A Fisherman's Tale v5

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A Fishermans Tale: Being a Fisherman inEngland in 2009Report of Research Findings

COI Job No: 291928


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A Fishermans Tale: Being a Fisherman inEngland in 2009Report of Research Findings

December 2009/ Job No. 578/ Version 5

Prepared for:

COI, on behalf of their client, Defra

Creative Research Ltd43 Broadway, London W13 9BP

Phone: 020 8567 6974Fax: 020 8567 6979

Email: [email protected]


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Contents

1 MANAGEMENT SUMMARY .............................................................................. 1

1.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Attitudes, Motivations, Perceptions ..................................................................... 1

1.3 Fishermen Typologies ......................................................................................... 2

1.4 Communicating with and Influencing Fishermen ................................................ 3

2 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 4

2.1 Background to the Research ............................................................................... 4

2.2 Aims and Objectives ........................................................................................... 42.3 Method ................................................................................................................ 6

2.4 Sample Structure ................................................................................................. 8

2.5 Sample Profile ................................................................................................... 12

2.6 Filming ............................................................................................................... 15

2.7 Other Matters .................................................................................................... 15

3 MOTIVATIONS AND DRIVERS ....................................................................... 16

3.1 Introduction: An Embattled Industry .................................................................. 16

3.2 What Led Them to Become Fishermen ............................................................ 17

3.3 The Fishermans CV ......................................................................................... 23

3.4 Owner Skippers, Non-owner Skippers and Crew ............................................. 24

3.5 Super Under 10s ............................................................................................... 243.6 The Positives and Negatives of a Fishermans Life .......................................... 26

3.7 A Day in the Life ................................................................................................ 41

3.8 Safety at Sea ..................................................................................................... 44

3.9 Financial Aspects of Fishing ............................................................................. 48

3.10 Why They Stay in the Industry ........................................................................ 55

3.11 What the Future Holds .................................................................................... 57

A Fishermans Tale: Being a Fisherman in England in 2009: Report of Research Findings


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4 COMMUNITY STATUS ..................................................................................... 61

4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 61

4.2 Status Within their Local Community ................................................................ 61

4.3 Status Among the Wider Public ........................................................................ 64

4.4 The Future of their Community ......................................................................... 65

5 ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES ............................................................................. 69

5.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 69

5.2 Overview of Fishermens Response ................................................................. 69

5.3 Response to Environmental Issues .................................................................. 70

5.4 Response to Scenarios ..................................................................................... 86

6 COMMUNICATION WITH FISHERMEN .......................................................... 99

6.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 99

6.2 Keeping Themselves Informed ......................................................................... 99

6.3 Communications with and from Defra ............................................................. 102

6.4 Licence Capping an Example of Communication Failure? .......................... 110

7 FISHERMAN TYPOLOGIES .......................................................................... 113

7.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 113

7.2 Leaders, Lieutenants and Followers .......................................................... 113

7.3 Additional Types ............................................................................................ 117

8 COMMUNICATING WITH AND INFLUENCING FISHERMEN ...................... 120

8.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 120

8.2 Ineffectiveness of the Current Model .............................................................. 120

8.3 Future Communications: Is There a Way Forward? ....................................... 120

9 APPENDICES ................................................................................................. 124



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9.1 Recruitment Questionnaire ............................................................................. 124

9.2 Recruiter Guidelines ........................................................................................ 129

9.3 Discussion Guide and Stimulus Material ........................................................ 133

TABLE 1: INTENDED SAMPLE STRUCTURE....................................................9

TABLE 2: PERCENTAGE OF VESSELS BY CATEGORY AND TYPE OFGEAR...........................................................................................................10

TABLE 3: GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE INTENDED SAMPLE. .10

TABLE 4: ACHIEVED SAMPLE COMPARED TO INTENDED SAMPLE..........12

TABLE 5: SAMPLE AGE PROFILE....................................................................13

TABLE 6: AVERAGE VESSEL LENGTH, ENGINE POWER AND VCU...........14

FIGURE 1: SUMMARY OF RESEARCH LOCATIONS......................................11

FIGURE 2: HEADLINES ON ENVIRONMENTAL TOPICS................................70



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Acknowledgment

142 fishermen from across England took part in this research. We would like to

take this opportunity to thank them for their contributions.

Many of them arrived at the sessions not knowing quite what to expect but ready

to do battle with the researchers, and to put their views across with varying

degrees of forcefulness. By the end of the discussions, they often made a point

of shaking the researchers by the hand and thanking them for taking the time to

listen to what they had to say. A key aim of this research is to provide fishermen

with the opportunity to tell their story and to have their voice listened to. We hope

we have managed to capture and present their opinions as accurately as we can.

With this in mind, we have included a large number of verbatim comments.

During the course of the research we learned a great deal about what it is like

being a fisherman in England today. It was difficult not to come away without a

sense of admiration for what they do in what are undoubtedly difficult times. We

hope in some small way our research will help to realise a more fulfilling future.



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1 Management Summary1.1 Introduction

The overall aim of the research was to assist Defra in building up a rich and detailedunderstanding of fishermen registered in England, to identify and define a range of types of fishermen based on their needs, motivations, attitudes and behaviours, and toput forward a possible segmentation. The research findings will inform the Departmentslong term strategy for the fishing industry, with particular emphasis on the inshore fleet,help it to develop effective policies and services, and enable it to communicate moreeffectively with the fishing community.

142 fishermen took part in 21 research sessions, each lasting some two hours. Over half of these sessions were drawn from a cross-section of the Inshore fleet fishermenoperating vessels that are under 10 metres in length and working quotas that are setand managed by Defra. The remaining sessions were conducted among members of the Over 10 metre fleet including so called Sector fishermen, who own their own quota

which is managed on their behalf by Fish Producer Organisations, and Non-sector fishermen, who hold and manage their quotas individually.

1.2 Attitudes, Motivations, Perceptions

The key findings are as follows: Fishermen are collectively extremely angry and frustrated with their lot and feel

under attack from all sides. There are conflicts and tensions with a wide range of external organisations but there are also lots of tensions within the fishingcommunity.

Fishermen are extremely independent and yet they find themselves in what is

perceived to be probably the most highly regulated industry in the country; it istherefore not surprising that many of them summed up what they disliked mostabout their industry in one word Defra.

For many of those interviewed, Defra is a catch all for a variety of Governmentbodies, including the Marine & Fisheries Agency and the EU.

Fishing is not considered a job; it is a complete way of life. It is also an addiction drug metaphors were commonly used to describe what it is like to be afisherman. Most fishermen were brought up in a fishing community and learnedtheir skills at their father or grandfathers knee, often from a very early age.Some of them are descended from long lines of fishermen. Fishing is very muchin their blood, they are immensely proud of their heritage and their communityand this sense of belonging goes a long way to defining how they seethemselves. For most of them, the idea that they could switch to another career because of the increasing difficulty of earning a living from fishing is simply notsomething they will consider.

Although they are extremely skilled at what they do, most fishermen lack formalacademic qualifications. Almost without exception, they left school as soon asthey were able to. Many of them have poorly developed literacy skills whichmakes reading and writing a challenge.

Just about every fisherman we spoke to said that the financial rewards are notwhat they once were. Irrespective of their actual level of earnings, the nature of


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fishing means that they feel under constant financial pressure. This pressure is afunction of a range of factors such as loans and overdrafts and the unpredictablenature of their earnings.

Most of them would not encourage a son to become a fisherman because theyfeel the future of the industry is too bleak and uncertain, something they mainlyattribute to Defra. They are equally pessimistic about the future of their communities as they have seen the fleet sizes severely depleted over the lastfew years.

Most of the fishermen were reluctant to engage with environmental issues,especially in relation to fishing practices. A few were willing to accept that thereare issues here but feel they face a dilemma; they need to earn a living and thisis already difficult enough without worrying about the environmental impact.

