We hope the UK Government fixes this fast. They are entirely to blame for this Brexit mess

“There is no point going out. We will leave the fish in the water.”

Trawler woman Elaine Black works hard to put food on the table in her home – and homes and restaurants around Europe – but warns post-brexit red tape is strangling her industry.

Elaine works on a 32-foot trawler, the Kinloch, which is skippered by her husband, Edward, but it is currently tied up in Pittenweem, Fife, while its last catch is languishing on a lorry waiting to go to Europe.

She said: “We can’t go back out to sea because some of our catch is already stuck in traffic queues rotting away.

“Fishing crews work long hours in what is the most dangerous job to put food on the table. Our catches are also valuable exports, in demand in Spain, but we can’t get them there.

“We hope the UK Government fixes this fast. It has had enough time to prepare for Brexit and certainly flagged up fishing as a priority but now the country’s fishing fleet is tied up in port. They are absolutely to blame for this.

“I have had to take on a wee part-time job to help pay the bills. Others will too, if they can find them.”

Mother of three Elaine, 48, has been working on the Kinloch for four years. As one of the co-founders of UK Women in Fisheries she is a role model for women in an industry where 97% are men. Of the 3% women, only 1% will go out to sea, with the others working in fish processing or farming.

“We must be the last area of male dominated careers,” she said. “But there’s a few of us dotted around the UK and it’s my aim to boost those numbers, hopefully by showing other woman that it is possible.”

When the Kinloch does go out, it sets sail before dawn and Elaine faces an 18-hour working day. Back home are her children, twin daughters, Summer and Brook 18, and son Ryan, 20.

The Kinloch trawls for langoustines and other shellfish, with the Blacks taking half the catch while the boat’s owner takes the other half. Her entry into one of the most dangerous jobs in the country came by accident.

“My husband had to collect our trawler from its previous owners on Kinlochleven on the west coast and was struggling to get crew after being let down by call-offs,” she said.

“I volunteered, thinking it would be hard going, but loved every minute of it, especially the trip through the Caledonian Canal. That was four years ago and I haven’t come home from sea since, so to speak.

“The children have grown up and are making their own way in life and at 48 I’m hoping to show that it possible to work in a physically and mentally demanding job in middle-age.”

The Kinloch fishes in the Firth of Forth estuary, or off Kirkcaldy, with the occasional longer trip.

Elaine has a healthy respect for the sea, and says: “I have never been overboard, and always wear a lifejacket. Take no chances as the sea can be unforgiving.”

Under winter moonlight, Elaine helps as the gear is winched overboard to a depth of 20 to 40 feet, along with the massive heavy door which holds the net in shape.

As most people are just waking up, the first net of the day is already in place and will tow for four hours while preparations are made on board to land and sort out the catch.

It will be graded according to size.

“It’s hard work trying to process them before the next haul arrives,” Elaine explains.

“The weather can be dreadful at times, driving rain and bitterly cold, but I never take any chances in gales. We will turn around if the weather turns.

“We have the forecast and all kinds of weather apps to warn us now but we still keep a weather eye on the wind and sky.

“My job depends on the tides and the moon and I believe a full moon makes for a better catch.”