Cornwall - This Fishing Life S01 complete (1280x720p HD, 50fps, soft Eng subs)
As Brexit brings new hope, can a new generation of fishermen save their traditional way of life?
E01
Whilst other fishing communities are feeling the pinch, Mevagissey on Cornwall's south coast bucks the trend, with 74 working boats in the harbour. / / Protected from the prevailing winds, with fish stocks that are beginning to return, and with boats being handed down from father to son, Meva is blessed. / / Fishing is in the blood here - for more than 250 years the men of Meva have followed their fathers to sea, eager to honour the family traditions. Now the next generation of ambitious young skippers are ready to make a go of it. / / Jack West fished with his dad growing up, and the family have decided the time is right to invest in Jack. Having spent thousands on the Anne Louise, the pressure is on to get out to sea and start earning some money. / / The Galwady Mor is owned by one of Mevagissey's most successful fishing families, the Blameys. / / 27-year-old Chris is the fourth generation to go to sea. This year he takes over the responsibility of skippering the Galwady from his father Peter. The passing down of a lifetime's knowledge is priceless, but Chris knows he will face different challenges to his dad. Whilst fish stocks are returning to Meva, there is not the abundance there once was. / / Mevagissey is a village built on fish - pilchards in particular. Once, everyone was after them. Now tourism is the main industry. The village is dominated by second homes and holiday lets, and the place is all but empty in winter. / / One of the impacts has been on crew. With local housing pricing young men out, and a steady income - not something associated with fishing - needed to get a mortgage, there aren't the young men lining up on the quay any more. / / Dave Warwick on the Valhalla is one of the skippers looking for crew, and has to take the risk of skippering his boat solo until he can find some. He is limited to working the well-fished inshore waters until he can find men made of the right stuff. / / Meanwhile, Malcolm Saunders is winding down after a long career at sea. Malcolm grew up when fish stocks were plentiful and he got his fill - and made a lot of money. But with the toll a lifetime away at sea took on his family, he is not sure he made the right decisions, and wonders whether the next generation of skippers will learn from his mistakes.
E02
For centuries, pilchards were a staple of the Cornish fishing industry. They would be caught using drift nets by the tens of thousands, then packed in salt and sent to Italy. But demand waned and the drift net fishery, once the mainstay of the Cornish fleet, faded away in the 1960s. / / In recent years though, the humble pilchard has been rebranded as the Cornish sardine, and the hundreds of drift netters have been replaced by just 15 hi-tech ring-netters - the sardine is once more a highly-prized and lucrative catch. / / Sardine fishing is unlike anything else. In the summer months, the sardines migrate into Cornish waters. Instead of setting static nets or trawling, the sardine boats use a special technique called purse-seining. They encircle entire shoals as they are moving and scoop them out. The crews fish through the night, quietly hunting their prey under the cover of darkness. / / Eight boats work out of Newlyn, Cornwall's biggest fishing port. Ocean Fish are the biggest player in the game - they are both fish processors and owners of four orange boats. Veteran Pete Buckland is skipper aboard one of their biggest, the Mayflower. Pete has done ten sardine seasons, five as skipper, but all that experience doesn't make the sardines easy to find. / / It is going to be a big year for first-time skipper James Roberts. He is stepping up from deckhand to take the helm of Ocean Fish's oldest and smallest boat, The Resolute. Now he is responsible not only for the boat, but also the livelihoods of his crew. With a young family and a big mortgage to pay, it is going to be a challenging season for James. / / Competition comes from four privately-owned boats, including the Lyonesse. Skippered by Will Treneer, it has the youngest crew in the fleet. / / David Pascoe is at the helm of the Serene Dawn. As one of Newlyn's ring-netting pioneers, David has witnessed the rapid growth of the fishery. Concerned that it has grown too big, he no longer shares the enthusiasm of his younger rivals. / / Cornish sardines have been a major success story. Since its resurgence in the early 2000s, the fishery has grown into a multi-million-pound industry. The fishery holds the prized Marine Stewardship Council Badge, or MSC badge, for sustainability. Stock levels were recognised to be so healthy that sardines have never been a quota species. The skippers have always been able to land as many fish as they can catch. / / But now, for the first time the sardine fishery has to urgently manage its catch. Scientists have recently discovered that sardines caught in Cornwall are a separate genetic stock from sardines caught further South. The prized MSC label is based on the understanding that the sardines were all one stock. So whilst new studies are carried out, the MSC has asked the fishery to put a cap on how much they catch. The sardine fishermen, usually competitors have been forced to work together. Difficult nights may be coming for Cornwall's sardine fleet.