When it comes to fishing stocks, most fishermen denied that there were anyserious shortages, they feel that there are more fish in the sea than there hasbeen in years and that, if certain stocks are low, this is due to natural cycles or climate change. They do not accept it is due to over-fishing. Most fishermen feelthey fish in a sustainable way and that they make very little long termenvironmental impact. This is especially true of the Inshore fleet who believe thatany problems in this regard are being caused by the Over 10 fleet and that theyare being unfairly tarred with the same brush.

There was a very strong feeling that Defra and the UK Government are fightingagainst, rather than on behalf of, UK fishermen. Unfortunately, given their independent nature, the only effect this has is to make the fishermen even moreentrenched.

There is a universal hatred of the quota system which is perceived to be bothunnecessary and ineffective. It is considered unnecessary because fishermen donot accept that there are serious shortages of fish stocks and it is ineffectivebecause they believe that all it results in is high discards, rather than having anyconservation value. It is seen to result in a lose, lose situation.

Given their views on stock levels, it is not surprising that fishermen have no faithin fisheries science since they believe this is what underpins the quota system.

1.3 Fishermen Typologies

At one level, all the fishermen we spoke to were very similar and shared many valuesand attitudes; at the same time, they are extremely individualistic and highly fragmentedas an industry. This makes it difficult to develop typologies in the usual manner.However, there was a dimension or spectrum along which it was possible to placefishermen and this was with respect to how they are responding to the uncertain futureof the fishing industry. Given that this is the very issue about which Defra needs toengage with fishermen, it makes it a particularly suitable basis for developing asegmentation. With this in mind we have developed a segmentation based on three keytypes. They are qualitative, broad brush descriptions or pen portraits; the descriptions of the various types are not based on individual fishermen but should be seen asamalgams of characteristics. As such, they should be treated very much as workinghypotheses. Leaders : although by far the smallest segment, they represent the most

important group of fishermen with whom to engage as they are likely to influence


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how all other fishermen think and respond. They are characterised by beingmore strategic and business focused in their thinking; they are proactive inresponding to their circumstances and are looking for solutions. They are themore likely to be willing to consider a greater use of electronic communications.

Lieutenants : many skippers fall into this segment. While they are highly skilledfishermen they are less likely to adopt a strategic and business focusedapproach and tend to be more reactive in their thinking. They are an importantgroup to engage with partly because of their numbers but also because they arelikely to follow the direction taken by leaders.

Followers : this segment is mainly made up of crew and those skippers whowant to carry on doing what they have always done. Many fishermen lack welldeveloped literacy skills and this is particularly the case among this segment.This can mean that they find it difficult to express their opinions clearly. Theyhave no interest in receiving communications from Defra. They are self professed followers and, as long as leaders and lieutenants provide thenecessary steer, they are likely to follow. As they are the hardest segment to

reach and because they take their lead from the other two segments,communications would be more effectively targeted on the leaders andlieutenants who, in turn, will influence the followers.

1.4 Communicating with and Influencing Fishermen

The research has revealed that from the fishermens perspective, communications fromand with Defra are often not very effective. Key learnings for more effectivecommunications include: genuine two-way communication : if fishermen are to embrace the long-term

vision for sustainable fisheries, they must take ownership of, and feel that they

have a degree of control over, both the process and the outcomes. For this tohappen, they need to feel that their views, concerns and needs are taken intoaccount.

a local community model of communication : their local fishing communitydefines who a fisherman is and represents their main sphere of influence andinterest; a model of communication that takes this into account is more likely tosucceed in engaging with fishermen.

taking literacy levels into account: there is a pressing need to developmethods of communications that rely less on the written word.

better targeted: for example, Defra should consider whether it is possible toprovide monthly licence variations on a more targeted basis, especially amongthe Inshore fleet.


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2 Introduction2.1 Background to the Research

Defra is the lead department for fisheries. In 2007, the Department published Fisheries

2027, a long-term vision for sustainable fisheries which sets out how the Governmentintends to deliver its vision of clean, safe, healthy, productive and biologically diverse

oceans and seas.

Published a year earlier in 2006, the Varney Report identified major opportunities to

strengthen public service delivery to make it more accessible, convenient and efficient

to meet changing citizen and business expectations. The report called for services to be

designed to meet the needs of people and businesses rather than the needs of

Government. An internal review of its services carried out by Defra concluded that

Defra needs to do more to understand customer needs in designing the provision of its

services.

If the Department is to deliver its long-term vision for sustainable fisheries, it needs to

have a good understanding of the individuals it wishes to influence, their attitudes and

behaviour, their needs and motivations and their experiences of Government. To date,

there has been little audience research among the people who work in the fishing

industry to explore their needs and opinions. Against this background, Defra

commissioned Creative Research to carry out a research project to help it understand

fishermen.

2.2 Aims and Objectives

The overall aim of the research was to assist Defra in building up a rich and detailed

understanding of fishermen registered in England, to identify and define a range of

types of fishermen based on their needs, motivations, attitudes and behaviours, and to

put forward a possible segmentation. The research findings will inform the Departments

long term strategy for the fishing industry, with particular emphasis on the inshore fleet,

help it to develop effective polices and services, and enable it to communicate more

effectively with the fishing community.


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The research objectives were as follows:

Typology of fishermen

to provide a typology of attitudes and behaviours for fishermen based on

their attitudes, behaviour and motivations for being in the fishing industry

to profile the typologies according to other criteria such as demographic

data, region, industry data i.e. type of vessel/fishing etc.

Communication

to explore how the typologies/segments currently interact with Defra, and

to establish what are their preferred channels for communication,engagement on Defra issues and general media consumption

Attitudes, motivations, perceptions : to explore

their motivations for fishing and longer-term objectives

their perceived status in their own communities and with the public as a

whole

their perceived role as part of the wider fishing community including that of

fishermen within the EU

their views on relevant environmental issues such as coastal erosion,

overfishing and marine biodiversity

what they believe they would be doing if they were unable to continue to

fish i.e. the impact on them and their communities

Language

to determine the potential language that could be used and developed for

use in a quantitative attitudinal segmentation i.e. development of relevant

attitudinal statements.


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2.3 Method

The lack of any previous research with fishermen meant that this study was developed

on an exploratory basis. A qualitative method was used because we needed to spend

time exploring a range of potentially complex issues in considerable depth. Our aim was

to hold a series of group discussions with fishermen drawn from a cross-section of

fishing communities in England. These discussions were planned to last some two

hours. Given the tensions between fishermen and Defra, it was unclear just how willing

fishermen would be to participate in the research so we planned to recruit a mix of full

groups among crew (recruiting ten respondents on the assumption that not everyone

would attend and allowing two members of crew from the same boat to attend), mini-

groups among skippers (recruiting six respondents per group) and, possibly, some

paired depths (either in a situation where we were unable to persuade more fishermen

to participate or in locations where the number of available vessels meeting the

recruitment criteria was small).

Recruiters were briefed about the types of respondents they needed to find and were

given the contact details of a local MFA officer who could brief them about the local

fishing community and suggest times and places to find the fishermen. They were also

given contact details of the fish producer organisations (POs) where they were beingasked to recruit Sector fishermen (see 2.4.1 below for explanation of terms) as well as

the relevant Sea Fisheries Committees 1. Some recruiters used their own initiative, for

example, by making contact with a harbour master or local fishermens association who,

in turn, could put them in touch with fishermen.

This approach proved very successful. Although our recruiters were rebuffed by a

number of fishermen because they were unwilling to cooperate in any research being

conducted for Defra, we had little difficulty recruiting enough fishermen to fill thesessions. The only exception to this was at Scarborough where we were aiming to

recruit two sessions from fishermen based in Bridlington, Scarborough and Whitby but

we were unable to find enough fishermen who were willing to take part. These sessions

were re-allocated to other locations. As with most research projects involving focus1 POs are organisations set up by the fishermen to act in the collective interest, including managing their quotas on a collective basis.

SFCs manage the inshore waters from mean high water mark out to 6 miles. There are 12 SFCs covering

the coast of England and Wales. Their responsibilities cover all marine fish and shellfish including thefisheries for cockles, mussels and other shellfish found between high and low water marks.


