 In the early nineteenth century the kelp industry provided significant employment on some of the Orkney islands, but when the market collapsed between 1830 and 1832 it caused considerable hardship. North Ronaldsay was especially hard-hit and several families were allowed to resettle from there to develop land at Westside on Eday. Rising populations meant increasing land values, especially for small tenancies. In 1843 crofts were valued at £ 1 / acre on Eday, nearly three times the price for larger farms. However, the 20th century saw decline. Immigration from mainland Scotland was essentially unknown even in the late 1950s and the population in 2001 was about an eighth of the total 160 years earlier.
