During the early part of the 20th century, the Lewis fishing industry had become increasingly concentrated in the Island's main (and only) town of Stornoway, and by 1930 it had developed into a major British herring port.  With the decline of herring during the latter half of the 20th century, trawling for prawns has become the main source of revenue for the island's ever-shrinking fishing fleet.  Today, no Stornoway registered boat is fishing exclusively for whitefish.
 
  In the latter half of the 19th century, up until World War One, there were a number of small but thriving fishing stations scattered throughout the Western Isles. These concentrated on long-line fishing for ling and cod, which would be sun-dried on the rocks or shoreline after they had been salt-cured in one of the many curing houses that existed near the fishing villages.

The processed whitefish was exported to mainland Britain, Ireland and continental Europe. One of the more industrious and important of these satellite fishing stations, during the 19th and early 20th centuries, was the district of Ness, at the northernmost point of the Isle of Lewis.

Jubilee photographed in the 1980s

In 1883, Captain Thomas A. Dymes RN, was asked by the Napier Commission (The Highlands and Islands Commission) to submit a report on the potential for development of the West Scottish fisheries. In his evaluation of the type of fishing vessel that would be required for the successful prosecution of fishing, around the West Coast of Scotland, he wrote:

"For Atlantic fishing a large decked boat would be required, not less than 46' in keel, 56 - 60' overall, beam from 16 - 18', lug-rigged foremast to lower, foresail dipping lug when at sea, which could be converted into standing or balance lug when working into harbour. These boats could be used for long-line, hand line and drift net fishing, the lines being worked by the boats, or in fine weather, each large boat might carry two or more small boats to work extra sets of long lines.   These large boats should have capstan or winch with steam anchor, with a length of chain and long hawser for anchoring in deep water.

Open boats of 24' carrying 4 or 5 hands could be used near the stations and on the inner side of the Long Island, and 4-oared whale boats could be used for the sun-fishing and might be carried or towed out by the larger boats. The decked boats would cost £300; 24' skiffs, £25; 25' whale boats, £23."

 
 
YEAR Whitefish Boats
(cod, ling, etc)		 Resident Fishermen
in Ness
1880 351 2,730
1882 363 2,745
1884 368 2,765
1886 421 3,535
1888 430 3,605
1890 440 3,639
1892 330 3,715
1894 450 3,765
1896 577 3,595
1898 522 3,903
1900 442 3,619
 
 

Source: Crofters Commission – 1901

  
  Based on the above statistics, Ness fishermen would have accounted for approximately 10% of the men in the entire Lewis fishing fleet.   However, it should be noted that the Ness boats were almost exclusively line-fishing, whilst the larger Stornoway based boats would have been net-fishing.   During the early 20th century, Stornoway went on to develop into one of the principal herring ports in Great Britain.  
 
As island families were predominantly croft tenants, rather than owner/occupiers, they were unable to offer the necessary security required to secure loans for the larger decked vessels Captain Dymes mentions in his report.  In any case, the few natural harbours that were to be found in the Western Isles were largely unsheltered and would not have been able to easily accommodate such vessels. This lack of investment had, to a degree, insulated fishing communities such as Ness from the larger scale, commercial developments that were occurring in the more populated Scottish coastal townships such as Stornoway or along the East Coast of Scotland. This naturally led to the growth of rural fishing hamlets that depended on smaller open-decked boats engaged in great-line fishing for white fish.

As early as 1837, some tentative steps had been taken to develop harbour facilities at Port of Ness, but these were often sporadic and in response to particular problems encountered by the fishermen. It would take several more decades before local fishing craft could enter or exit Ness' harbours in relative safety.  Prior to the completion of the current harbour's facilities that can be found at Port of Ness and Skigersta in Ness, Lewis during the late 1880s and '90s, crews regularly had to wade out into the surf in waist-high water to launch and land their boats.  Although the familiar leather boots and oiled garments of that time offered the fishermen some protection against the elements, the need to launch vessels in this manner meant that the men's clothing would remain damp or wet throughout the 1 to 2 day duration of each fishing trip. The womenfolk were not spared any of these hardships: in order to protect their husbands from illness, the wives apparently often carried the fishermen through the surf to help ensure that they set sail in dry clothing; minimising the risk of the main breadwinner becoming unwell. 

The women also bore the burden of carrying the day's catch up the steep cliffs to the curing houses in creels mounted on their backs. Although Port of Ness and Skigersta were the only villages in Ness to eventually acquire proper quays, several other Ness villages such as Eoropie and Dell also managed to develop fishing and curing operations on or near the shore.

Shooting and retrieving several miles of baited hooks from small open-decked fishing craft required a particularly robust, though manoeuvrable, vessel. 

Pride of Lionel with her crew and other local fishermen

  

By the time Captain Dymes had submitted his report to The Napier Commission, a unique parochial boat design had evolved from the innovative endeavours of the fishermen and boat builders of Ness.  This vessel, which has become synonymous with the former Ness line-fishing industry, was the Ness type skiff - or Sgoth Niseach.  As other island fishermen began to recognise the distinctive qualities of the Sgoth Niseach, a number increasingly began to grace the fleets of other Hebridean communities.

Very few examples of the sgoth remain today, which is why Falmadair feels it is so important to preserve these superb craft and to continue to manage them for current and future generations to enjoy.