E03
As change comes to a quiet corner of Cornwall, can brother and sister Jason and Nicky adapt to survive? In the creeks and rivers of the Fal estuary on Cornwall's south coast, an ancient way of life clings on. / / Under power of sail, wooden boats are fishing for oysters - the last stocks of native flat oysters to be fished in this way, anywhere in the world. Veteran oysterman Jason has been fishing like this for 20 years. Now he has been joined for the first time by his sister Nicky, the first woman to ever complete a whole season. / / In the fishery's heyday, there were a hundred boats working the Fal. But volatile markets and inconsistent oyster stocks have taken their toll. Jason and Nicky's is one of only 15 boats remaining. Now, with the two of them to support, income from oysters alone is no longer enough. Jason's bought a new boat, a small trawler called the Fair Morn. For five years, every spare hour and spare penny has gone into her. Now she is finally ready to go to sea. / / The Fal estuary is a network of over 30 tidal creeks and rivers, forming the third largest natural harbour in the world. With moorings sheltered from the prevailing winds, 5,000 boats are moored here. But the Fal is changing. Pleasure boats have taken over, they now outnumber fishing vessels 150 to 1. / / It has become a challenging place to be a fisherman. To make a decent living here, you need to mix it up a bit. And that is exactly what the Henry brothers, Cameron, Ivor and Magnus, do - fishing for prawns one day, ballan wrasse the next, as well as green and velvet crabs. In all, they fish over 20 different species. / / It doesn't look like it, but change has arrived in this quiet corner of Cornwall. When Jason was growing up, almost every house in his small village of Coombe was occupied by a fisherman. Not anymore. Most of the oystermen's cottages have been converted into second homes or holiday lets. / / Jason moved back in with his parents to save money for the renovations and be close to his boat. Now that it is complete, he is looking to rent a place of his own. But it is easier to find a pearl in an oyster than affordable housing round here - especially one within easy reach of your mooring. / / Further downriver is St Mawes, home to some of the most expensive coastal property to be found anywhere in the country. Pete Green's family goes back 300 years here - long before the first Range Rover arrived. Pete sells some of his catch to the wealthy second home owners - they love a good turbot - but the village is nothing like it used to be, especially once the summer fades. Pete's trawler stands out on the mooring. Almost every other boat is a yacht. / / Peter is a veteran of the Fal trawling fleet, the same one Jason and Nicky are about to join. For him, years of experience and knowledge of these waters is essential if you are to be successful. Trawling is a dangerous game. Bad weather, often working alone, and operating big machinery on a moving deck. As Peter says, with trawling 'you could be killed at any moment'. He should know. A few years ago, Peter was left for dead after falling overboard while fishing alone, and being dragged through the channel in his net. Somehow, he managed to drag himself back aboard, but it affects him to this day. / / Nicky is nervous. She has never sailed out of the calm waters of the estuary before. The trawl grounds they will be fishing lie in the open seas of Falmouth Bay. / / When the Fair Morn gets off the mooring for the first time, it is not for long. The engine fails and they have to go back in for a costly repair. There are further setbacks ahead, as repeated equipment failures mean more time back onshore. Can Nicky and Jason turn things around and realise Jason's lifelong dream, and earn them both a decent living?
E04
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 an 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, and 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 who 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 about what the future holds.
