An island county and ancient earldom in the far north of Scotland, Shetland (once Zetland) covered an area of 551 sq. miles (1427 sq. km), lying between the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Its chief town and main seaport was Lerwick, once a centre of the herring industry. The other main settlement and harbour was Scalloway. With local government reorganisation in 1974, Shetland became a unitary island authority, and retained this status as Shetland Council Area following further reorganisation in 1995.
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