Copyright: Folk Films For centuries pilchards were a staple of the Cornish fishing industry. Demand has since waned and the drift net fishery, once the mainstay of the Cornish fleet, faded away in the 1960s. In recent years, the humble pilchard has been rebranded as the Cornish Sardine and the hundreds of drift netters have been replaced by just fifteen, hi-tech ring-netters.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 and instead of setting static nets or trawling, the sardine boats use a special technique called purse-seining. 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’re 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. So it’s going to a big year for first time skipper James Roberts. He’s stepping up from deckhand to take the helm of Ocean Fish’s oldest and smallest boat, The Resolute. Now he’s 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.

Copyright: Folk Films As change comes to a quiet corner of Cornwall, can brother and sister Jason and Nicky (pictured right) 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 fishing for oysters; the last stocks of native flat oysters to be fished in this way, anywhere in the world.

Veteran Oystermen Jason has been fishing for 20 years. Now he’s been joined for the first time by his sister, Nicky, the first woman to ever complete a whole season.

In the fisheries’ heyday, there were a hundred boats working the Fal. But volatile markets and inconsistent oyster stocks have taken their toll. Jason and Nicky’s boat is one of only fifteen 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’s finally ready to go to sea.

Copyright: Folk Films The smallest boats in the Cornish fleet take to the seas. Often worked single handedly, these boats can still be found fishing all over Cornwall. They work 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. The stocks of fish that they’ve traditionally relied upon, such as mackerel, are no longer arriving in their fishing grounds as expected.

It’s 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 or hand-lining for fish. It’s 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 James Batten, a 27-year-old who fishes with his 80-year-old father, Michael (pictured right). James wants Penberth to remain an active fishing cove, but the odds are stacked against him. It’s a difficult place to work; the fishermen depend on each other to safely launch and return their boats. Without fellow fishermen to help, when the others retire, James won’t be able to continue fishing here alone. So 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.

Copyright: Folk films 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’s 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 (pictured right) has spent the last ten years learning the ropes. Now he’s aiming for the top job and has been training for his skipper’s ticket. He’s 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 seventy 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.

Newlyn is Cornwall’s biggest fishing port but Brexit is coming and as the town prepares to navigate these uncharted waters , there is one man at the helm, harbour master Rob Parsons. He’s been in post for five years, but is still regarded as the new harbour master. The harbour is managed by Rob and a board of commissioners on behalf of the stakeholders, mainly fishermen and related industries. He’s 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’s using EU money to help him do so.

The market is only the first step in his vision for a new Newlyn, but change doesn’t always come easy. Not everyone is happy about the proposed changes and many fishermen are angry at the way they have been handled, feeling they’ve not been consulted on the future of their harbour. As tensions begin to rise, Rob finds himself facing some difficult conversations.

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. 

Copyright: Frank films It’s summer in Newquay, but you wouldn’t know it. Cornwall’s most popular tourist resort has been in lockdown for months. With its reliance on tourism, some are predicting Newquay could be economically the worst-hit English town, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, restrictions are beginning to ease – and not a moment too soon for the town’s fishermen, most of whom have been tied up for months. With lost time to catch up on and livelihoods on the line, the fleet are steaming into a summer like no other.

Buck Beckett and his twelve-year-old son Freddie were one of the few Newquay crews to fish throughout lockdown, mostly for shellfish. After restaurants closed, demand for luxury food for home-dining surged, pushing up the price of lobster. Buck saw an opportunity. Selling his catch direct, gave Buck far better prices than he used to get from the wholesaler. But as things get busy, can he and Freddie keep up with demand over the summer?

The Beryl M is skippered by Ben Eglington. the ex-naval officer returned to Newquay a few years ago and has a reputation for doing things differently. With restaurants due to open, he’s heading far offshore to catch turbot, but will his gamble pay off?

On Cornwall’s north coast, rough seas can keep the fleet at bay for weeks at a time. During lockdown, Ben created a business model which was both COVID-proof and weather-proof. Fish boxes sourced from Newlyn market and delivered straight to your door.

Ross King is skipper of the Excelsior and his mother Gill runs a café, serving all his fresh catch. With Gill shielding throughout lockdown, they have a difficult decision to make about whether to open or not. They need the money the summer brings, but could it effect their health? It’s a dilemma the town and county is dealing with.

Ross has other family pressures and can’t always get out to sea, as he needs to look after young son Dylan. Can he find enough windows to get out and bring home the catch to keep the café and the family afloat?

As super Saturday arrives and lockdown lifts, the tourist hoards arrive. Roger at the seafood restaurant, converts his traditional business into a pop-up food court with fresh ait and plenty of space. For the fishermen the crowds create havoc and concerns for their safety.

