The BBC have been filming a documentary here in Cornwall for the past 12 months and it is being aired on BBC2 on Tuesday nights. Its called “This fishing life”“This fishing life”“This fishing life” The smallest boats in the Cornish fleet take to the seas. Often worked singlehandedly, these boats can still be found fishing all over Cornwall, working out of the biggest ports, as well as the most picturesque creeks, hidden coves and sandy beaches. But despite making up 80% of the British fleet, this sustainable method of fishing and way of life is under threat. The industrialisation of fishing has reduced the value of their catch, making it increasingly difficult for smaller boats to make ends meet. And the stocks of fish that they have traditionally relied upon, such as mackerel, are no longer arriving in their fishing grounds as expected.
The fleet is ageing, and few young people are willing to take on the challenge of living such a precarious and at times dangerous life. Wealthy outsiders buying second homes are pricing young fishermen out of the coves that they grew up in, compounding the difficulties of raising families on such unreliable income.
It is a challenge that Ben George of Sennen Cove knows all too well. He and his young family rent a house in a modern estate outside the cove and are saving up to buy a home. To cover the rent, Ben splits his time between potting for high-value lobsters and hand-lining for fish. It is a
sustainable way to fish and his catch attracts a premium – but it can be hard work.
In Penberth, there are just four boats left in the harbour now, three of the fishermen who work them are aged between 65 and 80. The fourth is 29-year-old James Batten, who fishes with his 80-year-old father Michael. James wants Penberth to remain an active fishing cove, but the odds are stacked against him. It is a difficult place to work – the fishermen depend on each other to safely launch and return their boats. Without fellow fishermen to help, James won’t be able to continue fishing here alone when the others retire. And the fishing isn’t great this year either. To supplement his income, James has taken on a second job as a shipwright, but like his father before him, fishing is where his heart is – James is determined to make a go of it.
It isn’t just the youngsters that are having to find new income streams. In Newlyn, 60-year-old Andrew Stevens has found a lucrative new market by selling his catch directly to an upmarket fishmonger in Surrey. For fishermen of all ages, diversifying and finding new markets is key. Perhaps only then will this traditional fleet of small boats be secured for another generation.
On the Helford River another veteran, Chris Bean, faces an all too familiar problem. Whilst running both a fishing boat and a fish wholesale business, Chris relies on foreign labour. Whereas the majority of fishermen voted to leave in the Brexit referendum, Chris is an ardent remainer. He doesn’t think most fish processing businesses will survive without foreign labour, and as the number of EU citizens coming to the UK to work has continued to fall since the Brexit referendum, he is concerned for what the future holds.