Interview with Philip Comber and Geoff Comber about the fishing industry
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Date(s): 12 February 1997
Creator(s): Port Erin Marine Laboratory
Scope & Content: Tracks 1 & 2: Geoff Comber starts the interview by talking about starting his fishing career aged 8. He came from the Isle of Soay (south of Skye, Scotland); his career started when he was 16; his father let him repair a damaged 20ft launch and it became his fishing boat; father took tours and trips but no fishing; later moved to the herring port of Mallaig (mainland Scotland); Geoff took over his father’s boat; fished with lobster pots, working 200 pots; possible to earn £200 every fortnight. Geoff married a girl from a fishing family from Mallaig; moving to the Isle of Man; working at Martin Bakers checking receipts; working for 2-3 years at Peel Engineering building fibreglass yachts; building small wooden dinghies; dredge fishing; technology and gear used; ‘rockhoppers’; ‘bobbins’; damage by big dredgers to the seafloor; he disagrees with the scientists who say that queenies cannot be over-fished; he has seen areas cleaned out and intensive dredging has caused the queenies’ habitat to disappear; he believes the fishermen are more cautious than the scientists; the scientists say that queenies can be fished intensively with no detriment; a visit from a New Zealand marine biologist whose attitude was the same; prawn fishing; the difference in newer techniques on the fishing boats; haddock fishing; many areas are ‘polluted with haddock’ in the Irish Sea but the scientists say that they are scarce; netting about 200 boxes of them every 30 minutes; fishermen’s practice of not writing down the haddock catch; Mallaig have their own scientist who collects the confidential data from the fishermen; selling the white fish to a shop in Ramsey; describes how Morgan bought Moore’s old smoke house in Peel; any surplus is shipped through a commissioner to Fleetwood; the amount of paperwork; using Decca for location and he mentions the new GPS technology becoming more widespread; possibility that cell phones could fix the position of a boat; autopilots on modern trawlers.
Another person present comments that an autopilot is linked electronically and the skipper can 'sit, have a cup of tea and do nothing’. Geoff says that before, skippers were always older men as there was a lot to learn by experience; mentions Norwegian technology and technology that has come to fishing through the oil industry; the ability to catch fish with multiple nets; changes in licensing; reductions in fleet; decommissioned fishing vessels; unethical practices; restrictions on fishing vessels coming into certain areas has been good for fishermen like him.
Language: English
Extent: 1 hr. 2 min. 38 sec.
Collection: Sound Archive
Level: ITEM
ID number: SA 2019-0015/12
Access conditions: All reasonable attempt has been made by Manx National Heritage to trace and request permission (where needed) from the copyright holder(s) in this sound recording. If however you think you are a rights holder then please contact Manx National Heritage.
Subject tags : #UOSH