Where we land

The Devon port of Brixham has been a centre for fishing for centuries and is credited with being one of the birthplaces of trawling – the other being the Thames estuary. Trawling evolved from the sailing trawlers of the early twentieth century to motor trawling, and today Brixham’s fleet of trawlers consists mainly of Dutch-style beam trawler, as well as smaller stern trawlers that fish for demersal species as well as sprats during the season, scallops and an inshore fleet of netters and potting boats.

You can hardly go much further west. The fishing port of Newlyn sits in the lee of Land’s End, with the fishing grounds of the Channel and the western approaches on its doorstep. Newlyn has a reputation for wild weather and big fishing, and is home to a fleet of beam trawlers, stern trawlers, potting boats and ring-netters, as well as the netting fleet that pursues high-quality hake, pollock, turbot and monkfish across fishing grounds from deep south of Ireland to far out into the Channel.

Salcombe lies close to the the southern tip of the Devon coast, sheltered inside the Kingsbridge Estuary and within striking distance of the English Channel’s shellfish grounds. With a long seafaring history behind it, Salcombe was a centre of ship and boat building, and was known for its herring fishery in mediaeval times.

Exmouth lies a dozen miles downstream from Exeter. There has always been a strong seafaring tradition in Exmouth, although its fishing industry has gradually declined over the years with much of the activity having shifted to Brixham.