Coal prices went up which meant that steam drifters could no longer operate economically. Fishermen started looking into paraffin or oil engines and converting sailboats into motor boats, which was relatively cheap.

In the 1930s, the ‘Lerwick Scotties’ fishery emerged, with folk from Scotland that specialised in haddock fishing arriving in Shetland. The Scotties built their houses out Lerwick’s North Road.