A handful of fishermen could be the final generation to cast off from a historic Aberdeen harbour after a court ordered them to move their boats.
The Cove Fisherman’s Association lost their long-running fight to dock their small fleet of around 10 traditional vessels at Cove Harbour last month.
They had been locked in a four-year legal battle with landowner Pralhad Kolhe, who had sought to evict the men and their boats from the sections of the historic site that he owns.
In his judgement, Sheriff Miller last month ordered the owners of the boats to remove them, as they had “no right” to “occupy and use” the land owned by Mr Kolhe.
This week, the last of the vessels were moved from Mr Kolhe’s land to a small corner of the harbour, further inland.
Just six of the boats remain, squeezed into the tiny spot of land not owned by Mr Kolhe – and where once there had been plenty of winches to go around, now the six owners are forced to share just one.
Jim Adam, the leader of the fisherman’s association, said he and his associates will continue to fish from the harbour, just as the local community had done so for hundreds of years – but he fears the days of Cove Harbour’s fishing heritage could soon be at an end.
Mr Adam said: “It’s a bit tight for space now, and having to rely on the one winch is going to be a major hassle.
“Mr Kolhe has done his best to stop us, but despite all the money and all the time spent, we’re still going to be fishing here.
“But because it’s now so much more difficult, I can’t imagine that anyone else in the future will choose to use Cove for fishing – not when there are so much easier, hassle-free places to go, like Stonehaven, or potentially Aberdeen once the new harbour is finished.
“So we’re still going to be going here for a while, but in a few years, I don’t know if there will be any fishermen in Cove.
“It’s sad, but there is the silver lining from the court ruling that the public will have access to the pier, so that’s good for divers and kayakers.”
