Fish Town

Episode 5

Up the coast from Peterhead, new trawler Faithlie heads out to sea, skippered by one of the most experienced fishermen in the Scottish fleet, Davie Milne. They travel 120 miles from harbour to fish in Norwegian waters where on this trip they are trialling a new style of fishing net, never used before, with the goal of catching high-priced flat fish. It doesn’t take long for first mate Jakey and the rest of the crew to get to grips with the new technology and the nets are a success but will the prices at market reflect the quality of the catch? In waters off Orkney, skipper Iain Harcus is also fishing for high-valued white fish on board the 22-year-old trawler Aalskere. On an old boat there are constant repairs and the crew are put on high alert when their winches suddenly stop working and their nets are stranded in the water. It is down to the boat's engineer to fix the problem. On shore in Peterhead, a new scheme is underway, providing the vital skills needed to work in the fishing industry. This time, teacher Gordon Gibb has five teenagers to train up, some of who have never even eaten fish before, so he is facing an uphill battle to get these kids prepared for a life at sea.