Why our fishing industry deserves better than this betrayal of Humber crews – Yorkshire Post Letters

THE UK fishing industry is back in the news (Sir Barney White-Spunner, The Yorkshire Post, March 21). This brought back memories of a once booming industry many decades ago.

Let UK trawlers like Hull’s Kirkella go back to sea and stop 20,000 tonnes of Russian fish being impoted to Britain – Sir Barney White-Spunner

In the mid 1950s we had large family gatherings in Grimsby. The town was vital to the industry and the docks were crammed full with trawlers.

The railway ran over a small bridge by Farebrother Street. Relatives told me that a fish train left most evenings at 7pm bound for London.

As a young lad I watched this train pass, the wagons loaded with fish, probably hauled by a 9F – a big freight engine. The number of wagons, including a guard’s van, totalled 80. It was an impressive sight.

Moving to the 1970s, I recall the UK joining the EEC in 1973. Shortly after the change, most newspapers carried a picture of three Spanish trawlers fishing in what were once UK waters. This surprised me.

It is going to take some time to implement this Government’s proposed improvements. For an island nation, with centuries of fishing behind it, this has become a sad state of affairs.

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