| Voe | |
|---|---|
 Voe at the head of Ronas Voe, Northmavine | |
  Voe Location within Shetland | |
| OS grid reference | HU333811 |
| Civil parish | |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SHETLAND |
| Postcode district | ZE2 |
| Dialling code | 01806 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
Voe is a settlement on the Northmavine peninsula of Mainland, Shetland, Scotland. [1] It is at the head of Ronas Voe and just off the A970 road.
Two Norwegian whaling stations were constructed in Voe at the beginning of the 20th century - the Zetland Whale Fishing Company, set up by Christian Nielsen; [2] and the Norrona Whale Fishing Company, set up by Peder Bogen - opened in April and June 1903 respectively, [3] being the first whaling stations based in UK territory. [4]
Whales caught by harpoon were dragged in by steamers. They were hauled up a wooden slip with a steam winch to take them ashore. They would then be cut up using blades on long handles called flensing knives. Species caught included fin whales, sperm whales, bowhead whales and bottlenose whales. In 1903 the Norrona station had around six boilers, of which some were up to 12 feet (3.7 m) tall. [5]
While some work was made available for the locals, there was push-back against the factories due to the smell of the operations and pollution left upon the nearby beaches. Those engaged in the herring fishing also believed that the waste products of processing the whales (some of which ended up in the sea) attracted sharks that frightened off the herring shoals. [3] A committee to investigate these claims was set up in 1904, however it wasn't able to determine a connection between the whaling and a downturn in the herring catch. [6] The stations operated until 1914. [7] There is very little left of the whaling stations - as of 2019 only a few low walls remain to be seen. [8]
| Station | Economic Activity | 1903 | ... | 1908 | 1909 | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 | 1914 | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zetland | Whales landed | 61 | 81 | 71 | 53 | 25 | 20 | 50 | 65 | [5] [9] | ||
| Products value | Total [lower-roman 1] | £7,768 | £6,264 | |||||||||
| of which oil | £5,380 | £4,940 | ||||||||||
| Norrona | Whales landed | 63 | 52 | 60 | 65 | 36 | 16 | 59 | 67 | |||
| Products value | Total | £3,251 | £4,285 | |||||||||
| of which oil | £2,256 | £3,200 | ||||||||||
A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument and tool used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other marine hunting to catch and injure large fish or marine mammals such as seals and whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal and securing it with barb or toggling claws, allowing the fishermen to use a rope or chain attached to the projectile to catch the animal. A harpoon can also be used as a weapon. Certain harpoons are made with different builds to perform better with the type of target being aimed at. For example, the Inuit have short, fixed foreshaft harpoons for hunting seals at their breathing holes while loose shafted ones are made for attaching to the game thrown at.
Yell is one of the North Isles of Shetland, Scotland. In the 2011 census it had a usually resident population of 966. It is the second largest island in Shetland after the Mainland with an area of 82 square miles (212 km2), and is the third most populous in the archipelago, after the Mainland and Whalsay.
New Island is one of the Falkland Islands, lying north of Beaver Island. It is 238 km (148 mi) from Stanley and is 13 km (8.1 mi) long with an average width of 750 m (820 yd). The highest point is 226 metres (741 ft). The northern and eastern coasts have high cliffs but the eastern coasts are lower lying, with rocky shores and sandy bays. There are several smaller offshore islands in the group; North Island and Saddle Island have high cliffs but Ship Island and Cliff Knob Island are lower lying.
This article discusses the history of whaling from prehistoric times up to the commencement of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986. Whaling has been an important subsistence and economic activity in multiple regions throughout human history. Commercial whaling dramatically reduced in importance during the 19th century due to the development of alternatives to whale oil for lighting, and the collapse in whale populations. Nevertheless, some nations continue to hunt whales even today.
Brae is a village on the island of Mainland in Shetland, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Flensing is the removing of the blubber or outer integument of whales, separating it from the animal's meat. Processing the blubber into whale oil was the key step that transformed a whale carcass into a stable, transportable commodity. It was an important part of the history of whaling. The whaling that still continues in the 21st century is both industrial and aboriginal. In aboriginal the blubber is rarely rendered into oil, although it may be eaten as muktuk.
