Following on from yesterday and the Pelagic Trawler trip, tonight it is images of the fishing and the crew. We left Lerwick at about 2pm on the Monday afternoon and that evening they made the first catch, Skipper George William Anderson, has been a fisherman for over 40 years and has been through all the changes to the industry, and also has never felt sick! On the crew were his 3 sons as well as a nephew and other men he had worked with over a long time. As we set out, he told me they knew where the fish were so that’s where were headed. The nets are huge and I found myself trying to put a shape them to imagine them unrolled and visualise how they worked. In the wheelhouse there is a bank of screens with various instruments and controls, radar, sonar, one of which shows the net and you can watch the fish swimming into it.
The nets were shot out at about 7pm in the evening and everyone was gathered in the wheelhouse watching the shoal swimming into the net on the screen – I am uncertain about the correct terminology for different instruments and the modern technology used, it is something I would like to know more about – it felt an exciting moment, the hunter gather making a catch. When the net was full it was time for the show to begin……..
We moved around to the other side of the wheelhouse facing the back of the boat, the lights were switched on and it was time for the Mackerel to make their appearance. I could watch it on the cameras as well as in front of me, as the nets were wound in, the first fish started appearing caught up in the ropes….. it was very exciting, this is what it is all about, what it has always been about…… these boats catch such vast amounts, hundreds of tonnes and they are stored in massive, refrigerated tanks.
Once the net is close to the surface of the sea, a giant hose which is attached to an equally large hoover is inserted under the water into the net, the fish are ‘hoovered’ up and then pass through a network of large pipes to the refrigeration tanks. The first impression of seeing these thousands of Mackerel passing through this hoovering system at such speed is quite alarming, depending on your sensibilities it can be a bit uncomfortable, it is much like any form of modern farming, this is the reality, it is people’s livelihoods and they are supplying a demand. I said to George William (skipper) that they look so fresh, glistening, like pieces of silver shooting past, he told me that they are known for providing very good quality fish and that he just ‘sees pound signs appearing’, which made me smile. They will land these fish wherever they get the best price, which may be Norway or Denmark, so would have had an extra trip had I stayed on board.
The next day, it was decided to go back into Lerwick to change a net and also to put me ashore. This gave me a great opportunity to see these huge nets unrolled, creating lines like a drawing it was unwound, fed out of the back of the boat and re-wound into a waiting lorry, I then slipped out the back as well and said my goodbyes.
