Sailing smacks and box fleets in the late 1800s. Hull trawlerman William Oliver reminisces. Above: Socrates is a typical steam trawler that fished from Hull in the early 1900s. (Photo: Dr Alec Gill) My first recollections of Hull Fish Dock were…
Our ‘Where are they now?’ feature provides brief histories, including build details, of a varied selection of fishing vessels from years gone by. Some of these vessels continue to perform successfully today, under different names to the ones they were…
A new book on the history of Littlehampton lifeboats recounts the history from its opening in the late 19th century to the present day, reports John Periam. Littlehampton lifeboat station was closed after the First World War but was reopened…
The West Highland harbour of Mallaig has a longstanding fishing tradition, playing a prominent role in the Scottish industry. Above: A typically busy scene at Mallaig in the late 1960s with local and visiting ring-netters landing herring in traditional wooden boxes…
Located in Thurso Bay, and sheltered by Holburn Head to the northwest and Dunnet Head to the northeast, Scrabster harbour has long occupied a fairly unique position in the UK fishing industry. Its geographical location in the Pentland Firth meant…
Gallery of images at end of feature. John Addison gives an overview of seine net boats built for skippers fishing from Moray Firth ports in the 1960s. In this decade, a gradual move towards new designs prevailed, as boatyards and…
For more than 20 years, the Scottish west coast port of Ullapool was one of the busiest landing centres in the UK on a seasonal basis. Ullapool’s rise to prominence coincided with the growth of mackerel fishing, when a large…
The Great Yarmouth Potteries incorporates a museum dedicated to the fishing industry, but it looks to be closing soon, reports Mick Harrod. Above: Ernie Childs with his painting of early Yarmouth drifters. The whole building was a herring curing works, turning…
For decades Fleetwood was one of the UK’s main fishing ports, headed only by the dominant Humberside duo of Grimsby and Hull. A diverse fleet of FD-registered vessels returned to Wyre Dock with continual supplies of whitefish. This enabled the…
Situated against the dramatic backdrop of the Mountains of Mourne in Co Down, Kilkeel harbour today is home to a predominantly shellfish-orientated fleet of prawn trawlers and scallop dredgers. Highly restrictive fisheries management measures for the Irish Sea led to…
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