Whaling in Iceland began with spear-drift hunting as early as the 12th century, and continued in a vestigial form until the late 19th century, when other countries introduced modern commercial practices. Today, Iceland is one of a handful of countries that formally object to an ongoing moratorium established by the International Whaling Commission in 1986, and that still maintain a whaling fleet. One company remains concentrated on hunting fin whales, largely for export to Japan, while the only other one previously hunted minke whales for domestic consumption until 2020, as the meat was popular with tourists. In 2018, Icelandic whalers were accused of slaughtering a blue whale. Whaling was temporarily paused in Iceland between 2019 and 2021 as coronavirus restrictions, competition from subsidized Japanese whaling, and increasing domestic whale watching tourism have hampered the industry, however the practice is set to resume in 2022. A ban may come about by 2024 due to low demand and profitability. Iceland has a whale watching sector, which exists in tension with the whaling industry.
Whaling in Norway involves hunting of minke whales for use as animal and human food in Norway and for export to Japan. Whale hunting has been a part of Norwegian coastal culture for centuries, and commercial operations targeting the minke whale have occurred since the early 20th century. Some still continue the practice in the modern day.
Northmavine or Northmaven is a peninsula in northwest Mainland Shetland in Scotland. The peninsula has historically formed the civil parish Northmavine. The modern Northmavine community council area has the same extent. The area of the parish is given as 204.1 km2.
Assater is a hamlet on Mainland, in Shetland, Scotland. Assater is situated in the parish of Northmaven. It is about 1.3 miles (2.1 km) northwest of Urafirth and 1.2 miles (1.9 km) southeast of Heylor by road.
Dunrossness, is the southernmost parish of Shetland, Scotland. Historically the name Dunrossness has usually referred to the area on the Shetland mainland south of Quarff. However, in 2016 there were three separate Shetland Community Councils for a) Gulberwick, Quarff and Cunningsburgh; b) Sandwick; and c) Dunrossness. The 2011 census defined Dunrossness as including everybody within the British ZE2 postal code, which goes as far north as Gulberwick. It has the best and largest area of fertile farmland of any parish in Shetland. Dunrossness includes the island of Mousa, Levenwick, St Ninian's Isle, Bigton, Scousburgh, the Lochs of Spiggie and Brow, Boddam, Quendale, Virkie, Exnaboe, Grutness, Toab, Ness of Burgi, Clumlie Broch, Scatness, Sumburgh Airport, Sumburgh Head, West Voe, the islands of Lady's Holm, Little Holm, Horse Holm island and Fair Isle.
Yell Sound is the strait running between Yell and Mainland, Shetland, Scotland. It is the boundary between the Mainland and the North Isles and it contains many small islands. Sullom Voe, on the shores of which is a substantial oil terminal, is an arm of Yell Sound.
Jūrō Oka was a Japanese businessman considered the "father of Japanese whaling".
Commercial whaling in Britain began late in the 16th century and continued after the 1801 formation of the United Kingdom and intermittently until the middle of the 20th century.
The Battle of Ronas Voe was a naval engagement between the English Royal Navy and the Dutch East India ship Wapen van Rotterdam on 14 March 1674 in Ronas Voe, Shetland as part of the Third Anglo-Dutch War. Having occurred 23 days after the signing of the Treaty of Westminster, it is likely to have been the final battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War.
Ronas Voe is a voe in Northmavine, Shetland. It divides the land between Ronas Hill, Shetland's tallest mountain, and the Tingon peninsula. It is the second largest voe in Shetland, the largest being Sullom Voe. The townships of Heylor, Voe and Swinister are located on its shores, and the township of Assater is under a kilometre away.
Heylor is a settlement situated on the south side of Ronas Voe in Northmavine, Shetland, Scotland. It lies directly opposite Ronas Hill, Shetland's tallest mountain.
The Lang Ayre is a beach on the west side of Ronas Hill, Northmavine, Shetland. At 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) in length it is the archipelago's longest. It is accessed either by a long walk from the top of Collafirth Hill down the Burn of Monius, or by sea. The beach's sand is red, eroded from the up to 700 feet (210 m) high red granite cliffs towering above it.
Tingon is a peninsula in the north-west of Northmavine, Shetland. It is delineated on the east by Ronas Voe, and on the west by Hamnavoe. It is designated as a Ramsar site, a Special Protection Area, a Special Area of Conservation and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is also the collective name of a group of settlements on the peninsula, which were nearly all evicted as part of the Highland Clearances.
SS Ben Doran was a steam fishing trawler that operated out of Aberdeen, Scotland. It was launched in 1900 and operated until its wrecking on the Ve Skerries, Shetland, on 29 March 1930, which claimed the lives of the full crew, believed to number nine crew members. Its wrecking has been called "the most tragic wreck in all Shetland's history".
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