Quite A Few Men In A Boat: Norway-UK Exchange Continues

Rosie Magudia is accompanying a group of fishermen and scientists from the UK case study, as they visit Steigen, Norway. Her post below is an update on the second day of the exchange visit. You can read about the first day here.

Today was the big day – the day we got to go to sea and catch some fish.

The alarm went off at 5.45 and we soon packed ourselves into a set of cars which zoomed through a white landscape covered with grey skies and falling flakes. We unloaded by a rather small looking boat…

At this point, I’m not going to reminisce any further about my take on the day. Unfortunately, for me, I’m quite a long way off from gaining my sea legs and my account would feature clammy hands and concentrated horizon gazing more than an appreciation of wonderful views and sizable hauls.

But the Devon fishermen had a much better time of it. By all accounts, they had a good day, and wanted to stay onboard longer than the time allotted. Despite the differences between crab and cod, they seemed unfazed at helping out for a few hours and commented that the weather was warmer than expected.

I’ll leave it to the video below to describe the scene. The footage is courtesy of Alan Steer, one of the UK fishermen involved – so thank you Alan!

Moreover, personal sea-sickness aside, I should say that today once again impressed upon me what a hardy, skilled industry fishing is. The men and women working inshore boats deal with difficult conditions be they in sunny Devon or icy Norway, and yet they consistently bring responsibly sourced seafood to our plates.

Happy Watching!
P.S. The fishermen in red are from Devon, the fishermen in yellow from Norway. The fish being handled are cod.

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