The Scottish Fisheries Museum is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

Anstruther Anstruther ( sco, Ainster or Enster ; gd, Ànsruthair) is a small coastal resort town in Fife, Scotland, situated on the north-shore of the Firth of Forth and south-southeast of St Andrews. The town comprises two settlements, Anstruther ...

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

, that records the history of the Scottish

fishing industry The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products. It is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization as including ...

and its people from earliest times to the present day. Opened in 1969, the museum is situated on the harbour front in Anstruther, in the heart of the

East Neuk The East Neuk () or East Neuk of Fife is an area of the coast of Fife, Scotland. "Neuk" is the Scots word for nook or corner, and the East Neuk is generally accepted to comprise the fishing villages of the most northerly part of the Firth of ...

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

and

lobster Lobsters are a family (biology), family (Nephropidae, Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs ...

fishing villages of

St Monans ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

Pittenweem Pittenweem ( ) is a fishing village and civil parish in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 1,747. Etymology The name derives from Pictish and Scottish Gaelic. "Pit-" represents Pictish ''pett'' 'pl ...

Cellardyke Cellardyke is a village in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. The village is to the immediate east of Anstruther (the two effectively being conjoined) and is to the south of Kilrenny. History Cellardyke was formerly known as Nether Kilrenny ( S ...

and

Crail Crail (); gd, Cathair Aile) is a former royal burgh, parish and community council area (Royal Burgh of Crail and District) in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. The locality has an estimated population of 1,630 (2018). Etymology The name ''C ...

. It has grown over time into a sizable complex, occupying a number of converted buildings set around three sides of a cobbled courtyard. These include two Category 'A'

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

s: the 16th century Abbot's lodging and an 18th-century merchant's house, both of which have historical associations with the fishing life of the village. Shore Street and the Reaper

The museum collection contains many model boats, fishing gear, a significant historical

photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now create ...

ic archive and

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

s. In addition to the traditional exhibits, the museum also boasts a collection of 18

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

s, the pride of which is the 104-year-old twin masted Fifie herring drifter, ''

Reaper A reaper is a agricultural machinery, farm implement or person that wikt:reap#Verb, reaps (cuts and often also gathers) crops at harvest when they are ripe. Usually the crop involved is a cereal grass. The first documented reaping machines were ...

''. This vessel was restored by the museum's boat club and sails regularly in the summer months. Between 2003 and 2005 she visited 26 ports around

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, including a visit to the Festival of the Sea in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, attracting 44,000 visitors. When not sailing, the boat is berthed in Anstruther harbour opposite the museum. In total, the collection comprises over 66,000 items. In 2007, the museum was one of the first in Scotland to have its entire collection awarded Recognised Collection status by

Museums Galleries Scotland Museums Galleries Scotland, formerly the Scottish Museums Council, is the National Development Body for the museum sector in Scotland. It offers support to 400 museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or instit ...

(previously the Scottish Museum Council), designating it as being of national or international importance. The museum also incorporates a small private

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

, which commemorates the Scots who perished at sea while fishing.

References

External links

Scottish Fisheries Museum

National Register of Historic Vessels

The history of herring fishing on the east coast of Scotland
{{Coord, 56.2219, -2.6968, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Museums established in 1969 1969 establishments in Scotland Museums in Fife Ships of Scotland Fishing in Scotland History of fishing Category A listed buildings in Fife Maritime museums in Scotland

Fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

Fishing museums Anstruther

See also

References

External links