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groups, fishermen received a financial incentive for giving up their time and this clearly

helped encourage attendance. One mini-group among Sector skippers was replaced by

two paired depth interviews. This was because the number of suitable vessels at the

location involved was small to begin with and, at the time of the fieldwork, most of the

vessels were at sea for most of the time.

In addition to contact details, each recruiter was given the names of vessels that were

registered in either the port where we were aiming to hold the discussion groups, or in

nearby ports, and which were likely to meet the recruitment criteria for the discussion

groups in question. The lists were divided up into Sector vessels (Over 10 metres), Non-

sector (Over 10 metres) and Non-sector (Under 10 metres) (see 2.4.1 below for an

explanation of these categories). They were further sub-divided on the basis of the main

gear types (see Table 2) that had been used during the previous financial year 2. These

lists were intended to provide recruiters with a focus for finding the types of fishermen

we wanted to include but recruiters were free to find fishermen working boats not on the

lists. This was for a number of reasons. Firstly, fishermen may not be working out of

their home port or vessels may have changed hands and still be shown on the register

under the previous administrative and home ports. Secondly, the type of gear being

used may have changed since the previous year and thirdly, some of the vessels on the

lists may have been dormant. Details of each respondents vessel were recorded as

part of the recruitment process and these were cross checked against the lists. Any

vessel not on the recruiters lists was cross-checked against the relevant databases.

This confirmed that most respondents were operating on the types of vessels using the

types of gear that matched the recruitment criteria.

Further details of the recruitment questionnaire and recruiter guidelines can be found in

the appendix (see 11.1 and 11.2).

2 An initial set of vessels was identified using the UK Fishing Vessel List a list of all registered fishingvessels held by Defra Fisheries Statistics Unit. This includes details such as vessel name, RSS and PLN(two unique numbers), the administrative and home ports, vessel length and engine size. These lists were

then cross referenced with data about the amount of fish that had been landed using different types of gear.


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2.4 Sample Structure

2.4.1 Intended sample

The English fishing fleet is divided into three main categories based on vessel length

and how quotas are managed. The following terms have been used throughout this

report:

Sector: the sector refers to fishing boats of any size (the majority are

greater than 10m in length but not all) holding FQAs, and with

membership of a PO that manages the quotas on a collective

basis (see footnote 1).

Non-sector: the non-sector refers to boats of more than 10m in length that are

not in a PO (the majority of these boats fish for shellfish, i.e. non-

quota stocks.) Defra operates a non-sector pool with monthly

catch limits for the few non-sector boats that fish quota stocks. 3.

Inshore fleet: the 10m and under fleet (aka the under 10s or the inshore

fleet) refers to all boats of 10m and under in length that are not

members of a PO. Defra operates an U10s pool with (usually

monthly) catch limits for quota stocks.

An initial sample structure was agreed based on 20 research sessions. Twelve of these

were among members of the Inshore fleet (which accounts for some 82% of fishing

vessels registered in England in 2007) 4, four were with fishermen working on Non-

sector vessels and four were with fishermen from Sector vessels (see Table 1

numbers in brackets refer to an estimate of the number of suitable vessels registered at

each port).

The aim was to recruit each group on the basis of the main type of fishing gear being

used. Gear falls into two main categories: mobile gear that is towed by the vessel and

passive gear. Table 2, which is based on data about the English fleet 2007 supplied by

Defra as part of the project briefing, shows how different gear types are distributed

across the three categories of vessel. Following a briefing meeting, a statistician at MFA

3 The first two categories are sometimes referred to collectively as the Over 10 (metre) fleet.

4 UK Sea Fisheries Statistics 2007, a National Statistics publication.


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provided further guidance on vessels based in various ports to enable us to focus on

each vessel category and gear types. Our intention was to reflect the variety of gear

types across our sample. We also planned to recruit separate groups among skippers

and crew. With the skipper sessions, we were aiming to recruit a mix of owner and non-

owner skippers (i.e. fishermen who either both owned and skippered their vessels or who were skippering a vessel on behalf of someone else).

Table 1: Intended Sample Structure

Skippers Crew

I n s

h o r e

f l e e

t

Demersal Trawl/Seine G11: Portsmouth (50)

G13: Plymouth (34)

G2: N Shields (57)

Dredge G7: Harwich/Felix (42)

Drift and fixed netsG9: Hastings (40)

G12 Poole (38)G17 Mevagissey (50)

Hooks G14: Plymouth (51) G20 St Ives (46)

Pots and trapsG3: Hartlepool (62)

G19: Newlyn (53)G5: Scarborough (71)

N o n - s e c

t o r

mix of mobile G8: Leigh on sea (9) G6: Kings Lynn (24)

mix of passive G16: Brixham (18) G10: Portsmouth (18)

S e c

t o r

mix of mobile G1: N Shields (15) G15: Brixham (33)

mix of passive G4: Scarborough (13) G18: Newlyn (18)

Finally, we were planning on recruiting fishermen from a number of home ports chosen

partly on the basis of the number of vessels of the appropriate types registered there

and partly to ensure we achieved good geographical coverage. Every District and

Administrative port was included with the exception of Merseyside and Fylde/Fleetwood.

This was because it has the smallest number of vessels and no single type of vessel ispresent in very large numbers (see Table 3).


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Table 2: Percentage of Vessels by Category and Type of Gear (source: Defra statistics about the English fleet 2007)

as % of overall totalInshore

fleet Non-Sector Sector TotalMOBILE - Beam Trawl 1 1 3 6MOBILE - Demersal Trawl/Seine 23 1 6 29

MOBILE - Dredge 5 1 1 7MOBILE - Pelagic 0 0 1 1PASSIVE - Drift & Fixed Nets 27 0 1 29PASSIVE - Gears using hooks 6 0 0 7PASSIVE - Pots & Traps 16 4 1 22MOBILE - Polyvalent 0 0 0 0

Total 79 8 13 100as % of each categoryMOBILE - Beam Trawl 2 17 23MOBILE - Demersal Trawl/Seine 29 10 43

MOBILE - Dredge 6 9 7MOBILE - Pelagic 0 2 7PASSIVE - Drift & Fixed Nets 35 2 10PASSIVE - Gears using hooks 8 3 1PASSIVE - Pots & Traps 21 55 8MOBILE - Polyvalent 0 2 1

100 100 100

Table 3: Geographical Distribution of the Intended Sample

District Administrative Port Home Port* No of Groups

EasternLowestoft

Harwich/Felixstowe 1

Leigh on sea 1

Humber Grimsby Kings Lynn 1

Scarborough Scarborough 2

Merseyside & Fylde Fleetwood 0

Northern North ShieldsNorth Shields 2

Hartlepool 1

South Eastern

Hastings Hastings 1

PoolePortsmouth 2

Poole 1

South WesternBrixham Brixham 2

Plymouth Plymouth 2

Western Newlyn

Newlyn 2

Mevagissey 1

St Ives 1*Some locations involved vessels from other, nearby ports.


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2.4.2 Achieved sample

Apart from the difficulty in recruiting fishermen from the Scarborough area, the main

changes to the intended sample structure reflect what we discovered about the Inshore

fleet as we were recruiting the sessions. Many of these fishermen are either working

single handed or, if they have a member of crew, there is not the same degree of

hierarchy that might exist on larger vessels. The crew may be family members or long

standing friends of the skipper. We therefore relaxed the skipper/crew requirement.

Most of these sessions involved groups made up entirely of skippers or were groups

with mainly skippers and the occasional crew member. We also discovered that many

fishermen, especially those that form the Inshore fleet, use a wide range of gear types

so we relaxed the requirement that all fishermen in the same group should mainly be

using just one type of gear. A comparison of the intended and achieved sample is givenin Table 4. The table entries summarise the vessel category (Sector, Non-sector or

Inshore), the type of gear being used, whether it was a skipper or crew session and the

location.

Figure 1 summarises the geographical spread of the research.

