It's been a while since Through the Gaps was in Mallaig, though some things never seem to change, like boats up on a slip...
or waiting for weather...
though there seems to be a bigger emphasis on scallops these days...
fished with same class of converted trawlers that have worked the grounds for decades...
to newer, purpose built boats...
with their steel hulls and conveyors...
to the more familiar sight of all those prawn trawls that played such a prominent part in the growth of the fleet up and down the west coast from Whitehaven to the far north of the Western Isles...
though these guys who dive for scallops have found their grounds increasingly targeted by an ever-more resourceful fleet of small inshore scallopers...
who are capable of fishing round pinnacles and tiny patches of scallop-bearing grounds...
Mallaig, unlike like Newlyn has not one but two statues acknowledging the contribution fishermen play...
in the life of the community, though this one at the end of the 'new' ferry pier is out of bounds to the public...
the port is capable of handling bulk fish from the big pelagic boats that target mackerel during the winter season due to start shortly...
in addition to mackerel, it is the mighty herring that made many Scottish ports famous, Mallaig being no exception...
Jaffys is the sole surviving traditional smokehouse in the port and have been smoking the humble herring since George 'Jaffy' Lawrie's grandfather started the business in 1944 - lunch today included kippers from Jaffys courtesy of the Tea Garden two minutes walk from the boats and quays.
