Brooke, Erin and Emma are part of a handful of young women now edging their way into Britain’s fishing fleet. They call themselves fishermen, not fisherwomen. Twenty-year-old Rookie Brooke has been nominated for a trainee fisherman award, Erin works on a trawler, hauling prawns for up to a fortnight at a time in the far-flung waters of the North Atlantic, and 19-year-old Emma is the skipper of her own creel boat. As crews age and vessels lie idle for lack of hands, their stories ask whether ‘female fishermen’ could save the industry – and whether the old guard will let them work alongside them.
