The Shetland Fishermen’s Association (SFA) has warned skippers about the dangers of fishing near Total’s gas pipelines in Yell Sound.
SFA has accused Total of not making the area safe enough for fishermen.
“The rock dumps on top of the pipelines reach up almost four metres, posing a major obstacle to boats that trawl or catch scallops in Yell Sound,” said Simon Collins, SFA executive officer.
He added: “On the basis of the trials that our boats carried out we felt it was necessary to caution skippers about the dangers.”
In particular shellfish boats have been urged to stay away amid serious concerns for vessel safety due to the amount of rock dumped on top of the service lines running alongside the main gas pipelines coming from the Laggan-Tormore field west of Shetland.
Mr Collins continued: “Meanwhile, our efforts to persuade Total to take action to create safe crossing points for vessels have really got nowhere.
“It’s time for Total to take seriously its own promises to the community and Shetland’s long-term prosperity.”
The news has come following a series of trials involving whitefish and shellfish boats which resulted in damage boats and gear.
A lack of action taken from Total has led to frustration from SFA. Total has announced that gas is now flowing to the Shetland Gas Plant from the field 77m north west of the islands, after more than three years of discussions.
Skipper of the 13m Kestrel, Gary Leask, has twice suffered gear damage in trials, including hydraulics.
He said: “We are concerned about snagging on the pipe and also the quantity of rock that is down there.
“For a smaller boat the weight of rock could lead to you capsize in the worst case scenario. It’s dangerous for the inshore fleet to be fishing over.”
SFA chairman Leslie Tait pointed out that the association were promised that the issue would be settled, and there would be areas where fishermen could cross the pipeline, but this has not materialised.
Mr Tait concluded: “A lot of our small scallop vessels fish this area, especially in winter, especially in bad weather, and the fear is that they pick up a lot of these boulders, ending up with top weight and stability problems.
“There also can be issues with hydraulics and blown motors of winches due to over-stressing.”
