Its town centre statue of 'Fisher Jessie' dramatically marks Peterhead's proud association with the sea. Carrying a large wicker basket of fish on their backs, these 'creel wives' would walk through the Buchan countryside selling their wares right up to the 1950s.

The advent of whaling, although relatively short lived (1788-1895), brought the town immense wealth. The gallant crews of these ships travelled all over the northern seas often leaving their lasting mark in places far afield as Greenland and Northern Canada.

Changes in markets led to the eventual decline of the whaling fleet and this was replaced by the hunt for herring. By 1914 no less than 186 steam herring drifters were based in Peterhead, but by 1915 the navy had requisitioned the entire fleet! Following the Great War, the herring industry recovered somewhat but the catches never equalled those from earlier years.

The progressive change from herring to white fish provided Peterhead with another strong burst of activity through to the later part of the 20th century when changing markets, and political edicts again brought about further market changes. Nevertheless, in 2002 no less than 110,000 ton of white fish, shellfish, herring and mackerel were landed in Peterhead to a value of more than £70 million. Peterhead is now clustered around a huge modern deep-water Harbour of Refuge, which, beginning in 1886 took more than 70 years to complete and, in recent years, Peterhead has again seen dramatic changes in its industry base.