Copyright: Frank Films Looe once boasted the second largest fishing fleet in Cornwall. For decades it held a reputation for landing some of the freshest and highest quality fish in the country. At one time the Looe fleet were landing twenty tons of fish each day straight from the boat into the town’s bustling fish market. There’s now just half a dozen full time trawlers, and in 2019 its fish market closed. 

A few hundred metres inland, the tidal river offers the fleet some protection, but also shapes the way fishing is done here. Looe trawlers can only put to sea around high tide, or risk running aground.  Out at sea they are working the same grounds are much larger trawlers, too big for harbours like Looe, capable of working in all weathers for a week at a time. The Looe boats have turned being small to their advantage. Landing the same day, they command top prices for the freshest catch.

Plymouth is just 22 miles from Looe, and one of the world’s largest deep-water harbours. Since the 1980s, Looe skippers wanting bigger boats left their tidal home waters for Plymouth’s safe embrace. Looe’s loss became Plymouth’s gain, and the town’s fleet diminished.

One local family - The Toms, are fighting to resist the changes by resurrecting the last boat built in Looe and investing in the future, with three generations throwing themselves into the fray. But even with hundreds of years of fishing pedigree, the Tom’s are finding themselves on the outside of the modern fishing business, where catching the fish is only one of the challenges facing them. They’ve got a few months of borrowed quota and need to get their old boat fixed up to get to sea and start using it. The Toms’ journey to get the boat fishing takes them through the challenges of Britain’s broken quota system, a system where just five families own nearly a third of the country’s entire fish quota.

Aiding the Tom’s in the fight back is new kid on the quay, fish merchant Sam Chapman. He wants to build a business based on Looe’s best-known commodity - its day-boat fresh fish - but when the fleet left for Plymouth, they took the fish with them. Sam is gambling his whole business to try and change business as normal. He’s cutting out the middleman, buying everything the Toms can land, and is determined and forge a future for himself and fishing in Looe.

As the Toms plough ever more money into fixing the old boat, rumours swirl that the old fish market is set to reopen, and a most unlikely ally emerges. Can one family and one boat revive the hopes of Looe’s once proud fishing fleet?

Copyright: Frank Films Padstow is well known for its tourist industry, but there’s another lucrative industry here that few visitors are aware of. Each year, Padstow’s fishermen land hundreds of tonnes of brown crab. But the vast majority bypasses the town altogether. For decades, lorry loads of shellfish have left Padstow for the continent every week. Once connected to Europe, Padstow’s crabbing industry boomed. Britain’s crab exports to Europe is an industry worth over sixty million pounds. But lockdowns across Europe have brought everything to a standstill.

Paul Blewitt runs Camel Fish shellfish exporters a few miles from Padstow. In normal times, 25 tonnes of crab would be dispatched to Europe from here each week, but COVID-19 has meant his lorries haven’t moved for three months. It’s a worrying time for Paul, who only last year invested over £1.5 million in two new boats in order to guarantee a supply of crab for his export company. The film follows the final stages of the refit of the Delta Dawn, where local lad and deckhand Wesley Jermyn has been promoted to skipper. Can they get fishing for the autumn crab run where crab quality is at its peak?

Landing crab in bulk for export is not the only way for Padstow’s fishermen to sell their catch. As a young man Johnny Murt left Cornwall for America to study fisheries conservation. Over a decade ago, he returned to his Padstow roots. His boat, the Homarus, is one of the smaller vessels in Padstow’s crabbing fleet. Fishing sustainably, he has a ready-made market on his doorstep: the twenty restaurants in and around the town, many specialising in seafood.

But lockdown has meant they’ve been closed for three months. With the prospect of nowhere to sell his catch, he must act fast to secure alternative markets or be forced to tie up.

Jason Nicholas is Padstow born and bred, but the first in his family to become a fisherman. When the pandemic shut European export markets Jason - and his catch - were left high and dry. Karensa, Jason’s partner, took on the responsibility of finding a new market, selling direct to customers. Jason’s boat Levan Mor is one of the medium sized boats in the Padstow crabbing fleet. A boat like his requires a crewman, and 18-year-old Ethan has taken the position for the past four years. Jason had a smaller boat before that he worked alone, but this one gives him greater range and can work more pots. An accident involving Ethan and Jason on the boat mid-way through the season unsettles both men, and leaves Jason anxious about the future.

In the last five years the value of crab has increased dramatically, largely due to the Chinese export market. The insatiable demand of the world’s largest country had changed this small harbour in North Cornwall into a boomtown. But at the same time as Britain’s political relations with China deteriorated, crab exports to the Far East dried up. 

