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September 2013 issue
by Damian Bird
Having photographed Peter Newton fishing off the West Bay coast more than ten years ago I was thrilled when he
agreed to let me spend a morning with him on his boat The Gillian S, fishing the same waters this August 2013.
Pete fishes for Lobsters, crabs, cuttlefish and whelks using baited pots and Dover sole using nets. His fishing
techniques are completely eco-friendly and because he fishes on his own, there is nothing intensive about his
operation. There is nothing lazy about Pete's fishing practices either and he swaps hard, skilled work for an honest
and high quality catch.
Pete is independent and a man happy in his own company. His intense seven-day-a-week fishing program is only
interrupted by days off for dangerous weather conditions and a few weeks off every January when the weather is
usually at its worst off the Dorset coast.
First light in West Bay, Dorset and Pete Newton waits for me to
board on his boat, the Gillian S.
Because the crabs pincers have the crushing power to break a broom stick in half pete has to handle each one with
care. Under his glove he showed me a two inch long scar between the thumb and first finger on his right hand caused
by a crab and “not even a big one at that!”
Pete almost always fishes alone and apart from a winch to pull up five pots, all of the work is manual and done by him.
Pete’s style of potting is 100% eco friendly and follows the architype of ‘Hunter Gatherer’.
Lobsters normally have one cutter pincer and one crusher pincer although sometimes they have two of the same kind.
Pete showed me a lobster with one very tiny pincer that he explained was re growing after the previous one had been
knocked off.
Peter explained to me that he avoids going fishing in rough weather because it is tough on the arms and shoulders.
Pete’s lobster pots ate delivered from Scotland and cost £900 for 10.
Pete’s fresh catch safely in a bucket on the deck of The Gillian S.
Pete loves his life as a fisherman and told me that he doesn’t consider it to be work. He goes fishing seven days a
week throught the year except for January in which he takes two weeks off to go on holiday to Gambia. Pete and his
wife go to the same resort in Gambia every year and financially support a family there who they met working at the
hotel they always stay at. This shot was taken through the misted glass of The Gillian S’s cabin and captures the
serenity and peace that Pete feels at sea.
The view of the side of one of Pete’s freshly hauled pots. Coral and seaweed are growing on the full pot, which have to
be jet washed off when they become too well established. Pete explained to me that clean pots catch better.
Pete can be seen here disabling the crab’s pincer with a small knife (held in his right hand). A small incision has to be
made either in the middle or on the outside of each claw to prevent the crabs from damaging each other in the bucket.
The steering and throttle for the boat are repeated here
at the front for careful manouvering when positioning the
boat to winch up the pots for unloading on deck.
Welks being washed and sorted on deck. Welks are not
popular in the UK and are mostly exported to Korea for
bar snacks.
The biting sea creatures as they arrive on the deck of The Gillian S.
Pete enjoyes a coffee in between hauling pots and sorting
his catch.
Pete keeps all of his lobsters in a ‘keep pot’ at sea to maintain their freshness until he has enough of them to take to
market. The keep pot can be seen here full of large blue lobsters (left). Pete confided in me that he has had his entire
catch (worth in excess of £1000) stolen on a few occasions. Unscrupulous pirates of the sea do exist off the Dorset
coast. Pete recounted to me a story of one of these occasions on which he had a big order for a wedding and was left
having to explain to his client that his catch had been stolen, leading to the client having to accept lobsters of “all
different sizes” for their wedding breakfast.
Pete returning to West Bay harbour at 11.30 am following six hours of fishing.
