The UK fishing industry is "far from on its knees" says a leading Westcountry boat builder, who wants "serious skippers to keep their orders in the South West".
A busy yard at C Toms & Son yet still space to build at least one more vessel
Paul Toms, of the family-owned boat yard C Toms & Son at Polruan, Cornwall, said there was a real attempt to help the region's fishing industry thrive.
He said: "Those skippers are out there, there is a core of fishermen and vessel owners who are determined to invest in new boats, some to add to their present fleet, some to replace their old boat, and we want to keep those builds in Cornwall and not let them drift to the North East or Scotland.
"Yes, skippers at present are cautious in investing in new boats, but we want to keep those orders here in the Westcountry. Our yard at present has space for at least one more big build, but by spring next year the second of the present builds will be complete, we will need more orders as we have a fairly big workforce; my father (Alan Toms) and myself are working hard to attract orders."
He added: "In the old days new-builds were waiting at the door of every yard, the fishing industry was growing, but now we have to push for that work. At present we are busy building three boats and refitting many more – we have many boats already booked in for the summer but we must look ahead, well into the next winter where new builds are vital to us.
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Anyone who thinks the fishing industry is on its knees isn't right – fishing may be less profitable than it was before, I'm not sure as I'm not a fisherman, but there are skippers and owners out there who are willing to invest."
Stemming back several generations, C Toms & Son is responsible for a "fair chunk" of the present South West fishing fleet; most Westcountry ports house a C Toms & Son boat.
Lyme Regis skipper Chris Wason and Newlyn shellfisherman Mark Rowse are currently awaiting their new builds, and once a major refit is complete a scallop firm in Scotland will soon take delivery of its vessel, Copious.
Having served him well since its launch in 1985, Mr Wason will by spring sell his present boat, Sea Seeker, to replace it with a new C Toms & Son's steel trawler/scalloper of 11.95min length.
Skipper Wason said: "The new boat will be almost identical to the Betty G II from Exmouth that Toms launched a couple of years ago. The Sea Seeker has been good to us and is a fine boat but we need a different sort of boat, one better for us to work away from Devon, we have no option but to move away.
"After the closure of 60 square miles of Lyme Bay to towed gear (scalloping and trawling) we had to find a way to survive, we are not going to go away like they (Natural England) think we will, we will just become nomadic like the others. Where we would have fished on our own grounds and rotate the grounds to prevent over fishing, we are forced to go somewhere else; I saw the Betty G II being built and liked it."
Also under build is a part complete order for Mark Rowse of Rowse Fishing Ltd at Newlyn, a firm that already owns a small fleet of vivier crabbers.
Due for launch shortly the craft will be towed to Newlyn for completion and represents the modern supercrabber with a hull of 16.4m in length that on sight looks "like twice the boat," said Paul Toms, telling how the designs of steel boats are now so different to those of 20 years ago.
"We all have to move with the times and the boats that skippers want nowadays are 'big' small boats, even the bigger beam trawlers and stern trawlers that come here for refit are much smaller in size than those of equal power in the past. All I can say to those wanting a new boat is to please look at the yards in the Westcountry before going north."
Story courtesy of Exmouth People.
