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I have been fishing since I can remember; it is something I have always
enjoyed doing and when the opportunity came to actually make some money
out of it I went for it – I was 14 years old. At the age of 18 I took out a loan and I bought my first boat although
I soon realised I wasn’t ready for it. So I got rid of the boat and
worked as a crewman on a beam trawler for what turned out to be a good
fishing season.
Later, instead of investing my hard earned cash in the usual life trappings I bought another boat, a ‘Plymouth pilot hull’, which I paid off in full from the first season of beaming and then I continued earning good money which allowed me to work independently.
Presently I am fishing for Bass, Pollack, Mackerel, beautiful fish, all line caught. I believe in quality and not quantity – if there is a surplus there is less money paid for the catch. It’s about self management and I still make enough to have a comfortable life. I love fish, I love eating it – shark and tuna steak, monkfish curry are my favourites. My days are never routine, never typical – in fishing this just does not work. I go to sea when I think it’s the best time; this is how one learns, without a time frame. When I go to sea I am on a high adrenalin rush and when I am back on land it can take me some 24 hours to get back to normal. It is the nature of my work, I cannot switch off, there are too many dangers, too much to remember - you can lose a finger, a hand, even an arm if not careful.
You can make a good living as a fisherman but you need to know what you are doing – anybody can pick up a shovel and cement mixer and go building but if you want to go fishing you will have to know everything, from buying your own licence, to fully knowing your boat and machinery and be self sufficient – banks give you very little help because you don’t get any regular income. Then, of course, there is the sea, which to me is like a woman, one minute it can be sweet sailing and the next minute all hell breaks loose!
The image of fishermen is changing – the old hard drinking seadogs have gone – and I just wish people would listen to us more so that we had more say in the rules and regulation which effect our work. There are some major changes in the industry mainly brought about by the government. If I had a son going in to the job I would tell him to get a degree first, keep his options open and then go fishing.
Quentin is currently fishing for Cornish Line Caught Tuna and is one of the 30 fishermen in the County that tag every Bass and Pollack they catch using handlines. Each tag is individually numbered and by looking up the tag number on the website www.linecaught.org.uk the consumer can see pictures of the fisherman and boat that caught their fish – giving the ultimate in line-to-plate traceability. He is also a shining example of how small boats can land ‘pristine’ quality fish by storing fish immediately in a slush-ice mix (ice and seawater). You can read his current blog on www.cornishtuna.com
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