The Fishing Industry of the Outer Hebrides

Abstract

T 3 HE chain of islands known as the Outer Hebrides lies off the northwest coast of Scotland from 15 to 40 miles west of the Isle of Skye and the Northwest Highlands shore. Only 29 of the thousands of islands and islets in the chain are inhabited. The more important ones, from the standpoint of both size and population, are, from south to north, Barra, South Uist, Benbecula, North Uist, and Lewis-with-Harris (Fig. 1). The last island is often referred to as though it were two islands, Leewis and Harris, because the topographic differences between the two parts resulted in comparative lack of contact until quite recently. The economy of the Outer Hebrides rests upon a crafting base.' The vast majority of the inhabitants are crofters and it is the croft to which the individual and the family owe fealty, and which provides the basic needs for the crofter's efficient standard of living. Only a small percentage of the crofters and others are able, however, to rely solely upon the land to fulfill the needs of a decent standard. They normally engage, therefore, in some secondary activity, which, it should be emphasized, is no less important because it is secondary. The chief complementary activities are fishing, the spinning of yarn and weaving of Harris Tweed, and tourism. There is also some harvesting of seaweed for reduction to kelp, which represents the resuscitation of a formerly important segment of the islands' economy. Of minor importance is the production of rough wool hose and the mining of cockle shells on Barra for sale to the Belgian glass industry. The extent to which the Outer partly through necessity and partly through effort, have developed the pattern of complementary industries gives these islands considerable interest for geographers and certainly for all who are concerned with the problems of Highland depopulation. It is the dual occupation pattern characterizing the islands which has enabled the area to display a population trend quite in contrast with the other islands and the Highlands of Scotland with which they are generally comparable from the physical standpoint. In the century which has seen the Highland population steadily decline, the population of the Outer Hebrides has shown an increase in all but two decades. And although the population of the Outer Hebrides declined sharply in the twenties, these islands still stand in sharp contrast with the Highlands and other islands in density of population. In terms of numbers employed, fishing is the most important of the secondary industries of the Islands. A larger number of crofters are engaged in fishing than in any other secondary occupation. There are now about 4000 persons employ ed in the industry, of whom I See William A. Hance: Crofting Settlements and Housing in the Outer Hebrides, Amnnals of Assn. Amer. Geogrs., Vol. 41, 1951, pp. 75--87; and Crofting in the Outer Hebrides, Econ. Geog., Vol. 28, 1952, pp. 37-50.