A Tide Worth Turning

blog / a tide worth turning

This project started, like all good things, on a bike ride. I was at the ferry port in Stornoway, having cycled the Hebridean Way, when I got talking to another pair of riders who had also completed the route. We spoke about tailwinds, route conditions and our optimal snacks before conversation drifted onto what we each ‘do’. Before long, one of the pair, Phoebe, was telling me about her research with fishermen¹ around England.

Phoebe mentioned that the team she was part of were hoping to create a short film about the lives of these fishermen. Full imposter syndrome in play, I said that I was involved in filmmaking and would love to help out. We shared my email and went on our ways.

A few weeks later, a message landed in my inbox.

Over the following months I was welcomed into the world of inshore and small-scale² fishing communities around the UK and introduced to the growing pressures³ they face. The film would focus on fishermen along the Northumberland coastline—an area that has seen a sharp decline in active boats, days at sea and employment among the inshore fleet.

An early trip to Newcastle for a symposium organised by the Inshore & Small-Scale Fisheries Consortium gave me the chance to meet people living this reality. Fishermen, researchers, local organisations and policymakers all in one room, each speaking about the fragility of these communities from different angles.

It was there that I met the fishermen who would become the focus of the film. Over the next few months I was hosted by Phoebe and her partner Ainsley in Newcastle, from where I visited fishermen across the Northumberland coast, capturing interviews and filming with them at sea.

I wanted the documentary to feel observational and close, with deliberate handheld movement, tight framing, and an emphasis on small details. But more than anything, I wanted to share fishermen’s stories honesty. I was lucky to visit them over multiple trips, letting conversations unfold naturally and allowing their connection to the sea and to place speak for itself.

The project is being shared nationally as part of the Pride in our Seas II: England exhibition and I’m excited to be doing more work with fishing communities around England. Watch this space!