Figure 1: Summary of Research Locations

North Shields

Hartlepool

Bridlington

Grimsby

Boston

Kings Lynn

Harwich

Leigh on sea

Hastings

Portsmouth

Poole

Brixham

Plymouth

Mevagissey

Newlyn

St Ives

North Shields

Hartlepool

Bridlington

Grimsby

Boston

Kings Lynn

Harwich

Leigh on sea

Hastings

Portsmouth

Poole

Brixham

Plymouth

Mevagissey

Newlyn

St Ives


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Table 4: Achieved Sample Compared to Intended Sample

Intended Profile Actual Profile

G1 Sector; trawls/dredges; skippers; North Shields Sector; trawls ; skippers; North Shields

G2 Inshore; trawls; crew; North Shields Inshore; trawls; crew; North Shields

G3 Inshore; pots/traps; skippers; Hartlepool Inshore; trawls and pots/traps; skippers; Hartlepool

G4 Sector; mix of passive; skippers; Scarborough Sector; mix of mobile & passive; skippers; Bridlington& Grimsby

G5 Inshore; pots/traps; crew; Scarborough Non-sector; mix of mobile; skippers; Kings Lynn

G6 Non-sector; mix of mobile; crew; Kings Lynn Non-sector and Inshore ; mix of mobile & passive ;skippers; Boston

G7 Inshore; dredge; crew; Harwich/Felixstowe Inshore; mix of mobile; skippers ; Harwich

G8 Non-sector; mix of mobile; skippers; Leigh on sea Non-sector; mix of mobile; skippers; Leigh on sea

G9 Inshore; nets; skippers; Hastings Inshore; nets; skippers; Hastings

G10 Non-sector; mix of passive; crew; Portsmouth Non-sector; mix of passive; skippers & crew;Portsmouth

G11 Inshore; mix of mobile; skippers; Portsmouth Inshore & Non-sector ; mix of mobile & passive ;skippers; Portsmouth

G12 Inshore; nets; skippers; Poole Inshore; nets; skippers; Poole

G13 Inshore; mix of mobile; skippers; Plymouth Inshore; mix of mobile; skippers; Plymouth

G14 Inshore; hooks; skippers; Plymouth Inshore; hooks & nets ; skippers; Plymouth

G15 Sector; mobile; crew; Brixham Sector; mobile; crew; Brixham

G16 Non-sector; mix of passive; skippers; Brixham Inshore ; mix of passive; skippers; Brixham

G17 Inshore; nets; crew; Mevagissey Inshore; nets; skippers ; Mevagissey

G18 Sector; mix of passive; crew; Newlyn Sector; mix of passive; crew; Newlyn

G19 Inshore; pots/traps; skippers; Newlyn Inshore; pots/traps; skippers; Newlyn

G20 Inshore; hooks; crew; St Ives Inshore; hooks; skippers ; St Ives

2.5 Sample Profile

A total of 142 fishermen took part in the research. We recorded a number of details of

the fishermen, along with the vessels they operated. These are summarised here.

2.5.1 Gender, age and nationality

Although fishing is a very male dominated industry, we did have one female fisherman

in our sample she crewed for her husband who was also a fisherman.


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The skipper sample included two owners who were not fishing 5, 80 owner skippers, 16

non-owner skippers and 40 crew; the relevant information was not captured for four

fishermen.

Eight out of every ten fishermen in our sample were aged between 35 and 64; the

modal age band was 45-54 which accounted for one third of our sample. There was an

age difference between skippers (two-thirds were aged 45 and above) and crew (two-

thirds were aged below 45). The numbers of fishermen in each age band are set out in

Table 5.

To be eligible to take part in the research, a fisherman had to be either a British national

or to be permanently resident in the UK. In the event, with two exceptions, everyone in

our sample was a British national. The two exceptions were Danish fishermen who hadEnglish wives and were living permanently in England. Although the sample is very

small, there was nothing to suggest that their attitudes and perceptions were any

different to the other fishermen.

Table 5: Sample Age Profile(Base: all respondents where details have been recorded; n=137)

Age band Total sample Skippers Crew

n= 137 98 39

16-24 10 3 7

25-34 13 6 7

35-44 38 26 12

45-54 45 37 8

55-64 27 23 4

65+ 4 3 1

2.5.2 Fishing activity

135 of the fishermen were currently fishing and/or planning to do so in the next 12

months; two had vessels that had been selected to be decommissioned as part of the

5 Although non-fishing owners were supposed to be excluded from the sample, one of them had come totake the place of his son who was still at sea at the time of the group. The other had been invited by his

business partner, who was a skipper, without the agreement of the recruiter. As he had travelled aconsiderable distance to participate, he was allowed to join the session.


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latest decommissioning scheme and one had fished last year but had no plans to do so

in the next 12 months. 123 of them described themselves as full-time/all year round

fishermen, 13 said they were full-time/seasonal fishermen and just two said they were

part-time fishermen (this information was not available for four respondents).

2.5.3 Membership of fishing related organisations

Fifteen fishermen were members of the National Federation of Fishermans

Organisations (NFFO) and 29 were members of the New Under Tens Fishermens

Association (NUTFA) 6.

2.5.4 Vessel length, engine size and vcu 7

Although this information was not recorded as part of the recruitment process, we were

able to obtain it by cross-referencing vessel names, RSS and PLN numbers with the UK

Fishing Vessel List. In this way, we were able to establish the vessel length, engine

capacity and vcu for 132 vessels (we were unable to find details for the other ten

vessels). These details are summarised in Table 6.

Table 6: Average Vessel Length, Engine Power and VCU(Base: all vessels where details are available; n=132)

Totalsample Sector

NonSector Inshore

Super Under

10s

Other Under

10s

Vessel length (m) 11.1 15.8 13.4 8.3 10 7.9

Engine power (kw) 137 250 186 73 146 53

vcu 113 204 151 62 109 49

Super Under 10s are vessels that are designed to be no more than 10 metres in

length, so that they fall under the rules and regulations that govern the Inshore fleet, butwhich are powerful enough to compete with larger vessels. There is no agreed definition

of a Super Under 10; we have based our classification by selecting those vessels that

make up the Inshore fleet that were either 10 metres in length or just under and which

6 Any fishermen that belonged to these organisations and who were committee members or acted asrepresentatives of other fishermen were excluded from the research. This was to ensure the fishermenspoke about their own circumstances and aired their own opinions rather those of other fishermen.7 Vessel Capacity Units (VCU) is a value based on the combined vessel size and engine power; it is given

by (Length over all X Breadth) + (Engine Power X 0.45 ) where length and breadth are in metres andEngine Power is in Kilowatts (Kw)


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had larger engine power and vcu scores compared to the other Inshore fleet vessels.

More information about Super Under 10s can be found at section 3.5 .

2.6 Filming

A number of film clips were taken at ten of the research sessions. Suitable clips werethen edited together to illustrate a number of themes and two DVDs were produced.

Disc A has five short films; each one illustrates a particular theme:

fishermen feeling embattled

the financial aspects of being a fisherman

motivations for becoming a fisherman

perceptions of Defra, the Government, etc

opinions about stock levels, quotas and discards.

Disc B has 9 clips, each of a different fisherman describing a day in his life. The

selection includes a mix of Inshore fleet and Over 10 fishermen using a range of

different gears.

2.7 Other Matters

The fieldwork was carried out between March 23 rd and May 1 st 2009.

Details of the discussion guide and the stimulus used during the research sessions can

be found in the appendices (see 11.3).


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3 Motivations and Drivers3.1 Introduction: An Embattled Industry

The fishermen taking part in this study demonstrated a high level of hostility, anger and

frustration. Their starting point was adversarial, and to a much greater degree than theresearch team had previously encountered in other projects. Although much of this is

focused on Defra, the fishermen we spoke to were feeling under attack from all sides.

Many of the conflicts and tensions identified by fishermen are with external

organisations and individuals. Briefly, these include:

the EU, the UK Government, Defra, the MFA, the Royal Navy, for example, with

respect to quotas, rules, regulations and restrictions, enforcement and the widely

held perception of the mismanagement of the fisheries

the environmental lobby, ranging from organisations such as Greenpeace to

green leaning members of the public; the implications of the new Marine Bill and

marine conservation zones are a current concern

the impact of wider industry on fishermen including aggregate dredgers and wind

farms

the press and media who are felt only to be interested in painting fishermen in a

bad light

in some locations there are issues relating to the local Sea Fisheries Committee,

the attitude of the local authority or the port authority

yachtsmen and marinas being seen as having priority over local fishermen

market forces as typified by buyers and the large supermarkets who dictate low

prices.

