Tag Archives: Trawlermen
CHRISTMAS CRACKER CREWS
Christmas was a time of conflict within Hull’s trawling industry. The clash was between love and money. Trawlermen loved to be at home over the festive season, living it up with their family and friends. The trawler owners, however, wanted their vessels at sea in order to land fish on the market for early January. The price of fish was always extremely high around 1 January, because all Scottish fishing ports were closed for the Hogmanay celebrations north of the border. The ships’ runners bore the brunt of this conflict of interests. They were employed to crew the ships (each firm had its own runner). It was a difficult job at the best of times, but especially during the run-up to Christmas. They did their job by fair means or foul. Different strategies were used to get the ships away. One was to sign men who had been on a ‘walkabout’ or were ‘blackballed’. A man who had been disciplined by the owners would be keen to ‘get shipped up’ and work his way back into the industry. Christmas was his best chance. Another devious method, when scraping the bottom of the barrel,,, photos, more, >>click to read<< 15:18
PFD’s: Fishermen get lesson in staying safe at South Shields Marine School
The maritime survival centre hosted three days of new-style instruction to emphasise to trawlermen the danger of setting sail without a life jacket. Experts highlighted how unsafe it is to set sail without wearing a life jacket. They entered the 4m-deep storm-configured pool in only their usual at-sea protective boots and waterproofs. Most of the participants lasted just under a minute before the weight of water began pulling them under, compelling them to grab life floats placed by safety lifeguards swimming close by. >click to read< 10:57
Reality TV and Real Work in the Fishing Industry
Fishing may be the world’s second oldest profession, but the industry is about as visible as a quiet cousin at a family reunion. Unassuming, keeping to itself, it is largely ignored in talk about work and the economy. All of which belies its oddly large footprint in reality TV. Some of these “fishing industry” shows look at huge, highly capitalized and often nationalized factory fishing fleets. But most usually focus on much smaller, community and family-based single-owner boat crews that are part of a local fleet. >click to read< 08:09
