Stuart Russell: Which port was bigger? Hull or Grimsby?
NOW here's a question for all you proud Grimbos who worked in or around the fishing industry:
Which was the biggest fishing port in the country – Hull or Grimsby?
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It's an argument which has gone on for decades and it came up yet again recently when a friend took me to task for suggesting that it was Hull which lay claim to being the biggest.
I reckon Grimsby was the biggest in terms of fish landings way back in the 1930s, but then Hull took over through to the Seventies largely by having a bigger fleet of sidewinder vessels which were then steadily replaced by freezers until 1976 when they were withdrawn following the Cod War settlement which effectively ended the British distant water industry.
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So I'll stick with Hull (being a Hull-Gully I have to).
Your views are welcome.
2 Comments
by Leveret2
Tuesday, March 19 2013, 5:28PM
“Didn't folk go by weight (kits) or by value, at one time ?”
by EducatedSage
Tuesday, March 19 2013, 2:22PM
“The difference in the two ports was never about size but rather about the kind of fishing undertaken.
Following an unsuccessful experiment with middle water fishing after World War II by three Hull owners, Hull vessels concentrated their fishing effort on the distant water fisheries of Greenland, Iceland, Bear Island, Spitzbergen, Barents Sea and Norwegian Coast. A small fleet of seine net vessels (owned by Boston DSF Co Ltd) also operated from the port.
By contrast, Grimsby ships fished the distant, middle water/westerly, North Sea and inshore grounds, concentrating primarily on quality rather than quantity.
In my view the two ports were much like any other business - there were good and bad owners, good and bad ships, good and bad skippers and good and bad crews. However, when all the "bests" came together, there was nothing to equal them in either peace or war.
Unfortunately it is also true that "never were so many families sacrificed so cheaply, by so few".”