Currently deemed sustainable, there is no quota or limit to the amount of crab fishermen can catch. But some of Padstow’s fishermen have noticed a decline in catches in the last couple of years and are concerned stocks are being overfished. Some are pointing to the increasing number of big boats which now fish from the harbour.

The larger boats in the fleet are known as ‘Vivier’ crabbers, named after the saltwater tank built into the boat designed to keep crabs alive whilst at sea. Fifty-foot-long, and with a range of hundreds of miles, they can be at sea for a week at a time. There are five in the harbour, and Les Burt has two of them. Les has done well out of the China boom and has invested £1.3 million in a brand-new bigger boat. But the investment was made at the height of the Chinese boom. As the boat nears completion, Les is hoping Britain’s relationship with China improve, and Brexit doesn’t mean export tariffs on crab to Europe.

Copyright: Frank Films The rich fishing grounds of St Ives Bay have supported the fishermen of two ports for generations; Hayle in the east, and St Ives to the west. At the heart of Hayle is the harbour, established by the Victorians and now a UNESCO world heritage site. This was once one of the world’s richest mining regions. From this vast industrial port, minerals and Cornish built mine engines were sent across the seas and around the world. But the wealth that once flowed through the harbour has long since disappeared.

A vast new development is now underway in the harbour, of a scale and ambition to match the town’s Victorian engineers. Simon Wright is the Group Chief Executive of property developers Corinthian Homes. With hundreds of homes and new leisure facilities under construction, his building project is the biggest in the South West. The developers are the new landlords for the fishermen, and the fishermen’s working area – where they mend their nets and store their gear – sits on a prime piece of real estate with direct access to the beaches.

With their compound right next door to the first residential properties under construction – waterfront townhouses with prices tags in excess of half a million, the fishermen fear that their days working from there may be numbered. Fears are heightened when the developers’ artists impressions show them airbrushed from the completed project.

Lee Carter is a second-generation fisherman and has been fishing from Hayle most of his life. Lee bought his brand-new boat – the Jazzy C, four years ago. Its size allows him to work ground further offshore, and through rough weather, but it’s a huge investment. With a big loan to pay back, Lee’s got more skin in the game than most, and over the coming months it’s his responsibility to communicate the fleet’s needs to the developers.

The multi-million-pound regeneration project isn’t the only new development on the harbour. Born and Bred in Croydon, Lee Wilkie moved to Hayle as a teenager, but this will be his first year as part of the town’s fishing fleet. It’s a big year for Wilkie. He’s got a new baby on the way and he’s just sold his taxi firm, putting everything into his new boat.

Mike “Milkie” Veale has fished from Hayle for over twenty years. It’s late summer, and Milkie’s on lobsters, but isn’t having much luck. He also has his suspicions about the new development. One particular concern is the future of the fishermen’s compound, sitting next to the water and with direct access to the beaches it’s a site of huge potential for their landlords.

Across the bay is St Ives, a town that has seen huge changes in the last century. The houses that line the narrow streets were once fishermen’s cottages, squeezed around the harbour, home to the men of the town’s fleet and their families. In the 19th century St Ives was a boomtown, but 50 years ago, as fishing boats got bigger and more commercial, St Ives small tidal port began to fall out of favour.  As boats moved off to bigger ports, fishing families followed. Homes were snapped up - often for a pretty penny - by incomers drawn to the town’s beauty.

Nathan de Rozarieux’s heritage goes back to a time when fishermen, not tourists, wandered the streets of St Ives. He’s longing for the end of summer, a time when the tourists leave, and another visitor takes their place: mackerel. For years, a summertime catch, some speculate that warming waters are seeing shoals of mackerel swim into the Bay’s sheltered waters during the winter months. Now the fishermen from both Hayle and St Ives have come to rely on them.

Copyright: Frank Films Cadgwith Cove is Cornwall’s last traditional full-time fishing cove. As boats got bigger, fish stocks declined, and young men left, many of Cornwall’s other coves faded away. Cadgwith has held strong. For generations sons have followed fathers off the beach and out to sea. Now the next generation is set to join the fleet.

Thirty-four-year-old Brett Jose is a second-generation fisherman, and his boat Longshot is one of the smallest in the Cadgwith fleet. Brett’s currently fishing part-time; ten years ago he left the cove for a well-paid job on the offshore windfarms.

The size of his boat limits the amount of money he can earn from fishing. He’s unable to work through poor weather and can only carry a certain amount of gear. Now, after a decade of working away, Brett’s dream of fishing from Cadgwith full-time is about to become a reality. He’s recently invested in a new bigger boat.

