No one disputes the need for the inshore fleet to have a voice. However, there are many differing views on how to accomplish that. This is the story of how Mandy Wolfe approached Fishermen across Lyme Bay to see if there was an interest in forming an organisation.

We knew this was going to take time. There is no way to rush this process, and getting Fishermen involved, asking them to ignore the loss of hope, asking them to ignore the feeling that this will be, yet again, another futile endeavour, where they are ultimately disappointed and disadvantaged, was difficult for me. Mandy couldn’t promise the Fishermen anything, only that this had not been done before, but she had every confidence in them and in the dream of a united voice for the Fishermen.

We estimated 3-4 months for engagement. Over the course of these months, our action plan was to:

• Put up social media posts.
• Put up notices for quayside visits to talk about a fishermen led organisation
• When visiting ports, we always check the weather and try to determine when the vessels will be launching and returning. Many times Mandy was on the quayside at 6 am to see vessels off, then back again around 7 pm – 8pm, for vessels returning.
•  Mandy researched venues to hold evening meetings monthly meetings to discuss the idea and gauge interest. We were lucky to obtain funding so we could hold meetings at a local fishing college, but had there been a charge, it would have been £50 for 2-hour venue hire.

We would recommend researching:

•  Council venues that may be available for free.

[You could speak to council and explain what you are doing, see if they can recommend somewhere, or if they have any funding to support the initiative].

•  Local football clubs to see if they have space available.
•  Contact local Fisherman’s associations, see if they can recommend them anywhere.
•  Put social media posts up asking for recommendations for venues that do not charge.

What days/times to hold meetings:

•  We always try to hold meetings in the evenings, Fishermen need to work during the day – the worse the weather, the better the attendance. That’s why we prefer January and early February if a daytime meeting is necessary, but we never hold meetings in June through to August.