Cornwall - This Fishing Life - Series 2

Episode
Episode 3 - Padstow
Broadcast Info
2021 (59 mins)
Description
Padstow is well known for its tourist industry, but there’s another lucrative industry here that few visitors are aware of. Each year, Padstow’s fishermen land hundreds of tonnes of brown crab. But the vast majority bypasses the town altogether. For decades, lorry loads of shellfish have left Padstow for the continent every week. Once connected to Europe, Padstow’s crabbing industry boomed. Britain’s crab exports to Europe is an industry worth over sixty million pounds. But lockdowns across Europe have brought everything to a standstill. Paul Blewitt runs Camel Fish shellfish exporters a few miles from Padstow. In normal times, twenty five tonnes of crab would be dispatched to Europe from here each week, but Covid-19 has meant his lorries haven’t moved for three months. It’s a worrying time for Paul, who only last year invested over £1.5 million in two new boats in order to guarantee a supply of crab for his export company. The film follows the final stages of the refit of the Delta Dawn, where local lad and deckhand Wesley Jermyn has been promoted to skipper. Can they get fishing for the autumn crab run where crab quality is at its peak? Landing crab in bulk for export is not the only way for Padstow’s fishermen to sell their catch. As a young man Johnny Murt left Cornwall for America to study fisheries conservation. Over a decade ago, he returned to his Padstow roots. His boat, the Homarus, is one of the smaller vessels in Padstow’s crabbing fleet. Fishing sustainably, he has a ready made market on his doorstep: the twenty restaurants in and around the town, many specialising in seafood. But lockdown has meant they’ve been closed for three months. With the prospect of nowhere to sell his catch, he must act fast to secure alternative markets or be forced to tie up. Jason Nicholas is Padstow born and bred, but the first in his family to become a fisherman. When the pandemic shut European export markets Jason - and his catch - were left high and dry. Karensa, Jason’s partner, took on the responsibility of finding a new market, selling direct to customers. Jason’s boat Levan Mor is one of the medium sized boats in the Padstow crabbing fleet. A boat like his requires a crewman, and 18- year-old Ethan has taken the position for the past four years. Jason had a smaller boat before that he worked alone, but this one gives him greater range and can work more pots. An accident involving Ethan and Jason on the boat mid-way through the season unsettles both men, and leaves Jason anxious about the future. In the last five years the value of crab has increased dramatically, largely due to the Chinese export market. The insatiable demand of the world’s largest country had changed this small harbour in North Cornwall into a boomtown. But at the same time as Britain’s political relations with China deteriorated, crab exports to the Far East dried up. Currently deemed sustainable, there is no quota or limit to the amount of crab fishermen can catch. But some of Padstow’s fishermen have noticed a decline in catches in the last couple of years, and are concerned stocks are being overfished. Some are pointing to the increasing number of big boats which now fish from the harbour. The larger boats in the fleet are known as ‘Vivier’crabbers, named after the saltwater tank built into the boat designed to keep crabs alive whilst at sea. Fifty foot long, and with a range of hundreds of miles, they can be at sea for a week at a time. There are five in the harbour, and Les Burt has two of them. Les has done well out of the China boom and has invested £1.3 million in a brand new bigger boat. But the investment was made at the height of the Chinese boom. As the boat nears completion, Les is hoping Britain’s relationship with China improve, and Brexit doesn’t mean export tariffs on crab to Europe.
Genre
Economics; Business Studies; Culture

How to cite this record

The Open University, "Cornwall - This Fishing Life - Series 2". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ou/search/index.php/prog/238467 (Accessed 10 Jan 2025)