The Female Fisherman

I own and operate two boats working from Wells-next-the-Sea which is a small seaside town on the north Norfolk coast. My traditional Scottish-built boat, Fairlass, predominantly catches whelks, while the smaller 8m fibreglass boat Saoirse catches crabs and lobsters too. It’s no secret that this has historically been a man’s job, and as a ‘female fisherman’ I am often asked ‘how did that happen?’ Occasionally I will find myself staring down at a box full of stinking bait, splattered with mud, rain streaming down my face at some god awful time of the night, wondering the same thing! I wouldn’t change the decision I made to ditch the clean, warm office life for a second though.