# Factory trawlers in British waters



## Moronguhl (Aug 16, 2009)

Hi all!

Can anyone give me any info on factory trawler usage in british waters/north sea waters in the last thirty years? I'm particularly interested in the mid eighties, just wondering if the UK or Scandanavia had many of those massive boats around here?

Thanks folks!

Christian


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## david freeman (Jan 26, 2006)

its not clear what you are asking? UK factory ships sailed for 3months at a time catching and processing fish. mainly caught in foreign waters. The russians in the 70, 80,s are alledged to have had large fleets of catchers with a large mothership/factory ship in attendance, and they fished of the North of Aberdeen, putting into LERWICK and Stornaway for stores/crewchange. The UK boats factory ships were I supposed forbidden to fish in UK waters to protect the fishing rights of the local UK fishing ports. Most of the deep sea fleets from HULL/Grimsby and Fleetwood were scrapped after a time of uneconomic fishing in Foreign Waters, after the COD Wars. So what is your question? Most of the money in the UK deep sea fishing fleets proberably went into near and middle water fishing ports, and being Fish merchants on the wet side of the fish docks-Importing ICELANDIC Fish landed in the UK? You need to talk to some one from HUll or Grimsby who may know the truth, and not inuendo which I may have brought to the table.


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## Moronguhl (Aug 16, 2009)

Hi David, thanks for replying.

You're right, I didn't make it very clear did I!

To give a little bit of background, I am writing a novel with part of it set in a fishing town in the mid-eighties (just after the time of the Common Fisheries Policy being amended in 1983). The town is basically out-classed and out-gunned by a massive corporation using large fleets of factory trawlers and smaller trawlers in their 'patch', effectively forcing the town's fishermen out of business.

I was just wondering which companies utilised factory trawlers at this time? The town in my novel is fictional, but is somewhere between Grimsby and Newcastle, although depending on plausibility it may end up being further up towards Peterhead. I just watched the excellent 'Trawlermen' and got inspired!

Thanks all for any help you can offer.



Christian


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## snacker (Oct 12, 2007)

Hi Have a look at my web site www.trawlerman.piczo.com I sailed in factory ships in the 1960,s


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## Moronguhl (Aug 16, 2009)

Cheers snacker, that's an awesome amount of info and pictures, I look forward to digesting it all. The pics give an awesome feel and taste of what it must have been like. If only we had taste and smell 'o vision on the internet!

Thanks for that link dude, very evocative.

Did many lads start as young as you did? Sixteen seems about right, but did anyone start younger than that?


Christian


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## snacker (Oct 12, 2007)

In them days you left school at 15 so a few lads went to sea in trawlers as galley boys to begin with, a few moved on to the Merchant navy.


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## timo (May 25, 2004)

Good link to a good website, thanks, I seem to think I've seen you in some Hull Trawler video's.


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## cptkirk (Jun 10, 2007)

Moronguhl said:


> Cheers snacker, that's an awesome amount of info and pictures, I look forward to digesting it all. The pics give an awesome feel and taste of what it must have been like. If only we had taste and smell 'o vision on the internet!
> 
> Thanks for that link dude, very evocative.
> 
> ...


 I went to sea on Hull trawlers at 15, as did many of us, we had to work at least one year in the galley before we could go on deck as deckie learner, if I remember rightly there was about 4 months over the winter when young lads were not allowed to do thier first trip. That was 1969.


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## snacker (Oct 12, 2007)

cptkirk said:


> I went to sea on Hull trawlers at 15, as did many of us, we had to work at least one year in the galley before we could go on deck as deckie learner, if I remember rightly there was about 4 months over the winter when young lads were not allowed to do thier first trip. That was 1969.


I don,t remember that happening about young lads not been allowed to sail in the winter months I was still on trawlers then in Boyd line and we still had school leavers as galley boys. I know way back in 1964 they introduced a recruiting office for galley boys and deckie learners run by a chap called Commander Beale I can,t remember how long that lasted but i don,t think it was for long.


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## Trawldoor (Feb 3, 2006)

I sailed as Decky learner in 1979 with Marr's. I still have my info' sheet given to me by the recruitment office which was in back of the Lord Line building as I recall. I think it was a flight or two of steps up. Anyway......It says on that sheet, ''The minimum age at which a new entrant may join is 16. However, during the months of December, January and February no one may make their first trip to sea under age of 17''. I was told it was something to do with all the young lads that were lost in the triple tragedy but that might not be true.

Incidentally, I was paid the pricely sum of £27.98 p per week with 24p poundage or 31p (Cod) or 15p (Mackerel) tonnes on Freezers.

Cheers TD


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## snacker (Oct 12, 2007)

Hi A lot of things did change after the triple trawler disaster in 1968 but it took a couple of years for it to all happen


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## nick olass (Apr 30, 2009)

Was in Ullapool in 76, Loch Bloom was teeming with Russian Vessels taking on fish from local fishing boats (I think), but the people roundabout were saying that it was a spectacle to see so much shipping in the loch.

Nick.


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## janathull (Aug 31, 2005)

I sailed in the mackeral freezer Kirkella and this type of ship spent most of their time around the coast. Trips usually 2/3 weeks unless you got really lucky. Cheers janathull


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