Meet the Team

David Stevens is the current Chairman of FITF. He has been a fisherman for 30 years and is the joint skipper of a family owned 24 metre fishing vessel based in Newlyn, Cornwall. He has always had a keen interest in undertaking scientific work and has worked on numerous projects to obtain more robust and representative data , working with Seafish, the MMO, Cefas and ICES. David looks forward to a future where scientists, industry and management collaborate for the long-term health of the fishery. David also sits on the FITF Executive Committee, providing more day to day guidance to the charity.

Adrian Bartlett is currently acting as FITF Vice-Chair. He started fishing in 1987, working his way up from deckhand to skipper on crabbing boats and potters based in Kingswear, South Devon. Adrian has fished for crabs, lobster and other shellfish all around the UK coast, mainly within the tidal waters North of Alderney (Channel Islands). After working passionately within the UK seafood industry for over 30 years, he now shares his knowledge and passion with the UK public and chefs, to champion UK shellfish and teach people how to "pick a crab" without fear! More recently he took on the role of Director at Ecomotus - an innovative tech solution working towards reducing the carbon footprint of the fishing industry. You can find Adrian at the Crabstock Shellfish Festival - engaging inland communities in seafood - and teaching people about the health benefits of eating British shellfish - as well as the social and economic importance of supporting the country’s fishing industry. Since 2015 Adrian’s pop up shellfish restaurant "Crab-Stock & 2 Smoking Lobsters" tours UK food festivals while he forms part of the "Crabstock boys" - demoing shellfish around the UK. Adrian believes that British shellfish is the best in the world and that we should do all that we can to keep all our wonderful, nutritious, sustainable shellfish on the menu. Adrian also sits on the FITF Executive Committee, providing more day to day guidance to the charity.

Emma Plotnek is a marine scientist with a strong interest in sustainable seafood and furthering the essential role fishing communities play in taking care of the seas around us, while managing their businesses and contributing to food security. She has experience working with capture fisheries and in the aquaculture sector, enjoys time on farms and at sea, working closely with local communities and major industries involved in the seafood sector. Emma joined the UK fishing sector after gaining almost a decade of experience abroad, taking her from Canada to Chilean Patagonia. Emma is now based in Dorset on the South Coast, taking on the role of Executive Director within this dynamic team.

Anna Patel is the project manager at Fishing into the Future. Anna graduated in Marine Ecology in 2013 and has been working in fisheries for around eight years. Her interests lie in local food systems, both terrestrially and in the marine environment and she especially enjoys working with those in the seafood value chain. Anna specialises in engagement and participation with fishing communities, sharing knowledge between different sectors working in the coastal and marine environment and currently splits her time between working for Fishing into the Future and the Marine Management Organisation, and is based in Cornwall. Previously Anna has worked for organisations supporting local fisheries funding, building communication within the sector and ensuring small-scale fleets or fish farms are fairly represented.

Aberdeen based David Anderson prides himself on being able to engage and work collaboratively with people from all backgrounds in UK fishing. He is based in Aberdeen and is engaged throughout the ports of North East Scotland. He holds an extensive variety of roles; currently he is the CEO of Aberdeen Fish Producers Organisation Ltd, Chair of the North East White Fish Forum, Director of Scottish Seas Ltd, Director of the North and West Fish Producer Organisation, Director of the Scottish White Fish Producers Association, Director of Seafood Scotland and Director of the Sea Fisheries Scotland Accreditation Group. Previously he has worked as the Liaison Officer with the Scottish Fishermen's Organisation, and as the Chair of the Scottish Association of Fish Producer Organisations, and Chair of the Scottish Industry Discards Initiative. He wants to use his knowledge, connections and experience to steer sea fisheries towards a better future and communicate the healthy, sustainable activities taking place in UK fishing that work towards a long term future and stability for the industry.

Glen Annison - known as Zeddy - is based in the fishing village of Seahouses on the Northumberland coast. He’s been in the fishing industry for over 25 years, working in a team on the Standshore potting for lobster and Crab. Zeddy is the proud father of three children – who all follow his passion and like to help him on the boat – with one son now starting his fishing career as he leaves school. He wants to help younger generations to keep the fishing industry safe and buoyant, and bring more young people into the industry. He believes that fishing isn’t really a job if you love it, it’s more a social activity where you can enjoy making money while also enjoying the sunrise!

