Almost 300 jobs will go in the oil industry

It is feared that 1,000 jobs could be lost as a result of the decline in the oil industry and the crisis in the fishing industry.

That would account for almost 10% of the islands' working population.

The decline in fishing is a symptom of the winds of economic change which are blowing through Shetland.

Fishing quotas

The twin engines of oil and fishing that drive Scotland's most northerly economy are stalling.

Over the next year almost 300 jobs will go in the oil industry.

About 500 jobs in the fishing industry are under threat as European cuts in fish quotas start to bite.

Under the new stock conservation arrangements vessels are limited to 15 days at sea each month.

If there are industries in Shetland that are declining, here is an industry that is at its beginning and can only increase David Thomson Shetland Aerogenerators

Cod catches in the North Sea have been reduced by 45%, with the haddock catch cut by 50% and whiting catches reduced by nearly two-thirds.

The feeling of crisis is further fuelled by huge losses on the stock market of Shetland's oil money.

The islands council is trying to reduce its spending by �15m and hundreds of jobs are expected to go in the public sector.

Community leaders now hope that new businesses can be developed to build a broader economic base in the future.

Dr Anne Black of Shetland Enterprise said: "We need to diversify into renewable energies.

"We need to look at our IT infrastructure and get into broadband and the new technologies we can bring to Shetland.

'Huge' potential

"We need to look at our aquaculture sector again and see if we can diversify into new species."

Wind turbines located outside Lerwick now provide almost 20% of the island's electricity.

David Thomson of Shetland Aerogenerators said the potential was "huge".

He said: "We have the wind resource. We have the wave and tidal resource.