Angus D. Birditt

Hastings Fisheries, East Sussex

Explore the photography series, Hastings Fisheries that was taken by Angus D. Birditt to promote the life and workings of the fisheries in Hastings, East Sussex. 

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As I arrived in the early hours of the morning in Hastings, East Sussex, fishermen Steven and his crew were pulling their boat up the shingles, ending their long shift out in the British channel catching the evening fish. Each day, Steven and his brother venture out on their boat called 'Felicity', out into the waters surrounding the British Isles. He tells me that they are catching less and less these days. The fish they do catch is mainly skate, sole, plaice and cod, all of which are rather hard to come by. Steven fears for the longevity of his profession, not just for the next but his own generation. 

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Come rain or shine, these men and women are out on the shorelines of East Sussex, from Hastings to Rye, soon to catch the fish of the day, and sometimes all the evening for that matter. Men like Steven here, who tells me he has been fishing for half a century since a wee boy, has seen his profession change considerably since when he first started. 

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For millennia, fishermen have been coming and going from the Stade in Old Town Hastings, the largest and oldest beach-launched fleet in the country. Time and government quotas, Steven tells me, will determine how long his profession will last. 

Hastings Fisheries

Photographs & Words by Angus D. Birditt

Angus D. Birditt | @ourisles