East Coast Fishing

Coastal fishing is a way of life within an industry that has provided a living for communities up and down England’s east coast for generations. Today the inshore fishery is under pressure as never before and the number of people working in it has dwindled, but these coastal waters around our country have been fished for various fish and shellfish for millennia. The work is often difficult and dangerous, and the hours are unsocial, but many traditions continue alongside modern methods and technology.

This is a visual portrait of those people who are still trying to maintain this remarkable way of life and an important part of our food chain, as well as our national heritage. Look through these photographs and you will quickly see the unique challenges of making a living by coastal fishing today in the stunning but at times harsh environment of the coastal waters of the east of England on the edge of the North Sea, from the north-eastern ports, along the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire coast, to the Wash, East Anglia and the Thames Estuary.

About the Author

After twenty years as a chartered surveyor in London, Sydney and Weston-super-Mare, John Worrall saw that life was too short and turned to scribbling and snapping(as he puts it) because it was more fun. He has contributed illustrated features on a wide range of subjects to a wide range of publications, including The Guardian and The Financial Times, although for the past twenty-five yeast commercial fishing has been a focus.  He is a regular contributor to the industry newspaper Fishing News.  He lives in Cromer where they know a thing or two about crabs!