We also noted lots of examples of conflicts and tensions among members of the fishing

community itself including:

between the Inshore and Over 10 fleets

the use by some skippers of migrant workers


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wouldnt put themselves through what we do, I dont think. (Sector; mix of mobile & passive; skippers; Bridlington) 8

Fishing is just a way of life. Its not really a career, is it? Its a way of life. (Inshore; mix of mobile; skippers; Plymouth)

I think its more of a vocation than a career

Way of life as wellIf you go in it purely for the money, some of the hardships you have to put upwith and the lack of money - sometimes its more a way of life than anything else. (Inshore; hooks & nets; skippers; Plymouth)

I dont think you should see fishing as a job. You are a fisherman - do you seewhat I mean? Thats what you do, you know. People who do it for a job dont usually stay in the job very long. (Inshore; mix of passive; skippers; Brixham)

Herein lies the rub the idea that people will look to change their jobs in the face of

severe economic difficulties and an uncertain future, that fishermen will stop fishing and

seek alternative employment overlooks the main reason they are fishermen in the firstplace. It is not just a job that they can or are willing to change.

Many of them spoke about fishing as if it was an addiction , something they could not

stop doing even if they wanted to. They used drug metaphors when describing what

they do there were lots of references to the buzz they get from the pursuit of fish, the

high they experience when they haul in a large catch and the fact that they cannot help

themselves, they just have to go out fishing.

Its soaked into you, its a drug, you cant leave it alone. If you wake up at four o clock in the morning - the sun is shining, the tide is right, the weather is good -you cant stay home. Like if youve got a day off you can stay home, but if youvegot to do a couple of days work before you earn your day off and when youvehad your day off, youre like a tiger in a cage, youve got to get out there. (Inshore; pots/traps; skippers; Newlyn)

Its just getting out there, you get out there and you just feel different to being ashore, the wide open space and that and waiting to see what youre fishing for.Every haul is different, every haul is exciting to try and see what youre catching,every time its full of excitement, waiting to see what you've caught. And theres

times where you know theres going to be nothing, which can be a bit of adowner, but its what you're going out to get there to catch and seeing whatsgoing to come on board. Its exciting, it gets to you because everything isalways different, every morning you have something different. (Sector; trawls;skippers; N Shields)

Its in your blood anyway, if youve done it all your life, its in your blood, you cant help yourself

Its a combination of things, but when you are sat in here, youve spent all day catching fish, youve got to get out there, its just something, its got to be in your

8 Attributions display the vessel category (Sector, Non-sector, Inshore fleet), the main type of gear being

used, whether the group was predominantly made up of skippers or crew, and the main home port (somefishermen would have been based in other, nearby ports).


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blood, you cant really explain it because its just there. (Sector; seine; skippers;Grimsby)

Some have even tried cold turkey by trying to follow alternative career paths only to

come back to what they love best.

I could see them coming in of a night time where I was working [on aconstruction site], I could see all the boats coming in. I thought I want to bethere, I don't want to be here. It was a proper 8.00 to 4.00 job, it was thetedium, where fishing, really you're your own man. (Sector; trawls; skippers; N Shields)

I started fishing when I was 16, deep sea. That packed up because of Iceland and Common Fisheries Policy. Fishing finished where I was working in Grimsby so then I went into the offshore industry. I had enough of that, 30 years, so Ivecome back here again and Im now fishing again because I like that sort of work,on a boat. (Non-sector/Inshore; mix of mobile/passive; skippers; Boston)

Just less than two years ago I joined the Royal Mail as a postman, it lasted ninemonths. I went in for an assessment and my manager asked me what I thought of the job and what I thought of him and I told him and that was the end of that.If youre used to doing this, you cant work by numbers, you really cant, 9 to 5 -

just dont. (Inshore; hooks & nets; skippers; Plymouth)

For a lot of fishermen fishing is also in their blood . Many of them come from fishing

families, sometimes stretching back several generations and they are extremely proud

of this tradition.

Me, I just followed in me dads footsteps. I left school at 16 and my dad was a

fisherman, aye. I used to go to sea with my dad from a very young age, I think I was four years old when I first went, thats how old I was. The waters in your blood. (Sector; trawls; skippers; N Shields)

Its part of my heritage, its something that all my familys done, my dads done it for 30, 40 years now, 39 years and its something that Ive been brought up withand its like something Id like to keep as part of my family. (Inshore; trawls;crew; N Shields)

My family have been in it, not necessarily in Mevagissey, before we came herethey were in Port Lowen and other various places but from what Ive been told, it at least goes back five or six generations. (Inshore; nets; skippers; Mevagissey)

Well, I went to sea with my grandfather who was a fisherman and my father wasfishing, both of them, and my first trip, I was 12 years old and I went to sea withmy grandfather, mackerel fishing. And then I went to sea with my father thefollowing summer during the summer holidays on his beam trawler. I spent threeweeks of my summer holiday going to sea with him on the beam trawler and thenfrom there, because I was thirteen and I was allowed to, it was silly but I knew what I was doing, I had a little boat and I went off with my own fleet of lobster

pots at thirteen years of age and that was when I was bitten and that was it fromthen on really. So every holiday, every evening, every weekend I was down inthe harbour mucking about and that was that. (Inshore; pots/traps; skippers;Newlyn)


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And even if they are not descended directly from fishermen, many of them have been

born and brought up within fishing communities and they have family ties with the

wider fishing and marine industries. They made references to growing up in a

community where the sea was their playground. They described being involved in

boating and fishing from a very early age. They spent their evenings, weekends andschool holidays following various fishing related pursuits and some had taken time off

school and/or truanted in order to follow their passion.

Me and J were like bargemen, Thames barges, all my uncles, relations, until they [the barges] disappeared. (Non-sector; mix of mobile; skippers; Leigh onsea)

Harwich is surrounded by water, isnt it? [Other] kids go and play football or goand do things like that, dont they?

Youd spend the day down the quayYoure just playing on boats

Thats what there is to do

Most people that used to have paper rounds, all of us here mucked about onboats as kids. (Inshore; mix of mobile; skippers; Harwich)

I have no family background for fishing at all. My grandfather and that, they were all in the navy and so on, so it comes from there really I suppose. I used togo with the old blokes sand netting day and night, bunk off school. (Inshore;nets; skippers; Poole)

For many of the people we spoke with, it was almost inevitable that they wouldbecome fishermen and many had done so the moment they could leave school.

Nevertheless, not everyone had gone straight into fishing . Some, often under

pressure from their parents, had tried other things first. However, they quickly decided

that this was not for them and after a fairly short period of time - in some cases, just a

few weeks or months into a course or apprenticeship they had switched to fishing.

When I left school I was a bricklayer and I got my trade, did college, tech, and everything. When I came to the end of it Id been going fishing all the time withmy brother T, who by then was a fisherman. Whilst doing the bricklaying I saved my money and I got a boat of my own at 21 years and I started being my ownboss and I wanted to be out at sea. (Inshore; trawls & pots/traps; skippers;Hartlepool)

[My father] actually got me a job as an apprentice carpet layer and they trusted me to do a bedroom and I cut round all the legs of the bed and I got the sack

promptly, so that lasted a week. Every job he got me I left and went back tofishing

So in the end he gave up trying to?...

Yeah, he just disowned me, he threw me out. (Inshore; hooks & nets;skippers; Plymouth)


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Yeah, thats what I always wanted to do basically. I did try a 9 to 5 once and lasted about two weeks, so yeah, its a nice way of life, well it can be. (Inshore;hooks & nets; skippers; Plymouth)

Its the same, my father said to all the boys before you make a choice, get anapprenticeship. So we all had a go of getting an apprenticeship, which mine wasa welder and it was the same thing, I hated it. I just didnt like it, you were stuck

in a factory, 40 hours a week and walk home with nothing in your pocket. Itsmore fun going out on a fishing boat and coming home with a wad of money as it was then in the old, but now its (Sector; mix of passive; crew; Newlyn)

A few of the fishermen had worked for a considerable number of years in other jobs

and/or careers and had come to fishing relatively late in life. In most cases, they had

always been keen fishermen and had determined to spend their remaining years doing

what they really loved.

