VisitShetland

Economy

Shetland's Successful Economy

Shetland's economy is dominated by fish and oil but it's much more diverse than that, with sizeable contributions from livestock rearing, tourism, quarrying, knitwear and craft work.

For most of the past 25 years unemployment has been below 5% of the workforce and is currently [2005] around 2% but recent problems with salmon farming and traditional whitefish trawling mean that figure is expected to rise.

21st Century Economy

Shetland's well-educated workforce includes computer consultants, pioneers in wind farming, tidal power and composite structures; marine engineers and boat builders; ornithologists, artists, writers, brewers and a stained glass designer; insulated box manufacturers, recording engineers, experts on waste-to-energy and industrial recycling - and even a strawberry farmer on the same latitude as southern Greenland!

Service Sector

Three quarters of the islands' employees are in the service sector, reflecting the high level of activity by Shetland Islands Council which runs inter-island ferries as well as providing all the usual council services.

The council's partnership with the oil industry at the Sullom Voe oil and gas terminal has earned it millions of pounds in special oil revenues since 1976. These funds support several public trusts. The trusts provide vital extra help for social welfare, the arts, sport, environmental improvements and economic development.

Shetland seafood - the pick of the best

Oil is big, worth an estimated £116 million a year (about 15% of the total value of the economy), but fish catching, fish farming and fish processing generate almost twice as much revenue and employ nearly three times as many people.

Most of the fish landed in Shetland is herring and mackerel - around 67,000 tonnes a year. This is 85% of the total catch but only accounts for 52% of the value. Bottom-dwelling whitefish like haddock, cod and monkfish command much higher prices and, although whitefish make up just 14% of landings, they earn around £12 million a year - 43% of the £30m the total Shetland catch was worth in 2001.

Fishing Restrictions

Severe restrictions on catching effort, introduced after many years of scientific warnings about over-fishing, have greatly reduced the number of whitefish trawlers but the big 'pelagic' boats, fishing exclusively for herring and mackerel, are thriving and appear to have a sustainable fishery.

So fresh, it doesn't smell of fish

Much of the 'fresh' fish for sale in mainland cities has been on ice for at least a week. But in Shetland you can buy fish so fresh it doesn't even smell fishy - because most of it is caught just a few hours from harbour. Quality control inspectors make sure every landing meets the Shetland Standard.

Modern-Day Fishing

Many boats now have computerised logging of the date and time of catching each box of fish and a record of the temperature it was kept at on board, in the fishmarket and en route to the buyer. That means it's the pick of the best - wild, pure, and processed quickly to keep it that way. There's the same obsession with quality aboard the shellfish boats landing scallops, crabs and lobsters.

"Farmed in the Wild"

That's the slogan of the Shetland Salmon Farmers' Association for an industry which still employs almost a thousand islanders, directly and indirectly, despite recent well-publicised difficulties. Shetland is ideal for fish farming, with a small annual range of sea temperature and strong tides flushing clean, cold seawater between the islands.

Fish Farming

Fish farming started in Shetland in the early 1980s and at first was a small-scale, part-time and locally-owned business. It soon grew into a multi-million pound enterprise worth over £70 million a year [2002 figure] and largely controlled by international capital. Global over-production has led to a price collapse, causing some bankruptcies in 2004, but the industry is still very much in business and is now diversifying into cod and halibut farming. Mussels and scallops are also grown in increasing quantities.

Winning the nation's oil

Sullom Voe Terminal opened in 1978 and at its peak was pumping over 55 million tonnes annually. It's still Britain's biggest oil exporting port, handling around 25 million tonnes of oil a year from oilfields in the North Sea and the Atlantic. About 600 jobs depend on the terminal, the tugboats, pilot launches and port administration - with more in Lerwick Harbour, servicing the offshore oil and gas platforms.

Oil And The Environment

Originally designed for production from the huge oil and gas fields of the northern North Sea, Sullom Voe also serves the new 'Atlantic Frontier' fields west of Shetland. The terminal is one of the world's cleanest oil ports, due in part to the strict regulations enforced by the oil companies and the council - which is also the port authority for the terminal.

Scientific monitoring since 1972 shows little or no effect on the islands' abundant and varied marine life.

Oilfield servicing

When the North Sea oil and gas industry began in the late 1960s, Shetland became a base for seismic survey vessels, drilling rigs, pipelaying barges, production platforms, standby tugs and oilfield supply boats. Lerwick Port Authority is still very much involved in the offshore service business, as is the port of Scalloway on the west coast.

Waste recycling

An important part of oilfield servicing is waste disposal. In Lerwick a plant for recovering used drilling mud is sited next door to a domestic waste incinerator which also processes refuse from the oil platforms, while supplying townspeople and businesses with district heating. There are also enterprises recycling scrap metal and glass.

Quarrying

Thanks to the varied geology, Shetland has several large quarries producing high-quality roadstone and other aggregates, much of which is exported. In the island of Unst is Britain's only commercial talc mine.

Agriculture

Shetland is perfect sheep-rearing country. The hardy local breed live on the hill all year round, thanks to their exceptionally fine, soft wool - the basis of the famous Shetland and Fair Isle knitwear industry.

Sheep

Fair Isle Sheep

Every autumn we export thousands of lambs for fattening in mainland Scotland. Careful husbandry keeps island sheep free of many diseases common on the mainland and the local lamb has a unique flavour, due in part to grazing seaweed along the shore. See Taste Shetland to find out about Shetland's award winning lamb.

Shetland is also almost self-sufficient in milk and also produces pork and free-range eggs for local consumption.

Textiles

Fair Isle Knitting

The words "Shetland" and "Fair Isle" are pirated by unscrupulous textile firms all over the world but the genuine article is made only in the Shetland Islands and bears the "Shetland Lady" trademark. The combination of softness, light weight and warmth is unbeatable. As well as modern factories making machine-knit garments there are still many hand-knitters working part-time at home. Traditional patterns, centuries old, are complemented by the work of modern local designers.

Inward Investors Welcomed

The islands' economy is as diverse as the scenery and wildlife. Shetland is a fine place to trade, invest, work, study and have fun.

• A stable, safe, welcoming community with a low crime rate;
• Excellent public services, including education, welfare and leisure;
• The UK's highest ratio of volunteers - over 55% of the population.
• Good communications with mainland UK, Scandinavia and beyond;
• A practical commitment to recycling and green principles;
• Locally-based development agency staff to help business start-ups and expansion;
• Attractive grant and loan packages.

For more details of the attractions to businesses thinking of setting up in Shetland, contact Shetland Enterprise on 01595 693 177.

'Shetland in Statistics' is written annually and can be downloaded from Shetland Islands Council web site.

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2009 Photo Competition

VisitShetland is pleased to announce the launch of their 5th annual photocompetition.  This year's theme is 'Shetland's Wild Side'.

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