Just an update (following the earlier post on Super trawlers in the Irish and Celtic Seas) on some of the larger super trawlers which are fishing off the West of Britain at present: The ‘Dirk Dirk’ (NL register 3200 tonne) and ‘Frank Bonefass’ (GB register 6500 tonne) are lying off the east of South Uist riding out the storm while the ‘Daddy’ of super trawlers the ‘Annelies Ilena’ (Polish Register 14500 tonnes) is further north in the Minch off Lewis (in a previous incarnation this vessel was the ‘Atlantic Dawn’ registered in Killybegs, Ireland).
Despite the various National registrations many of these vessels including the Annelies Ilena are owned by the Van der Plas outfit – ‘Parlevliet & van der Plas’. The van der Plas family were active in the heyday of the Manx herring fishery in the 1970s with other so called ‘klondykers’ from the Netherlands, Norway and Denmark.
The French registered ‘Joseph Roty 11’ is also owned by the van der Plas outfit which has 29 vessels including eight of the largest super trawlers.
Certainly their ‘humble’ beginnings in the Manx herring fishery led onto greater things!
Link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parlevliet_%26_van_der_Plas
Bernard Moffatt
Assistant General Secretary Celtic League (9th February 2020)
