Ted Hook works his 10m Denis Swire trawler Immy PZ 110 out of West Bay and is a founder member of the CIC
“Great Grandad worked on trawlers out of Lowestoft at the herring. I was born in West Wales, and as was the case in those days, I worked my way up through the jobs as a kid. Winkle-picking, then pot-making, and eventually I went to sea at 14 years old, and spent my early career fishing out of Wales.
“After relocating about 15 years ago to the south coast, initially whelking and potting, I made the change to a small trawler. This was a significant investment for me and the family. I therefore have the benefit of experience of different types of fishing and their conflicts with one another, and I think this new CIC is a great platform for us at a local level to work through ideas and concepts with everyone involved – divers, trawlermen, anglers, potters and netters.
Ted Hook’s Immy PZ 110.
“It is fantastic to see fishermen from across the ports and sectors coming together in this way, and to have the organisation up and running is really going to help us as a region be heard and understood by regulators. No one has all the answers, but for so long all these people weren’t even in the same room. This CIC changes that.
“We are already talking about gear and science trials, and thinking ahead to things we want to pilot. This would be incredibly difficult for a fisherman working alone, but together, and with a chief exec onboard, I really think we have the best shot at trying some things we have long believed may have a positive impact on our operations.
“The outlook for our sector has not been rosy, but for the first time in a long time, I believe that working together as a group, and with government and its agencies, we have a chance to turn that tide.
“This is our opportunity to demonstrate the importance of small-scale fisheries, and most importantly that they are not only compatible, but essential to the heritage and thriving coastal communities we all live in.”
