A day in the life of a...fisherman

David Fleetwood examines the hard life of the fisherman in Scotland's once thriving herring industry

The waves smack gently against the keel of the boat as it heads towards harbour. The narrow channel leading to Stein is just visible, and, as the wind begins to take the sail of the small boat, the picturesque harbour looms steadily closer.

The sturdy granite walls of the pier would have been a welcome sight to herring fishermen returning from stormy Hebridean seas. Herring are one of the most abundant and important fish in the seas around Scotland, and they provided a livelihood for many communities in both the east and west of Scotland during the 18th and 19th centuries.

After the Clearances, many crofters turned to the sea to supplement the output from their crofts, and by the late 19th and early 20th centuries the Scottish herring industry was amongst the biggest in Europe. It was a dangerous pursuit however, with many tales of great storms and men lost at sea.

The roots of herring fishing lie in medieval times when herring were caught on sheltered inshore waters such as the Clyde and Forth.

Although the catches provided a good local food source, there was little commercial exploitation of the fish. The Dutch supplied most of Europe with herring, and their large boats, which caught, gutted and cured fish, were a common sight as far north as Shetland.

Scotland, however, occupies a unique position for herring fishing. The fish winter off the Norwegian Coast before migrating southwards in the summer, sweeping past Scotland and allowing them to be fished from shore-based...

• By : David Fleetwood
• In : Interview
• Issue : 40
• Page : 64
• Words : 1,649