Most of the research for my book is meeting the people who catch and kill the meat and fish we eat on our behalf. I’m learning a lot from these people and since I can’t include them all in the book, here is a rolling blog (that will hopefully be updated) of just some of the characters I have met.

Nick Hutchings, 54, is descended from a long line of fishermen sailing out of Beesands in Devon for the last 350 years. He’s been at sea since he was six-days-old and has watched the industry decline in the face of global competition and quotas. He now runs Britannia @ The Beach in an effort to sell some of his produce locally. The prices for fish relative to living costs are falling and its tough to find staff but he’ll never give up. “Fishing is in my blood”.

Richard Allen, 47, recently returned from a job in the City to work at sea. He was out in the hurricane in 1987 and was lucky to come back to dry land alive – but it didn’t put him off. “Its still less stressful than sitting at a desk.”

Here he is catching rays off Dartmouth this summer. The Britannia caught thornback, blondes, small-eyed and what the crew referred to as ‘smutty-nosed’ rays. Does anyone know what they are?

Stuart Buscombe, 43, skipper of the Britannia didn’t really have time to chat the day I went out from 4am to 4pm. The fishermen are working all day putting out the nets, bringing in the fish and finally gutting and packing the rays, turbots and crabs we caught in gillnets.

Scott Jago, 27, is a rookie fishermen who vomited on his first day out at sea (he was forced to eat a fish’s head). Since then he seems to have found his sea legs and enjoys life on the waves. Its certainly better than working in a crab processing plant. He’s a singer in the band The Lost Boyz.

Jack Dale also known as Jack the foot (ask him but its to do with reflexology) or mad Jack began putting creels out 30 years ago. Back then he sold most of the lobsters to the Continent as Scots preferred to eat frozen beef burgers. But now thanks to The Lobster Shack in North Berwick, at least half of the crustaceans are being enjoyed at home. Jack has also helped to set up the Firth of Forth Lobster Hatchery, ensuring the shellfish can continue to thrive in the area.

You can find out more in an article I wrote for Scottish Field.

Robbie Dale, Jack’s son, is launching a new boat that will take people though the whole journey of the local lobsters, from the hatchery, to lifting a creel and then finally enjoying a plate of fresh lobster and chips.

Sam Lowe, 23, was on the boat with Jack when it sank last year but he soon got back on board. He loves seeing the gannets on Bass Rock, seals lazing on the rocks and strange  creatures in the creels like sea scorpions. In his spare time, he’s in the circus. It explains a lot.

Barry Young (R) managing director of Brixham Trawler Agents with one of the fishermen dropping off a fresh John Dory. Brixham Fish Market has the highest value catch in England largely because the fishery has remained sustainable and is a popular place for London chefs, as well as local people to choose from 40 species of fish. Barry speaks to fishermen, buyers and holiday-makers he takes on tours. He loves his job and his spare time, he goes fishing…

Andy Holmes, 37, originally from South Africa, is a fisherman working out of the South West. He catches bass, mackerel, pollock, cod, gurnard, monkfish, turbot to name a few.

Andy is trained in marine ecology but prefers life at sea to studying in the lab, because this is what you see from a fishing boat…