilä engine, she has 13 cargo tanks with a total loading capacity of 2,500 cubic metre.

 

The steel hull was built in Istanbul, in Turkey, by SEDEF shipyard, and then fitted out at Solstrand, near Aalesund, in Norway

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Worst thing of the lot is that the more I think about it the more I think its not, at root about greed at all. Its even more stupid and crass than that :mad: Its who's got the biggest bloody boat. Guess its no surprise its red :mad:

 

I helped build the bloody pier that was more or less put there for this one boat as well .

[Jaffa]

It needs to be huge @spring@, given where it works and how quickly mackeral and herring go off. Don't get hung up on that. Though next time Greenpeace start going on about the evils of "massive" 55ft pair teams in the channel, just be glad none of these guys have decided to join the party.

[David.W]

I thought it said on the news tonight that they were wanting to take the boat plus all the money, around £1,500,000... hope they do along with a nice long sentence!!!

[Guest jay_con]

Is there many boats like this about.

 

Hopefully soon it wont be about whoose got the biggest boat but who has the biggest fine.

 

In the last few weeks ive read about many cases of illegagl fish right around our country. Some I thought were on quite a huge scale (roughly half a million of alleged black fish was the most id read about in one area), But this really takes the buscuit. Im now convinced this practice of illegal fishing is rife throughout the industry - after all that newspapeer article the other week did say that 80% of scottish trawlermen broke the law everytime they went to sea - I did think that was rather a high estimate.

 

Can you find it in your heart in your normal understanding way to forgive this one Jaffa? and blame it on the beurocrats in Brussels rather than individual greed?

[Bob on Stronsay]

It don't surprise me Spring.

 

And I am still prepared to bet that the fine will be nothing compared to the profits.

 

Bob

[Ken Davison South Wales]

Hi Spring,

 

Any chance the taxman gets to make a few shillings is followed up with a vengence, they tax anything that makes money legal or illegal.

 

He hates being ripped off, not only does he pursue back tax, he goes for all cost and interest at rates that make the local money lender look like an amateur.

 

He also calculates how long this sort of fraud has been going on based on accumulated wealth, not just the figure shown in court.

 

Ask people like Ken Dodd, Lester Piggot, Lord Sainsbury just to mention a couple.

 

That man is positively evil when upset and he makes up his own set of rules.

[Guest jay_con]

And someone will point out this way of making some cash to the taxman? or will he already know?

 

What about the local council. I would hate to think my council tax was a penny higher than it should be because of something like this. We pay enough out of our small income without having to pay more because of greedy Fat cats.

[Jaffa]

@Spring@, I can tell you the really big boats from the Northern Isles that are close to Altaire size:

 

Zephyr, Charisma, Serene, Adenia , Antartic, Research , and I think 1 more whose name I can't remember, all from the Island of Whalsay in Shetland.

 

Altaire from Northmavine on the Shetland "mainland".

 

Orcades Viking from Orkney.

 

Lost track of the mainland fleet based in Peterhead and Fraserburgh but theres the Lunar Bow, Kings Cross, and maybe another dozen really big vessels with another 20 or so not far behind.

 

No I have no understanding or forgiveness for this. Unlike the white fish fleet the pelagic guys have been doing very well. Theres no dispute about the science on stocks size with herring and Mackerel that im aware of. North Sea mackerel has not recovered yet John Peter thinks its okay to take 15k tonnes of it to finance the next big boat? What possible defence or justification is there in that.

 

I just hope the Whalsay guys have had more sense and have not been doing the same.

 

As for the bureaucrats, well I'd like to know how it was possible for this to happen. What happened to the old system forcing them to land in designated ports, and tank checks that was developed after the herring disaster.

 

If I had any say I'd want the quotas and licence seized and handed over to the Shetland council. A lot of people have put a lot of work into trying to make fisheries a sustainable success up there. He's just done untold damage to his own community, he's not going to get much sympathy in Shetland I'd guess.