Yesterday afternoon we were lucky that Erin brought in a whale’s tooth and told us about her Great Grandad’s time at the whaling. She managed to speak really well to both classes. Well done!

We also had a visit from James Anderson – aka Sonny’s Dad – who told us about his work on the Alison Kay. He brought in fish and told us lots of information. Here is some of what we found out!

• We saw a photo of her in rough seas heading to Iceland.
• Although they have 9 crew members, only 6 go to sea at a time.
• The Alison Kay catches whitefish. Haddock and cod are whitefish.  Cod is the most common.  Fish is gutted on the boat.
• They catch demersal fish that live and feed near the bottom of the sea.
• The Alison Kay fishes in the North Sea. Although they can track fish they don’t know the exact type of fish they will catch.
• They have caught a basking shark before but they returned it to the sea. In the olden days they were caught and their oil was used for lamps.  They then became rare so they are not allowed to be kept.
• In one catch they may get 1300 -1400 boxes of fish.
• The boat is now 28 metres long. It was 24 metres long.  The boat got cut in half first to get extended.
• They fish 50-60 miles out of Shetland.
• Halibut sells for a lot. Sometimes £300 pound a fish as it is a well liked special dish.
• Ling is better when the fish aren’t too large.
• Each boat has a quota they can only get a certain amount of each type of fish. Once they get their amount for a certain type of fish they have to try and catch another fish.
• Safety on a fishing boat is essential. Lifejackets must be worn at all times. 
• The boat is expensive to run. 20 tonnes of fuel is needed a week. This costs £6000 – £7000 a week.
• We saw a ling, a haddock, a monkfish and a squid.
• We saw a video of a monkfish with a man’s arm trapped inside.
• LK stands for Lerwick.