Ness Fishery Memorial

A celebration of long-line fishing and a commemoration to those who have lost their lives at sea was unveiled in Ness recently.

The Nes Fishery Memorial above the harbour at Port of Ness took three years to plan and construct and is the realisation of a dream for veteran boat-builder John Murdo Macleod.

John Murdo wished that one day he would see a visible commemoration of the glory days of the long-line fishing and a memorial to those who lost their lives in the unpredictable seas of the north Atlantic.

Constructed by Gordon Diesel’s workshop, the stainless steel memorial details the fishermen who lost their lives at sea from 1835 to 1900.

The memorial was designed by John Murdo, former boatbuilder at Port and the creator of ‘An Sulaire’ - the Sgoth Niseach, now based in Stornoway.

John Murdo also mustered much of the information for the inscribed plates which tells the story of the Ness long-line fishery.

The detail about the loss of men and boats was provided by Anne Macleod (Anne Tàraidh) of Comunn Eachdraidh Nis who researched the fishing disasters as part of her degree course.

The first recorded loss was a Skigersta boat in 1835 when six fishermen perished.

In 1839, six men from a Fivepenny boat were lost and in 1847, five were drowned when a Lionel boat foundered, one man alone saved.

In 1849 a Galson boat and crew of six disappeared and in 1851 another Skigersta boat and crew of six were lost.

The ‘Great Drowning’ of 1862 claimed thirty-one lives from six boats. Twenty years later a South Dell boat and her six man crew were lost.

The Cunndal disaster of 1885 resulted in the drowning of twelve men in two Eoropie boats; and in 1889 two boats were lost while trying to enter the harbour, twelve men were lost.

In 1900, another six men were lost, bringing the total to 96 between 1835 and 1900.

Memorial to lost fishermen 14/9/14

Angus Murray, Donald Murray and Freya Macleod with John Murdo Macleod at the Ness Fishery Memorial