Description

Rare films about Britain’s fishing fleets during the 1930s/1940s. Fishing Fleet (1939) illustrates Lossiemouth’s fishing industry. Deep Sea Days (c. 1930) filmed life on board a Fleetwood trawler. Voyage To Stornoway chronicles the 1930s Musselburgh fleet. Toilers Of The Deep (c. 1940) follows a trawler crew after herring as does Ring Net Herring Fishing and North Sea Herring Fleet (1943).

Full description from the producer:

Voyages of the Sea Harvesters is an authentic record of work in the fishing fleets during the 1930s. In this fine collection of films, partly in colour, you will hear fishermen, some of whom were in the films, tell of their experiences in the great days of a lost era of fishing. Fishing Fleet (1939.) Filmed by J. Evans Gordon, illustrates Lossiemouth’s fishing industry highlighting the Seine fishing method. Deep Sea Days (c. 1930). James Blair filmed life on board a Fleetwood trawler as the fishing grounds by St Kilda are selected, the trawl is dropped and the catch landed and cleaned. Voyage to Stornoway is a story of the Musselburgh fleet as seen by the camera of Alex Lowe in the 1930s. Much of this film is beautifully photographed in colour as it portrays the annual trip to Stornoway to join the herring chase at the start of the season. Toilers Of The Deep (c. 1940, film-maker unknown) follows the lives of a trawler crew as they set out to sea on a nine day trip. Ring Net Herring Fishing captures the haul of an enormous shoal of herring off the Western Isles. Finally, back to 1943 for North Sea Herring Fleet by Aberdeen’s James E. Henderson Ltd. In this fitting end to a programme you will wish to watch over and over again, we join the drift net fishermen at sea and the Scottish fisher lassies at Yarmouth in the heyday of The Voyages of the Sea Harvesters.

Additional information