Tuesday 21 April 2015

St Francis of Newlyn

A long-standing Cornish fishermen is supporting Cornwall Wildlife Trust's new awareness campaign – My Wild Life.




Francis Harris is a wildlife lover, has a degree in zoology and has worked for most of his life fishing off Cornwall. He is now part of Newlyn based brand Dreckly Fish who are gaining a reputation for some of the freshest and most sustainably caught fish to be landed on Cornish shores.


Lobsters coming Dreckly your way!

My Wild Life is a campaign to change the way people view and value nature and the charity aims to inspire more people to join them and take action for nature.

Francis Harris said: "From an early age I was interested in animals of all sorts, from creepy crawlies to the largest herbivores and predators. A Mousehole childhood concentrated my interests on the marine side of things, with a special interest in birds, which led to a degree in zoology and geology after a sojourn in the Midlands.

"Returning to Cornwall, and a working lifetime in the fishing industry which has given me the opportunity to observe local wildlife on a wide scale, little and large, common and rare, with some once in a lifetime sightings.

" I hope Cornwall continues to offer wildlife a place to flourish, so that future generations will be able to see, and hear, and appreciate the wonderful things that I have experienced during my time here in unique Cornwall."

Chris Betty, communications officer at Cornwall Wildlife Trust, added: "Francis is a fantastic addition to our My Wild Life campaign, which aims to highlight that nature is important for all of us whether it is for our livelihood or just our basic happiness and wellbeing.

"He is a great ambassador for the Cornish fishing industry and for healthy sustainable seas. He is a real wildlife lover and has many fascinating tales of the things he has seen during a lifetime at sea."

The trust will soon be encouraging local Cornish people to share their own wild lives with them and the chance to win a very cool prize.

www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/mywildlife

Full story courtesy of the Cornishman:  Follow us: @CornishmanPaper on Twitter