THE beautiful Maryport harbourside is home to a small fishing fleet and, hopefully, always will be.

That's because it is so very much part of the very fabric and way of life of this small, beautiful and charming West Cumbrian town.

Recently Maryport became the focus of national media attention after the disaster that struck at the fishing community and the very heart of the town with the loss of local fishermen Tony Hayton, Thomas Martin Sanderson and Peter Hilton all sadly lost on their boat Aquila.

I wrote the article below before the tragedy unfolded and dedicate this feature to all the brave lads that risk so much.

While driving around Maryport-Harbour I passed a couple of lads bent over a mass of nets, busily working away on South Quay. I carried on driving for 50 yards then reversed and parked, as the scene I had passed intrigued me and my curiosity was stirred.

 What are they doing exactly? Where are they going when out at sea? That and loads of other questions ran through my mind.

The men in question were locals, Sean Humphries and his brother Wayne from the boat Chelaris.

After introductions I asked what exactly they were doing with the nets; what they expected to catch, where they head out to?

"We are making them up' said Sean, "They are really expensive; we spend between £2,200 and £10,000 a year on nets alone. These nets we are sorting now are for catching prawns".

Where do you go when out at sea?

"It depends on the time of year, between November and May we will head over to the Isle of Man and will be fishing for scallops and between May and November we will fish for prawns, but we stay closer to home, fishing down as far as St Bees and in the Solway Firth".

Since the Solway Firth is now home to a huge wind-farm, has this affected you at all?

‘Well, yes is the answer, as it has taken some of our ground away,' explained Wayne.  ‘It's not so much fishing ground as such; it's also the passage and having to go around it which can add an extra two hours plus onto our journey".

How long have you been fishing?

"All my life," says Sean, "Over 20-odd years and Wayne has been going out for the last four years".

Normally fishing is passed form one generation to another is that the case with yourselves?

‘No, we are the first in the family.

How long do you stay out for when you are fishing and what happens if the weather is bad?

"We are out on the boat between two and three weeks at a time, it just depends on how we are doing. As for the weather we will be out there in all sorts of weather, obviously we shelter if it we think it will be too dangerous".

What do you think of Deadliest Catch, is it similar to what you do?

"It's exactly the same only they have much bigger boats".

How do you see the future of fishing?

"Well it's really hard to say, you tell me what the government wants to do; it seems it's out of our hands sometimes. I think it will always be here, it will never go away but there are not a lot of boats fishing from here any more; in fact there is only a handful at the moment where as a few years ago there were lots more".

The lads land their catch at The Maryport and Solway Fishing Co-Op from where most is sent to Fleetwood, however, you can buy fresh from Fishmongers The Catch on South Quay, at Maryport. The fish and other delicious treats that are harvested from the sea are fresher- cheaper and healthier than anywhere else other than local fishmongers such as the new fishmongers, in Senhouse Street.

Fishing seems like such a tough job, it is something I would not even consider and think these guys must be slightly mad but its what they do and Sean tells me its not a bad life.

But I can't stop wondering why someone would go for such a challenging line of work, so I ask the inevitable.

"Why?"

To which Sean simply answers "Why not?"

By Stephen Murphy