The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Gruelling fishing work at North Sea highlighted in exhibition
A striking exhibition of black and white fishing images from the 1990s will go on display in Angus.
The North Sea fishing photography exhibition from Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert will be shown at Montrose Museum from this Saturday until May 13.
The images were shot aboard the seine net fishing boats, Mairead and Argosy, and capture the reality of the life at sea for the fishermen of Scotland’s North East fishing communities – the cramped conditions, the monotony, and the gruelling work in harsh conditions.
Mr Sutton-Hibbert said: “Considering I come from a land-locked family, I’ve done my fair share of bobbing about on the waves of the planet, and no sea has more bobbing than the North Sea.
“I think my first experience on the North Sea was on a fishing trawler, on an overnight assignment photographing fishing trawlers for a paper.
“There was a fisherman’s protest, lots of trawlers all together, protesting latest EU rules and regulations, net sizes and quotas.
“I got sent out to photograph.
“It was a night of adventure: watch dawn rise, shoot the other boats, back to harbour, home by lunchtime.
“The skipper that night, Ronnie, was a decent chap. I asked him how long he usually goes out for at a time. “‘10 days’, was the reply. “‘Can I come next time?’ I asked?
“He replied, ‘If you think you can handle it, you can come, but there’s no going back – if you’re sea sick you’ll be sea sick for 10 days’. “Count me in.” The results of this expedition are captured in these images.
Mr Sutton-Hibbert grew up in Scotland and for over a decade was one of the principal photographers for Greenpeace International, undertaking assignments worldwide and on the oceans.
In recent years he was based in Japan, but he has relocated back to his home country of Scotland.
His work has taken him to more than 80 countries, as far flung as Antarctica and Outer Mongolia.
His personal and commissioned work has won many photojournalism awards.