East Coast Fishing

Coastal fishing is a way of life within an industry that has provided a living for communities up and down England’s east coast for generations. Today the inshore fishery is under pressure as never before and the number of people working in it has dwindled, but these coastal waters around our country have been fished for various fish and shellfish for millennia. The work is often difficult and dangerous, and the hours are unsocial, but many traditions continue alongside modern methods and technology.

This is a visual portrait of those people who are still trying to maintain this remarkable way of life and an important part of our food chain, as well as our national heritage. Look through these photographs and you will quickly see the unique challenges of making a living by coastal fishing today in the stunning but at times harsh environment of the coastal waters of the east of England on the edge of the North Sea, from the north-eastern ports, along the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire coast, to the Wash, East Anglia and the Thames Estuary.

About the Author

John Worrall is a photographer based in East Anglia. He has published photographic books on the landscape of East Anglia, travel books and a novel and has also documented for many years the lives of coastal fishing communities along the East Coast of England for the voice of the industry magazine Fishing News for over 20 years, the last decade as its East of England correspondent.