Fisherfolk

For every one job in the boats, there were around four back on land - and as many as ten in the heyday of the herring fishing fleets. These jobs, such as gutting, preserving, baiting of lines and net repairing, were normally done by members of the fishermen's families.

Fishing tended to be a seasonal activity with, for example, herring fleets going out to sea in mid-July. It was common practice for Highlanders to migrate to the ports to pick up temporary, but well paid, work as crew members. Inevitably fishing boats were lost, sometimes as a result of overloading, or sometimes because of freak storms. This was always a devastating event affecting most families in small communities.

Fishing and agricultural communities tended to keep themselves separate from each other with, for example, virtually no inter-marriages between the two groups. In many East coast ports there was a religious divide too, arising from the conversion of fishermen by the Plymouth Brethren and other faith missions.

Places to Visit
Visit any Scottish coastal town or village and you're sure to find signs of fishing life from days gone by. But for anyone with fishing ancestors, a trip to the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther, Fife is unmissable. The museum is in the heart of the beautiful East Neuk of Fife, an area with a rich fishing heritage. Full details can be found on the Museum website:
www.scotfishmuseum.org