James Buchan - known within industry circles as Jimmy - left school in 1976 to start a career at sea as a deckhand - before going on to become a vessel owner. Having fished the North Sea most of his life, first as a whitefish skipper, and latterly concentrating on Nephrops, Jimmy has had a full and varied career across different sectors within the fishing industry. More recently he has built a seafood supply company “Amity Fish Co”, focused on quality seafood delivery through e-commerce, home delivery, and into food service. Jimmy has served on several industry boards over several decades which has helped Jimmy gain a wealth of knowledge. He took up a new role as Chief Executive Officer at the Scottish Seafood Association in 2017 and has continued to serve the industry using his knowledge and experience to promote and champion the processing sector.

Kara Brydson is the Executive Director of Fisheries Innovation & Sustainability, the coalition driving innovation for a prosperous and sustainable UK seafood industry. Kara has 25 years’ advocacy, policy and management experience in health, environment and fisheries sectors around the world, and works with communities and industries to support problem solving science and knowledge sharing. She is a Liveryman of the Fishmongers’ Company and a trustee of the Scottish Fisheries Museum.

Tom is a Principal Marine Fisheries Scientist and Advisor at Cefas on marine and fisheries issues. In his current position he is responsible for providing scientific and policy advice to government institutes including Defra on commercial fisheries and the marine environment. His role includes the delivery of national and international research, managing funding programmes, and participating in international fisheries negotiations.

Until 2021, Hazel Curtis was the Director of Corporate Relations at Seafish, working at Seafish since 2000. Hazel led the Economics team until December 2018, contributing to many government and industry initiatives to help improve fisheries management and fleet efficiency. She developed a programme of economic data collection from the seafood industry and a programme of providing analysis, evidence and expert advice to inform business and government policy decisions. Her economics work at Seafish included impact assessments of key policy proposals and management measures such as the Landing Obligation. Hazel has been a member of the European Commission’s Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries, providing official advice to the Commission, and from 2011 to 2015 was the President of the European Association of Fisheries Economists. In 2016, Hazel was also elected as a member of the Executive Committee of the International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade. Hazel sits on the FITF Executive Committee, providing more day to day guidance to the charity.

Carl Davies is a commercial fishermen and skipper in Conwy, Wales. He grew up in a fishing family and has been around fishing, angling, sailing, fishery patrol, and research boats since the age of six. Carl studied Oceanography and Marine Biology at Bangor University, and then went on to study Marine Environmental Protection. He worked at the Eastern Sea Fisheries Committee as a Research and Fishery Officer, heading up the cockle, mussel, and shrimp surveys, and with the South Wales Sea Fisheries committee on projects with the lobster and crab fishery. Alongside academia and research, he also goes to sea as a commercial fisherman and chartering angling boats. Since 1999 he has been back in his hometown working the family business, mainly chartering and fishing for lobster, crab and prawn, as well as jigging for pollack. He considers his past experience studying marine science as an integral part of his everyday job, and he continually applies his knowledge to his daily fishing experience.

Alexa Dayton built the Gulf of Maine Research Institute Marine Resource Education Programme – the flagship training programme for the GMRI. She now takes on the role of Executive Director at the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries. Alexa has been a hugely valuable asset since the concept of FITF was born in 2013 and has been instrumental in guiding the charity toward success and delivery in all areas, but she brings particular expertise in the area of Fisheries Education and encouraging collaboration across stakeholders. Alexa also sits on the FITF Executive Committee, providing more day to day guidance to the charity.

Brian Douglas has been at sea since he could walk, working with his Grandad and Father in a small boat. When he was 15 years old, he started fishing full time, potting for crabs & lobsters, and netting for turbots, dover soles, & cod. He also spent some time wreck netting. For the last 22 years he’s been fishing for prawns. He believes fishing is a way of life, not just a job, that fishermen do for a love of the sea and wants to support FITF because of the need for people to come together for the future of the fishing industry, and find ways to support young people to get involved in fishing.

Hannah Fennell is the Head of Orkney Fisheries Association (OFA) and is based on Orkney Islands. She comes from a research and science background, having previously worked as a researcher for OFA and for Marine Scotland. Aside from her role at OFA, she is currently working on a part-time PhD exploring the impact of static fishing gear and has previous research experience in socio-economic indicators in the fishing sector. Hannah has a unique set of skills as she holds a strong academic background but is also integrated within the fishing community, so she is well placed to support most areas of FITF’s work. She has a strong interest in improving the viability of small scale fisheries through increased opportunities and localised management to work towards thriving and robust, small scale fisheries around the coastline, where fishing is viewed as a valuable sector that young people want to - and are able to - be a part of. Hannah also sits on the FITF Executive Committee, providing more day to day guidance to the charity.

