Model of Romanian House
Ullapool Museum

This model house was made by a Romanian crew member of a factory fishing boat.

During the 1970s and 1980s Scottish fishing ports experienced a mackerel fishery boom. Fleets of factory ships known as klondykers arrived from the former Soviet Union and from as far afield as Nigeria and the Philippines. They processed the mackerel to send home as a cheap source of food. Crews worked long hours in smelly and unpleasant conditions, and spent many months away from home. Some crew made extra money by making and selling models like this model house.

Klondyking ended in the early 1990s because of the collapse of the Soviet Union and communist Europe. The klondykers threw much of their waste overboard which has had a negative impact on our marine environment. Rubbish remains on local beaches and seabeds to this day.