FISHERMEN who are at the centre of a dispute over access to an historic Aberdeen harbour will this morning deliver a petition signed by almost 11,000 people to their local council to allow them to continue to use the facility.

Two years ago plastic surgeon and landowner Pralhad Kohle issued eviction notices to the owners of around 10 fishing boats at Cove Bay harbour, starting a legal row that looks increasingly likely to end up in the courts.

Kohle demanded that they remove their vessels and repeatedly tried to stop them using the harbour by blocking vehicular access with boulders and rocks.

Placards have also been hammered into the ground around the harbour, informing people about the legal battle between the surgeon and the Cove Fishermen’s Association, who say fishing has been carried out from there since the 1790s.

The Association said Cove Bay would not be the place it is without the harbour. “Cove was built and founded on fishing and removing the boats would remove the heart of the village,” its petition reads.

“It would take away people’s livelihoods and remove a natural resource from future generations. The local community deserve to keep their heritage, and be allowed to enjoy it.”

Association members will present their petition to Neil Cooney, a local councillor and convener of Aberdeen City Council’s housing and infrastructure committee.

The authority wrote to Kohle in mid-December ordering him to remove the rocks and is now in talks with both sides to try to resolve the situation. The fishermen have already expressed their concerns that the barricades at the harbour entrance could cause their vessels to be wrecked in a storm.

Jim Adam, chairman of the Cove Fishermen’s Association, said Kohle’s actions had rendered the harbour unsafe, and had put the boats in danger.

If there was bad weather, he said it was extremely difficult to remove them from the beach.

“If we get some of the rocks and debris removed we can get access to the pier and the beach,” he said.

“We were really lucky in this last bout of bad weather because, as the tide receded, we hauled the boats along the beach, but that in itself is quite a dangerous activity in bad weather. The water was well beyond the boats and they were effectively trapped behind the boulders, essentially under siege.”

The fishermen have said they will defend themselves against Kohle in court, but no date has yet been set.

Adam added: “The important thing is that we’ve now officially responded that we’re going to defend the case, because it has been going on far too long.”

Almost 11,000 people have signed the petition at 38degrees.org.uk and nearly £4,000 has been raised through a crowdfunding bid to cover the fishermen’s legal costs.

Kohle could not be contacted for comment.