The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
CRAIG EASTON
Craig believes the herring lassies were a “unique phenomenon” in the histor y of British women at work.
He started taking pictures of women in the fishing industry in 2013, although it was a further four years before he knew their stories needed to be told.
Craig followed the route which the herring girls would have taken, and was able to capture striking portraits along the way.
“We’re talking about a band of femaleonly migratory workers, who from 1860 onward left their families behind to follow the Scottish herring fleets – to gut, salt and pickle the catch,” said Craig.
“The work was tough, the salt ate into their fingers and they worked long hours in uncovered, unpaved yards surrounded by fish guts.
“As workers they were fiercely respected, and the women valued their independence.”
Craig opted to first take pictures in Aberdeen, before travelling to Fraserburgh and Peterhead.
“Everybody once knew these women as characters, but who is doing that work now?” he said.
“Well, the answer is that women are still doing that work, but behind closed doors in factories and packing houses.
“I wanted to turn the light back on these women, because they inspired us so much in the past and still deserve to be celebrated.
“I’m a great believer in telling stories and knocking on doors, but how do you get into communities?
“As long as you’re open, honest and curious, people will want to talk to you. What people really need is a damn good listening to.”
Craig hoped to find characters who had once dominated the quays, with their gossip and fierce loyalty to one another.
He was not disappointed, despite finding himself the subject of good-natured jokes.
“As a bloke going into a factor y full of women, I was definitely ripped,” continued Craig.
“The phrase ‘screech like a fishwife’ comes from the idea that there were these characters who hollered on the quayside.
“The atmosphere lives on, women still sing on the production lines.”
Craig also interviewed women who had originally worked in the fishing industry during the 1940s and ’50s.
He discovered that those working in fishing today were unaware of the communities upon which the trade was founded.
“I met older women and they fell about laughing at the health and safety kit of today,” said Craig.
“How different it was for them, working outdoors and elbow deep in fish guts.
“T he fishing communities could be matriarchal in that women did everything while the men were at sea.
“I found that some of the younger women of today didn’t necessarily know this story.
“It’s a terrible thing that we stopped telling their stories, and I felt the stories in general needed updating.
“We need to connect the contemporary experience to the history – it’s important to have these pictures to look back on.
“What we take pictures of now will be the historical photographs of tomorrow.
“You can’t leave it to people with Instagram accounts and iPhones.
“There used to be these enormous portraits of the great and the good; I photograph ordinary people.
“I want to show an enormous respect to these women.”
I WANTED TO TURN THE LIGHT BACK ON THESE WOMEN, BECAUSE THEY INSPIRED US SO MUCH IN THE PAST AND STILL DESERVE TO BE CELEBRATED
LOUISE HUTCHINS
Louise was one such woman who was photographed by Craig, when she worked as a filleter at Nolan Seafoods in Aberdeen.
She was pictured aged 19, beaming with laughter on the factory floor.
It is perhaps no surprise that she entered the trade, as her father is a fishmonger.
Now 26 and a stay-at-home mum, Louise believes she would return to the industry in the future.
“Filleting is a skill that you have to learn, and you can make money once you find a rhythm,” she said.
“I got paid for what I cut, so if you got your head down you could make your wage in a couple of hours.
“You don’t actually cut into the stomach and you’re wearing protective clothing.
“Sometimes you would get fish scales on you, but they easily wash off.”
Louise believes that you need a thick skin to work in the industry, however.
“It was banter, but women held their own,” she said.
“There were more women than men on the tables where I worked, and I think a woman can do any job in the industry.”