is 77 % around Aberdeen; 24% in central and southern Scotland; and 11 per cent in the Highlands and Islands. The industry forms an integral part of the fishing-based economy. It accounts for more jobs than the catching industry and aquaculture combined, with the added significance that it provides employment for women in otherwise male-dominated labour markets. Two distinct sub-sectors make up the processing industry: the primary processors involved in the filleting and freezing of fresh fish for onward distribution to fresh fish retail and catering outlets, and the secondary processors producing chilled, frozen and canned products for the retail and catering trades. The current situation of the processing sector reflects the fortunes of the catching industry. Those involved in processing pelagic fishes and shellfish (together with farmed fish) are expanding their operations, while those engaged in whitefish processing are in difficulty. One of the major problems facing the processing sector is the scarcity of labour in isolated rural communities. Difficulties in attracting local labour reflect the low pay, the seasonal or casual nature of employment and the poor work environment compared with office or supermarket jobs. The high turnover of labour and high levels of absenteeism experienced in some plants adds significantly to labour costs. As a result, firms are now turning increasingly to agency labour and the employment of unskilled (and occasionally illegal) immigrant workers. Associated organisations The fishing industry in Scotland is supported by a number of governmental and non-governmental organisations. Fisheries research in Scotland Fisheries research in Scotland dates back to the foundation of the Scottish Marine Station, near Oban and the Gatty Marine Laboratory at St Andrews in 1884. Government involvement in fisheries research began in 1899 with the foundation of the Aberdeen Marine Laboratory, now part of Marine Scotland. Marine Scotland operates two research vessels, the ocean-going MRV Scotia and the smaller inshore vessel MRV Alba Na Mara. Non-governmental fisheries research is carried out at a number of Scottish universities and institutes, including deep-sea research at the University of Aberdeen's Oceanlab at Newburgh, marine mammal research at the University of St Andrews, research on the Clyde estuary ecosystem at the Millport Biological Station on the Isle of Cumbrae, and fisheries research at the Scottish Association of Marine Science (SAMS) near Oban, and the North Atlantic Fisheries College at Scalloway in Shetland, both part of the University of the Highlands and Islands project. Industry organisations