Paul comes from generations based in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex. He is a father, grandfather and commercial fisherman, who owned a trawler for 55 years, gaining all his certificates at Lowestoft Maritime college, as well as managing a fish export business. He’s involved in the RNLI and was the Chairman of Leigh and Southend Fishermen’s Association for many years. Paul was a member and vice-chair of the Kent and Essex Sea fisheries committee member for 15 years. He now works to represent wider fishing communities as the President of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations. Working with industry and government on fisheries management and policies.

Richard is the Head of Sustainable Fisheries at the MMO, a role which includes MMO core services (e.g. fishing vessel licensing and quota management), as well as the development and implementation of FMPs as part of Defra’s overall programme. Richard is passionate about moving to a more partnership-based way of working. He was instrumental in the establishment of regional fisheries groups and has led the adoption of new ways of working within the MMO to enable increased industry participation in the development and implementation of FMPs, as well as tackling fishing-related issues and identifying opportunities at a regional / more local level. He’s actively supports FITF’s work and regularly takes a lead role at our events.

Asa and Cassie Howe are based out of Seahouses on the Northumberland coast and Asa fishes independently on his vessel, Ava Carol, potting for lobsters and crab. Asa and Cassie work closely, as Cassie has recently taken on a role in their business, Howe Fisheries, supporting with administration and occasionally joining Asa out fishing. Asa and Cassie and currently in the process of buying a new boat to expand their fishing endeavours.

David Jarrad is the Chief Executive Officer the Shellfish Association of Great Britain (SAGB). The SAGB represents the views of shellfisheries with Government, other users of the sea and environmental organisations. David is very well known in the shellfish sector both in the UK and overseas. David started his career at a shellfish farm on the River Exe in South Devon in the early 1980’s having studied fish farming and fisheries management at Sparsholt Agricultural College, Hampshire. He was Managing Director of River Exe Shellfish Farms in the Exe estuary and operated Abbotsbury Oysters – where he also started a seafood restaurant. He took on his role at the SAGB in 2015. David sits on the board of the European Mollusc Producers Association (EMPA) – this is an ‘association of national associations’ throughout Europe with the aim to ensure representation of shellfish producers within European and national bodies and to work collaboratively for the development and recognition of the sector.

Magnus Johnson is a researcher based in Scarborough and a senior lecturer in environmental marine science at the University of Hull. His research interests include crustaceans, fisheries and anything that tastes good or lives in an interesting place. He has a number of PhD students that are looking at the impact of technology on fishing, the ecology of the Holderness coast fishery and marine spatial policy. He has a long association with the Bridlington fleet, is a member of the SAGB and the NFFO and a fellow of the Marine Biological Association. As a proud advocate for the fishing industry (and sometimes critical friend), he wants to use his involvement with FITF to learn from fishermen and broaden his work with the industry. He also sits on the board for Invisible Dust (an art-science charity) as a volunteer and am an elected member of the senate at the University of Hull.

Trevor Jones is based in North Wales and has a diverse background in fishing and aquaculture. He has worked a variety of fishing gears (potting, netting, lining and trawling) on vessels ranging from under-10m to 43m. He is also involved in the development and operation of mussel farms, focused on scientifically based principles for best practices, and supporting postgraduate studies, that has culminated in the MSC certification of the Menai Strait Mussels. Additionally, he is an expert in fishing safety and training, working collaboratively in various committees and has been awarded a Merchant Navy Medal for services to fishing safety. Trevor was involved with FITF since its inception, and wants to help the charity become more effective through meaningful engagement in supporting ecosystems-based data and informed, adaptive fisheries co-management. He hopes to see a more long-term vision of sustainability in the industry, drawing on experience from the Nordic regimes of fishing to improve practices.