E05
As autumn arrives on Cornwall's south coast, the biggest boats in the fleet fish through turbulent times offshore. This is a job of high risk and high rewards, but with Brexit looming, what does the future hold for these big old boats and the men that crew them? / / The port of Newlyn is home to giant netters and trawlers up to a hundred feet long. These boats can fish hundreds of miles out and stay at sea for over a week at a time. It is a tough life, and finding men to crew the boats gets harder every year - the average age of skippers here is nudging 60. / / Aboard beam trawler the Billy Rowney, 28-year-old engineer and deckhand Danny Fisher has spent the last ten years learning the ropes. Now he is aiming for the top job, and has been training for his skipper's ticket. He is under the watchful eye of experienced skipper Steve Mosely, who has seen first-hand the decline in Newlyn's fleet and its fishermen. / / The Billy Rowney is preparing for what could be a rough week at sea, as she heads out around 70 miles south-west. It could be up to eight days before she returns turn to port. As a storm blows in, they face gale force winds and huge waves, but fishing through the weather could pay off for Steve and his crew. / / Aboard another of Newlyn's fishing boats, skipper Alan Dwan also heads offshore. An Irishman by birth, Alan has been fishing out of Cornwall for 15 years. His boat the Ajax is a netter, and he is fishing for hake. To get the best price for his fish, Alan wants to be back on the quay within just four days, so that his hake will be in shops and restaurants ready for the weekend. At one time, Cornish hake was nearly all exported. Now, much more of it stays within the UK. The fishery was given a huge boost when the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) awarded some Cornish hake netters sustainable fishery status, meaning stocks were healthy. Now hake is growing in popularity and price, but competition for fish offshore can be fierce, with British fishermen forced to share their waters and their fish stocks with boats from across Europe. / / It is thought around 90% of those involved in the UK's fishing industry voted to leave the European Union. Yet while some parts of the industry have found themselves at odds with our European neighbours, others have come to rely on them. / / In Newlyn, an ambitious family-owned local crab company that catches, processes and sells its shellfish on a scale unrivalled in the south-west, now employs dozens of European workers. For owner Mark Rowse, the freedom to employ Latvian men to catch the crabs and Lithuanian women to pick them is vital for the future of his business. / / Whatever Brexit brings, for now, the fisherman who work the biggest boats in the Cornish fleet continue to risk life and limb in all weathers to bring home their catch.
E06
Newlyn is Cornwall's biggest fishing port. The harbour is home to over 100 boats, and for generations fishermen from here have sold fish in the town's busy market. Not much has changed around here for nearly 100 years - until now. Brexit is coming and as the town prepares to navigate these uncharted waters, one man is at the helm - harbour master Rob Parsons. He has been in post for five years but is still regarded as the new harbour master. Rob oversees every aspect of the daily running of the harbour, from the quayside to the market. / / The harbour is managed by Rob and a board of commissioners on behalf of the stakeholders, mainly fishermen and related industries. He has already overseen a £1.3 million redevelopment of the town's fish market, but with Britain about to leave the European Union, Rob wants to make sure the harbour is ready to take advantage of any opportunity Brexit may bring. And he is using EU money to help him do so. / / The market is only the first step in Rob's vision for a new Newlyn. There are plans in place to redevelop an area of the port and revitalise the harbour's ageing infrastructure, but change doesn't always come easy and not everyone is happy about the proposed plans. Many fishermen are angry at the way things have been handled, feeling they have not been consulted on the future of their harbour. As tensions begin to rise, Rob finds himself facing some difficult conversations. / / There are other changes rumoured to be taking place on Newlyn's fish market. For decades, the daily fish auction has been run by local family firm WS Stevenson & Sons, a name synonymous with Newlyn. Word on the market floor though is that the harbour may be looking to introduce a second auctioneer, a rival firm from Devon. / / While rumours spread and tensions rise in Newlyn, the whole of the UK is in the midst of Brexit turmoil. Many fishermen think Brexit will bring a brighter future for their industry and now they want MPs to deliver on the promises made during the referendum to take back control over British waters and quotas. As the deadline draws closer and negotiations intensify, fishermen fear that their industry may be sacrificed, but Newlyn men continue to make their voices heard.
First broadcast: February 2020
Duration: 1 hour per episode
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