Almost without exception, all of our fishermen had left school aged 15 or 16 and,

although we did not record their levels of educational attainment, it was clear both from

what they said and some of the things they wrote down during the sessions, that many

of them lacked literacy skills .

I left school at 15 with no qualifications, so theres nought I can do

Ill second that like, I was 14. (Inshore; trawls; crew; N Shields)

When we started fishing, the fishermen couldnt read or write

My granddad would have just about writ his name - like a spider going acrossthe page. His dad was the same, they could just about writeId have thought 90% of us havent got any school qualifications

a lot of fishermen, wherever you go around the country, got into fishing because they left school and wasnt interested in nothing else, they didnt want GCSEs, all these grades, as they couldnt have done something else. It is a way to go and earn a living that somebody enjoyed with no qualifications

When I left school, my teacher said to me, what you going to do B when you leave school? I said, I shant want a bloody pen and a book, Ill need a knife and a needle. (Non-sector/Inshore; mix of mobile/passive; skippers; Boston)

If one of the crew didnt turn up, Id have to have a week off school to stand inhis place. [ ] School suffered because of it and in the end I didnt bother going anymore, I just went to sea. (Sector; mix of passive; crew; Newlyn)

I can remember leaving an O level exam and hitchhiking home because therewas mackerel to be caught then and practically going down the beach in aschool blazer. I had to be pretty much dragged in to get the school clothes off me. (Inshore; pots/traps; skippers; Newlyn)

Nevertheless, some of them were quick to point out that what they lacked in the way of

academic qualifications was more than made up for by their experience and practical

skills.


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When were at sea, were riggers, were engineers, were electricians, we can doanything. But once you step off the boat onto the shore, youre nothing wevegot no qualifications, weve got no papers were unskilled labour. (Inshore;trawls; crew; N Shields)

It is not clear exactly which is the cause and which the effect whether they became

fishermen because they lacked more academic abilities or whether their single-

mindedness in wanting to go fishing meant they lacked the drive to acquire educational

qualifications. Nevertheless, low levels of literacy characterise many fishermen and this

has major implications when it comes to communicating with them.

Thats why I went into fishing so I havent got to do no paperwork, Im no good at writing, Ive got no glasses. Thats one reason I went into fishing to start with.Without my Mrs now, I wouldnt have a clue, Ive got to be honest. (Inshore;

pots/traps; skippers; Newlyn)

Im dyslexic mate. I cant read or write, so that is why I went fishing in the sea. If you have stuff filling forms in, I cant, I best go now

No that is only part of it

Thats half the reason why we are all fishermen is because we all didnt havethe best chances in life and we see an easy opportunity to make some money and we sort of, like, basically bit the bullet and we stuck to it, and thats basically why. (Sector; mix of mobile; crew; Brixham)

The other main reasons for becoming fishermen were the earnings potential and the

lack of alternative forms of employment . Certainly at the time most of them started

fishing, the earnings potential was said to be extremely good and far higher that mostother forms of employment. Moreover, most of them pointed out that there were limited

alternative sources of work in their locality and what was available was often poorly

paid, such as agricultural, construction or tourism related work.

There was a fishing boat I was working on [as an engineer doing repairs] and heearned a lot more money than I did, so I went fishing. (Sector; seine; skippers;Grimsby)

One of the things I would really like to know is what made you decide to

become a fisherman, all the things you could have chosen to do with your life, youve all made the choice of being fishermen, so what was it that made you think?...

Mine was purely financial

Mine as well

My father went before me and he was earning decent money. (Sector; mix of mobile; crew; Brixham)


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3.3 The Fishermans CV

We explored with respondents their fishing careers from the moment they first started

getting involved in fishing and asked them to describe some of the key milestones.

Although each fishermans story was different, a number of common themes emerged

which we have summarised below.

As we have already seen, most were learning the basic skills from a very early

age while they were still at school.

They left school at the first opportunity, in most cases with few qualifications.

They started out as a deckie learner a trainee crew member, often on a

relatives boat; some chose to remain crew members while others rose upthrough the ranks to mate and skipper. During this time they may well have

worked on a number of different vessels and become experienced in using a

variety of different gears and fishing for different target species.

For those who had done so, getting their skippers ticket was a sense of

achievement (this is not currently a requirement for the Inshore fleet although we

were told this is about to change).

For many, the biggest milestone (and, according to some, millstone) was the

decision to buy their own vessel which represented a major commitment.

Since that time, some had been forced to relinquish their own vessels due to

financial difficulties while others had acquired additional vessels and now own

two or more.

Many of them had changed vessels at least once and, in some cases, severaltimes. This was partly due to the fact that the engines quickly clock up a lot of

miles and it is sometimes cheaper/more cost effective to replace the whole boat

rather than fit a new engine. It also reflects the desire to keep themselves up to

date in terms of engine size and/or speed, manoeuvrability and technological

developments.

A number had commissioned their own new build rather than buying second

hand vessels and some had even built their own boats.


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Some had started out working on larger vessels and then traded down.

Many had experienced incidents at sea including being sunk, fires and being

rammed by larger vessels. Most either had family or friends who had lost their

lives or knew of others in this position.

3.4 Owner Skippers, Non-owner Skippers and Crew

The majority of skippers in our sample also owned their boats only 16 were non-

owner skippers - but it was not at all obvious which were which as their values and

opinions were very similar.

There was a clear divide between crew and skippers on the bigger vessels. Skippers

were said to keep their distance socially, for example, preferring to drink in differentpubs to their crew. Crew members lacked both the financial means and the desire to

take on the responsibilities of being a skipper. The skippers were the ones with all the

experience and know-how in terms of knowing where and how to maximise their catch

and the crew were dependent upon their skipper when it came to making a living. In a

similar vein, the crew expected their skipper to keep himself up to date with all the rules

and regulations and to pass on to them what they needed to know. Not surprisingly, the

crew held a good skipper in high regard.

The skipper/crew divide was considerably less marked for the Inshore fleet. Many

fishermen were operating either single handedly or with just one other person. In these

situations, the crew member was often a family member or someone the skipper had

known for years.

3.5 Super Under 10s

One of the ways some fishermen have tried to respond to what they see as over-regulation has been to commission boats that are under 10 metres in length and

therefore not subject to the same degree of monitoring but which are powerful enough

to enable them to compete with larger Over 10 metre vessels. These are sometimes

referred to as Super Under 10s or Rule Beaters. Our aim had been to try and include

in the research a number of fishermen operating such boats. Recruiters were briefed to

this end and told they should ask fishermen if their boat was a Super Under 10 and to

record this on the screening questionnaire.


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None of the fishermen taking part in the research admitted at recruitment that their

vessel was a Super Under 10 and even when the topic was raised during the research

sessions, they did not necessarily acknowledge that their boat came into this category.

Nevertheless, we did have some fishermen who were operating Super Under 10s

although this only became clear because of comments they or other fishermen in thesession made or as part of the analysis process 9. While there is no precise definition of

a Super Under 10, we estimate that there may have been 16 fishermen in our sample

who were operating one 10 .

There was often a reticence to express opinions about Super Under 10s; in some

cases, this may have been because respondents were aware that one of their group

was operating one even if the moderator did not. Where opinions were expressed,

these varied from a good luck to them attitude to a degree of resentment/hostility.

There was some suggestion they were associated with keen, ambitious fishermen who

are making a good living. For example, one non-owner skipper of a Super Under 10

had just bought his first brand new (as opposed to second hand) car, something his

peers teased him about. Another fisherman who owned a Super Under 10 was clearly

making a better living than his peers, although he was also heavily in debt.

In contrast, as the following quote demonstrates, some owners of smaller vesselsexpressed a degree of resentment that other fishermen were able to exploit what they

considered to be a loop hole.

