Fisherman’s tales from golden age
A former Ayrshire shark hunter has sunk his teeth into writing his memoirs.
Howard McCrindle, 66, from Maidens, was well known for his work on the seas and in the mid1980s you could actually buy shark suppers in a Girvan chippie as a result of his work.
But in a classic turnaround, Howard latterly worked for the University Marine Biological Station, London University’s field station in Millport, to help save the species he once hunted.
Speaking from his home in the USA, he said: “When I was fishing sharks my kids got grief at school.
“Obviously some parents were calling me a murderer. I can’t imagine six and seven- year- olds thinking that up for themselves.
“I started writing a journal to show my children why I was doing the job. Some folk saw it and said I should make it a book.
“I realised it would be the only way to tell my side of the story.
“I was always a forwardthinking fisherman and was pretty much always at the forefront of technological advances to make the job more profitable and safer. I think I was reasonably successful at my job.
“Like all skippers I had my ups and downs. It is part of fishing. Most weeks, especially in summer, I had worked 40 hours by Tuesday night. Can you imagine a union allowing that? It’s what we had to do, all of us.
“I had no problem remembering what I have written. The biggest dilemma I had was what to leave out as if I’d put all my memories into one book it would weigh a ton.”
In the book Howard recalled how he started his working life.
He wrote: “As a youngster on my father’s boat Silver Lining we had great sport, ramming the big sharks as they swam around on the surface. They were so big that the boat would run right up on their backs with a bump. This would be considered cruel nowadays but in the days of yore your livelihood came first.
“Those wonderful days spent each summer in the late 50s and early 60s were perhaps the best of my life. As soon as school broke up in late June or early July all the fishermen’s sons would go to sea with their fathers.
“The next six weeks were spent sailing round the Firth of Clyde, hunting the world- famous Loch Fyne herring.
“Most of this work was done round the shores of Arran. The Ayrshire fleet worked predominantly on the east side from Pladda, a small island lying off the south- east coast of Arran, to the Cock of Arran, a large block of sandstone which lay on the beach at the northern extremity of the island.”
He said: “Writing the book took me back to the days when fishermen were free spirits, when there was fun and time for it, when there was room for being a specialist in many forms of fishing, unlike today where men are more or less fettered and being ruled by people who have no clue about conservation, no matter how well intended their efforts are.
“Stopping throwing discards overboard is a prime example. At least some of the discarded fish would live to grow up.
“Being hauled ashore dead, they are no longer part of the food chain.”
In his book Howard bemoans the changes to his industry.
He said: “Looking back to the 70s and 80s, it was not unusual to see a dozen trucks leaving Girvan Harbour loaded with fish and prawns for Ayr market in the springtime. Twenty- odd vessels of all shapes and sizes employed in a trade that had gone on for centuries were suddenly at risk.
“Nowadays I believe two fulltime prawners work from Girvan. There are less boats on the east side of the Firth of Clyde all the way up to Greenock now than there were in Girvan in those days.”
The book is available on Amazon.