Lying at the tip of the Lizard Peninsula, rich fishing grounds are within striking distance of Cadgwith. As a true cove, it has no harbour for protection. Whilst sheltered from the prevailing westerlies, any weather or swell from the east keeps the boats at bay - a natural quota preventing these waters from being overfished.

The village itself is squeezed into a steep sided valley - a single road running through it - flanked by thatched cottages. Once inhabited by fishing families, many are now second homes or holiday lets. Few fishing families still live in the village, but on the beach fathers and sons still work side-by-side.

John Trewin skippers the Silver Queen, and crew duties are in the hands of his eldest son, twenty-one-year-old William. Together they work their way through hundreds of crab pots. Crabs have kept coves like Cadgwith going for generations, but it’s hard monotonous work, hauling and stacking pot after pot.

Whilst John might be one of the cove’s most passionate skippers, Will is considering his career options. He left the cove to study sports science at university and has ambitions to see the world. Fortunately for John, his youngest son Jamie takes any opportunity to follow his father to sea.

The Trewins aren’t the only father and sons working out of Cadgwith. Danny Phillips is one of the most experienced fishermen in the cove, and he’s training up his twenty-four-year-old son, Tommy.

Tommy has some big boots to fill - his Dad has a top reputation for the quality of his catch, and there’s little he doesn’t know about these fishing grounds. Most of the cove’s boats work pots for crabs and lobsters. Danny and Tommy do things differently, using nets to target a wider variety of species.

While there might be new blood within the fleet, the old working fabric of the cove itself is now under threat. All fishermen have a rented loft - their store, their workshop and their refuge – but for the first time in living memory many of the cove’s lofts are being put up for sale.

The future of the lofts within the cove’s historic Winch House is set to be decided by the end of the summer.

Copyright: Frank Films With over 100 boats in the harbour, Newlyn is Cornwall’s biggest fishing port. For generations young men from here have followed in their fathers’ footsteps and put to sea. But today there aren’t many young locals getting into fishing; many of the boats in the harbour source their crew from overseas. 

The average age of a UK fishermen is now fifty-seven, but twenty-three-year-old Thomas Pascoe is bucking the trend. Newlyn born and bred, Thomas has seized an opportunity to step up from deckhand and skipper his Uncle David’s sardine ring netter, the Serene Dawn. Ring netting is highly competitive. Each evening, eight ring netters depart from Newlyn to hunt sardines in Mounts Bay. It’s a difficult fishery to master. The skippers need to locate fish using sonar, and then encircle shoals with a falling net as they’re moving. Plenty can go wrong.

For Thomas, skippering the boat is a dream come true, but keeping the helm is going to be a challenge. David, the boat’s owner and usual skipper is recovering from a neck operation and will take the boat back if the catches aren’t good enough.

Once the rookie skipper of the sardine fleet, James Roberts is now in his third season at the helm of the Resolute, one of four ring netters owned by fish processors, Ocean Fish.  With the money he’s made catching sardines, James has been able to buy his own small inshore fishing boat, the Bonnie Grace.

Like many fishermen here, James is an ardent Brexiteer, and hopes that leaving will bring a brighter future for the industry. He’s counting on the Government to deliver on the promises made during the referendum to take back control over British waters and quotas. Critical for Cornish fishermen is having exclusive access to waters inside the 12-mile limit. French boats can legally fish up to 6 miles from the Cornish coast, and all too often do. The Government have promised the fishing industry this is a red line in negotiations.

Successful negotiations could transform the future for Newlyn’s fleet on inshore fishing boats, who have to share the Cornish fishing grounds with modern, powerful European trawlers.

Tom McClure, skipper of the Harvest Reaper, a 30ft inshore trawler, knows this only too well. Whenever there’s any bad weather he has to shelter in harbour, whilst the European boats can carry on fishing just six miles from Cornish shores. But Tom has more than Brexit to worry about. He has a new deckhand Tom Hampton aboard, and he has his work cut out teaching him the ropes.

With Britain’s exit from the EU and the customs union now just weeks away, Newlyn’s fish market needs to be ready. Eighty percent of fish sold here is exported to Europe. Newlyn operates the last shout auction for fish in England. Buyers must come to the market and bid for the fish in person, meaning a tight group of local men have a stranglehold over the fish – and the prices paid. The system is disliked by some fishermen who don’t trust that the sales are always fair. They’ve started to send their fish to competing markets in Devon, where online auctions offer full transparency and often better prices. To stop decline, Newlyn market needs to modernise to be ready for whatever challenges or opportunities Brexit may bring.

As the clock ticks down on Britain’s exit from Europe, Newlyn – Cornwall’s fishing capital prepares for the challenges and opportunities Brexit may bring.

Will Brexit negotiations bring a positive outcome for Cornwall’s biggest fishing port?