Its what we call the Super 10s and theyve exploited it and theyve gone to thewhole dimension so, like you say, these guys [those not owning a Super Under 10] have got 20-30-40 horse power and then weve got 300 horse power in a 10 metre boat and it can stay out there all week [ ]. So its still back to themanagers who are now, like I say, enforcement - instead of managing and they never close the loopholes quick enough, do they? (Inshore; mix of passive;

skippers; Brixham)

9 At recruitment we recorded at least one of the following: the vessels name, its RSS number and/or itsPLN. We were then able to cross-reference this with details of the vessels length, engine capacity andVessel Capacity Units (VCU) - (Length over all X Breadth) + (Engine Power X 0.45) where length andbreadth are in metres and Engine Power is in Kilowatts (Kw).

10

We arrived at this estimate by taking all the vessels in the Inshore fleet which were just under 10 m inlength and which had larger than average engine capacities and/or VCUs.


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3.6 The Positives and Negatives of a Fishermans Life

3.6.1 The Positives

Without exception, the fishermen we spoke to were fiercely independent individuals .

They enjoyed the freedom of being their own bosses, making their own decisions and

working whatever hours best suited them.

I think its just basically being your own boss and making your own decisions iswhat I enjoy about it. If it goes wrong, you basically only have yourself to blame. (Inshore; trawls & pots/traps; skippers; Hartlepool)

No, see its like what I said before, I couldnt put up with somebody telling mewhat to do. (Inshore; trawls; crew; N Shields)

You are in charge of your own destiny, nobody tells you what to do. (Inshore;nets; skippers; Mevagissey)

They thrive on the sense of isolation of being at sea and being able to leave all their worries behind them on dry land.

It seems like when you throw your line off and go out there into the river and out to the sea, any worries or concerns you might have on the land, you seem toleave them behind, you don't worry about things when you're at sea, of what might be happening on the land. (Non-sector; mix of mobile; skippers; KingsLynn)

Independence is a core characteristic of fishermen which means that they are reluctant

to be told what to do or how to do it; control and regulation are an anathema and yetthey find themselves in what is probably the most highly regulated industry in the UK.

This fact alone sets them on a collision course with the authorities.

Fishermen thrive on the challenge and thrill of the hunt . They see themselves as the

last (as far as the developed world is concerned) of the hunter gatherers; this, together

with their strong desire for independence, means they see themselves as frontiersmen.

Were the last of the hunters really

last of the dying breed. (Inshore/Non-sector; mix of mobile & passive;skippers; Portsmouth)

I like being out in nature and catching fish for the people, you know, catching food. Its the hunter gatherer in the end and its bringing food home to the plate,isnt it? Its basic. (Inshore; hooks; skippers; St Ives)

So youre going out and youre hunting and gathering and youve got to get it right, youve got to go the places where the fish are going to be. (Inshore; mix of mobile; skippers; Harwich)


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Fishing provides a real sense of adventure and excitement; there is the challenge of

finding and catching the fish they see themselves as highly skilled problem solvers

coupled with a tremendous sense of pride and achievement when they are successful.

I think everybody enjoys fishing because of that thrill of the hunt. (Sector; mix of mobile & passive; skippers; Bridlington)When you get a decent haul, you get a buzz from a decent haul. (Non-sector;mix of mobile; skippers; Kings Lynn)

Nothings better when you bring your nets up and theyre absolutely jam packed and you have a really good haul, it is a good buzz. (Non-sector/Inshore; mix of mobile/passive; skippers; Boston)

I do like when I see two or three lobsters come out the pot. Its quite satisfying if you get a good string of pots and you get a few lobsters in very satisfying

So just a sense of satisfaction as you pull those pots in?...

You feel like youve done your job best to your ability and thats it. (Inshore; pots/traps; skippers; Newlyn)

The potential earnings from a successful trip were an important motivator when

respondents first started fishing. While there was no doubt that fishermen felt that the

financial returns are no longer what they once were, and many of them feel under

pressure financially, nevertheless, they can still stand to earn substantial sums of

money from a successful trip. This was especially the case for some of the crew

working in the Over 10 metre fleet.

Picking up your first wage packet after being on 8.00 a week or whatever likeand you earn 100.00. Its wow. Im the king. Its something that, youve seenlike, as youre growing up youve seen the fishermen that you grew up with and that lot and you think wow theyve always got plenty of money in their pocket,were going to have some of that. (Sector; mix of passive; crew; Newlyn)

The money when its right! (Inshore; nets; skippers; Poole)

It is the potential of hitting the jackpot that carries them through leaner times.

Ive been today and I havent made it pay hardly but Ill go again Friday.Hopefully Im going to make it pay. (Non-sector/Inshore; mix of mobile/passive;skippers; Boston)

The financial rewards of fishing are explored in greater detail below (see 3.9 .).

They see themselves as belonging to a small, select group who look after one another

and there is a great sense of camaraderie ; as one crew member put it, his fellow crew

members are his second family.

Theres a sort of camaraderie of the fishermen. (Inshore; nets; skippers; Poole)


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A community thing really, isnt it? Everyone in every village seems to know every other fisherman, thats the way it is. (Inshore; nets; skippers; Poole)

Yeah youve got four or five lads on the boat and then you were a family on theboat. You got on together, alright you had your fall outs and that lot but I meanyou were a unit on board the boat and you didnt have to tell no one what to do,when to do it, everybody just done it. (Sector; mix of passive; crew; Newlyn)

While their strong sense of identification with their local fishing community sets them

apart in their own minds from the rest of the world it defines who they are there is

also a strong sense of competition between fishermen. Much of this is friendly banter

but there is no doubt a keenly competitive streak in every fisherman. Their success, or

otherwise, goes a long way to defining their status within the group.

We want to catch the biggest haul; we all want that, dont we? Thats thecompetitive bit - I suppose - its that whole thing, isnt it? (Non-sector; mix of

mobile; skippers; Kings Lynn)Yeah you have the good days you get a real buzz. Im top dog, you know,youve beaten everybody else

Thats right, its competition. (Inshore; mix of mobile; skippers; Plymouth)

The most frequent question is where did you get that?...

They say no friends outside the quay, dont they?...

Unless you are sinking.

Is it all friendly rivalry?...

Yeah

Most of the time. (Inshore; nets; skippers; Mevagissey)

If you dont catch, you dont earn, so if youre not a good fisherman and yourenot good at catching fish then you will starve. (Inshore; mix of passive; skippers;Brixham)

Fishermen enjoy the outdoor life and being at sea the peace and quiet, fresh air,

the feel of the sun on their back, especially when the weather is good.

But when you are out there on a nice day, the sun coming out, flat and calm,and youre catching a bit of fish, there is no better job in the world, I dont think. (Inshore; nets; skippers; Mevagissey)Just the sea - it says it all really, doesnt it? Whether youre out on deck or on

your own having your own bit of space. (Sector; mix of passive; crew; Newlyn)

They spoke at length about being at one with nature , pointing out some of the things

they had seen and experienced which most other people would spend a lot of money to

do.

[When I was] lobstering a couple of years back I saw a family of peregrines and it had three youngsters and we watched the mother come down off a cliff, catcha pigeon, take it round and let it go and the first chick went up, had a go at it,


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missed it. The mother went and caught it again and come back, let it go and after the third one, this poor pigeon - and they let it go and it got away and the mother went and sat on the rock and must have told them what they were doing wrong.For about an hour we sat and watched this. (Inshore; mix of passive; skippers;Brixham)

They also spoke about the unpredictable nature of their work , the fact that the job

varies from one moment to the next and that no two days are the same; this was in

contrast to what they perceived to be the repetitive nature of most nine to five jobs.

