Moray Firth

The Moray Firth is a great inlet of the North Sea on Scotland's northeastern coast. Its wide outer waters narrow toward a series of inner firths, including those of Cromarty and Beauly, with Inverness near their western end. Harbours around the shores gave shelter to ships and served the communities of the Highlands and Moray. Fish were caught in the firth as well as at sea; fixed traps known as yairs were used in its inner waters, with records of their use dating at least to the seventeenth century.