Its a bit of an adventure, every time you go, every days different, no two daysare the same

Theres always something new, something to learn. Even after 40 years yourestill learning. (Non-sector; mix of mobile; skippers; Kings Lynn)

You dont know whats going to happen in twenty minutes time, you never know whats going to happen when you open that door, if you have a pot in there, you

have a lump of bone, a mammoths tooth, or a lump of aeroplane or anything. (Non-sector; mix of mobile; skippers; Leigh on sea)

3.6.2 The Negatives

Almost without exception, the single greatest dislike that fishermen had about their work

was summed up in one word Defra . They often used Defra as a catch all term which

encapsulated everything they felt was wrong with the state of fishing. It seemed to be

used almost interchangeably with other terms such as the UK Government or the

Marine Fisheries Agency (MFA) or any other part of Government that has some

involvement with managing the industry including ministers and civil servants.

There was a universal sense that Defra and the UK Government is fighting against,

rather than on behalf of , fishermen and that this has been the case ever since Ted

Heath first took the UK into Europe.

They [UK Government] havent stood up for our own fishing fleet. They have not had the backbone to stand up for its own fishing fleet. We are just a Europeannumber as an overall body of fisherman now, we are no longer a UK fishing fleet. (Inshore; trawls & pots/traps; skippers; Hartlepool)

The biggest problem what were all suffering from is when Ted Heath went tothe first meeting; he didnt have a clue what he was doing. (Non-sector/Inshore;mix of mobile/passive; skippers; Boston)

They feel that the aim of Defra and the Government is to force them out of business

and, to this end, it is persecuting a war of attrition and trying to starve them out.

When Defra comes down, all theyre interested in is trying to get you, is trying to put you out of business, theyre never trying to help you. (Sector; trawls;

skippers; N Shields)


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Theres a war going on and they are doing all this with a huge Navy gunship totry and catch us out, its unbelievable. (Inshore; trawls; crew; N Shields)

Theyre [the EU and the UK Government] starving us out of it. (Non-sector/Inshore; mix of mobile/passive; skippers; Boston)

You cant make a fisherman redundant but you can starve him out of a living. (Sector; mix of passive; crew; Newlyn)

From their perspective, Defra is a largely faceless and unaccountable government

department. The Minister responsible for fishing, together with senior civil servants, are

constantly changing and seem to know nothing about fishing or fishermen.

Who actually makes the decision that from midnight, two days time, the fishing is closed? Nobody tells you who makes that decision, they dont even ask your opinion and if you went to them and said, ah well next month whats my quota?,theyll say, how on earth would we know? I dont know who actually makes thedecision and on what principle they base it on. (Inshore; mix of mobile; skippers;

Plymouth)September last year, September gone, we had a full new Director of Fisheriesand a change in all the heads of department, and a change in the staff, so wevegot all brand new faces in charge which are all on a learning curve. (Inshore;trawls & pots/traps; skippers; Hartlepool)

Theres nobody high up in Government thats ever done fishing before, so they havent got an idea how fish is caught and what goes into it

All the English Government is made up of landowners, traditionally, and theyve got no idea what goes on with the fishermen. (Non-sector; mix of

passive; skippers & crew; Portsmouth)

On the one hand, there is a perception that Defra is employing a divide and rulestrategy by segmenting the industry in what they consider to be fairly arbitrary ways,

such as the over/under 10 metre division. Inshore fishermen believe they represent the

sustainable face of fishing and yet they feel that Defra and the Government are only

interested in promoting the interests of the larger, commercial fishermen.

Theres such distrust with Defra and theyre trying to pigeon hole every different sector of the industry, whether youre a shell fishing entitlement or a scalloping entitlement or over 10 metres, under 10 metres and theyre trying to divide and conquer and Im afraid they are doing it. (Inshore; hooks & nets; skippers;Plymouth)

They [the Government] dont want us single independent people in the gameany longer and theyre trying to push us out by one rule or another, quotas. (Inshore; mix of mobile; skippers; Plymouth)

Most of us are under 10s but my two boats are under 7[metres]. Now Ive been put in the same category as a boat thats got 700 horse power and drags six tonsof scallop dredges across the seabed. Now my boat, for being an under 7 metreboat, I cant push the boat, it cant hold the weight, it cant tow the gear, it cant do the damage. If I was to stay on the sea and fish all day, I wouldnt even

scratch the surface because its a sustainable fishing. Defra should be


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promoting the small fisherman, not killing him. (Inshore; mix of passive;skippers; Brixham)

On the other hand, they believe that Defra applies a one size fits all approach to

decision making by introducing industry wide rules and regulations without any

appreciation of how these impact on different types of fishermen.

Its a small community fishing [yet] were all lumped together as an industry whether theyre boats fishing off of Norway or Iceland, or theyre fishing a mileout to sea here. Were all under the same bloody rules and regulations. (Inshore; mix of mobile; skippers; Harwich)

They just seem to make rules up to suit themselves

There is no hands-on stuff, they dont know whats going on out there. They push their pen up there and they dont realise the effect theyve got out there. (Inshore; nets; skippers; Poole)

This is where the problem comes. They class a fisherman as fisherman,theres all different styles of fishing

Theyre making rules for one

One covering everybody whereas its not like that. (Inshore; hooks; skippers;St Ives)

They resent the fact that while they are highly regulated and policed, they believe that

Defra and the associated enforcement agencies, such as MFA and the Royal Navy, are

unwilling or reluctant to police foreign fishermen operating in UK waters.

Which is so frustrating when you see French fishermen fishing on your doorstepand you're not allowed to. When they come along quite regular and they just let the French just do what they want because theyre [the politicians] frightened of what the repercussions whatll come from France. (Sector; trawls; skippers; N Shields)

Doesnt it annoy you that you can see boats from France and Spain coming upand down the coast here, you know, fishing inside where you are, theyreallowed to catch anything they want? And theyre allowed to take anything they want and theres no policing them. (Inshore; hooks & nets; skippers; Plymouth)

They also resent the fact that in comparison to fishermen, UK farmers seem to get a

better deal .

Everything was the farmer, the farming industry got everything, the fishing industry got nothing. (Inshore; nets; skippers; Hastings)

The farmers get subsidies, why dont we? (Inshore; nets; skippers; Poole)

Now theres always a little bit of friction between farmers and fishermen over these issues. A fisherman, to all intents and purposes, is a farmer of the sea,fruits of the sea is what we go and bring in. It is important to think of it like that.Now if the Government continually wants the fishing industry out, when its cometo the farming, alright we know the farmings in crisis, but where farmers areconcerned, there has been an ability there for him to work with the Government to get monies and different things available to help him see his business through


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difficult times. Weve not had any of that. (Inshore; pots/traps; skippers;Newlyn)

As a consequence of all this, there is a strong sense among the fishermen that Defra

and the UK Government have mismanaged fisheries policy and this has resulted in

a complete lack of trust and loss of credibility.

Defra are completely incompetent in what theyre doing. They are so far behind in their management, their science, everything is out of the window, it shouldnt be allowed. (Inshore; nets; skippers; Hastings)

The lack of confidence in the management of the fishery. The common fishery has failed and its failed consistently since it was introduced and theres nothing been done to get us out of it or to come up with some alternative plan. (Inshore;hooks & nets; skippers; Plymouth)

There was also a universal hatred of the quota system which is perceived to be both

unnecessary and ineffective. From the fishermens perspective, it is quotas and all the

other rules and regulations that prevent them from making a decent living and, instead,

is turning honest fishermen into criminals.

Most of the fishermen we spoke to feel that the seas are teeming with most quota

stocks so that quotas are not needed.

When he said where they done reports on the cod and that and they said therewas short supply, well in the North Sea, theres been more cod in the last two or

three years than there ever has been before. (Non-sector; mix of mobile;skippers; Kings Lynn)

Cod, weve had more cod this year than weve ever seen in the last couple of years. (Inshore; nets; skippers; Hastings)

Even if there were shortages, quotas were felt to have no conservation value. They

simply result in high discards and, as most discards do not survive, this produces a

lose, lose situation .

In the winter, there was that much cod getting dumped, we were catching rotten

dead ones, rotten cod and youre shovelling them out of the pile, its already been caught and dumped back its ridiculous. (Inshore; trawls; crew; N Shields)

Its just depressing when you read about all this fish thats getting dumped. Itscriminal really

The discards now, thats a big negative. This week I

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A Fisherman's Tale v5

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