Michel Kaiser is currently the Chief Scientist and Professor of Fisheries Conservation at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. Prior to joining Heriot-Watt University, he was the Science & Standards Director at the Marine Stewardship Council and he was the Professor of Marine Conservation Ecology at Bangor University for 20 years. His research interests focus on techniques to achieve sustainable use of marine resources while seeking to minimise impacts on the marine environment. He is best-known for his expertise in fisheries ecosystems, data poor fisheries and the use of spatial management measures to achieve conservation and fisheries objectives. Throughout his career has worked at the scientific interface between fisheries and conservation. He has extensive research collaborations with seafood industries in the UK and further afield. Michel currently holds a number of public appointments. He is a member of the IUCN-Fisheries Expert Group and is an independent Member of the UK Marine Science Coordination Committee, he chairs the International Scientific Advisory Committee for the pulse-trawling project (Holland). Past roles include: independent board member of the UK Seafish Industry Authority from 2007-2105 and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee board from 2012-2017. He has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications and has written or edited 5 books including Marine Fisheries Ecology and Marine Ecology: Processes Systems and Impacts - and is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Fish Biology. In 2012 he co-convened the 6th World Fisheries Congress. Michel also sits on the FITF Executive Committee, providing more day to day guidance to the charity.

Jimmy Kelly is the owner of the fishing vessel Glen Bay II based out of Portavogie and fishing along the Northern Irish coastline, targeting whelk, lobster, and crab with creels. His previous fishing experience includes prawn trawling, scalloping, fishing for herring with semi-pelagic gears, and pair trawling for whitefish within the Irish Sea, Clyde and North Channel, as well as 20 years of government service, which included skippering fishery patrol vessels along the North Irish coast. He was elected to the Board of the NIFPO representing the Under 10 metre fleet and represents local fishermen on the Inshore Fisheries Steering Group, he also sits on the Northern Ireland Fishermen's Safety Forum to promote a better safety culture within the industry. Jimmy holds an NTSB certification as a Marine Accident Investigator, Ship Security Officer and Ship Safety Officer. He wants to improve management, understanding and information sharing, and is keen to encourage fishermen to help each other by cooperating with and learning from other industry stakeholders, and is keen to promote a co-management approach within the whole fishing industry around the British Isles and its territories.

George Lamplough was born and raised on the Isle of Wight and started his fishing career 10 years ago when he moved to Whitby as an apprentice with the Whitby & district fishing industry training school. He’s worked with several different sectors of fishing including trawling and scallop dredging but the bulk of his time fishing has been spent in the potting sector. He enjoys working with apprentices and seeing young people develop their skills and gain experience and employment not just in the fishing industry but in a broad spectrum of different fields within the maritime sector. George's motive to be involved with FITF is to give others the same opportunities fishing has given to him. He believes fishing can quite literally raise people from the gutters and young people today deserve this opportunity, and he wants to play a part supporting the fishing industry.

Aisling grew up in a fishing village regularly exploring in and on the sea. She studied to be a fisheries scientist, including spending lots of time on both commercial fishing vessels in the Celtic Sea and Atlantic and research vessels in the Irish Sea and Porcupine Bank. Growing up around fishermen and being at sea with them has made it clear how much fisheries science is about the people as much as the fish and the sea. This has strongly shaped the work she has done for the local councils on the Berwickshire and Northumberland Coast, at Natural England and now at the MMO. At various times she has developed information with others on all the sectors that operate in the sea and all the activities that people do in the sea as well as how the sea works. She works as the head of scientific evidence and evaluation focusing with the team on getting data and science from different disciplines in ecology, social science, economics and governance into decision making so that there is as full a picture as possible of what we know from research and experience, from people doing the work and people’s research.

Steve Mackinson began his career working with Canadian herring fishermen in the late 90s. It was then he realised that when science is not well connected with reality, there are missed opportunities for research and management. Ever since, Steve has taken a keen interest in building stronger collaboration among scientists, stakeholders and policy - and since 2016 he has acted as the first Chief Scientific Officer at the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen's Association. His current role is to bring industry data in to the scientific arena so that it can contribute to the knowledge base underpinning stock assessments and research on changes in the marine environment. He draws upon 17 years’ experience at Cefas, working on fisheries acoustics, investigating changes in the North Sea food-web, ecosystem modelling and leading the EU-wide science-industry collaborative research projects GAP1 & 2 (www.gap2.eu). Steve has been involved with FITF since its inception and has continually guided the strategic direction of the charity to build bridges between industry and science.

Phil McBryde is a policy lead in the Domestic Fisheries & Reform team at Defra. With over 20 years of marine, agriculture and environment policy and operational experience in Defra and delivery bodies, Phil has worked in fisheries policy since 2016 and was part of the team that delivered the Fisheries White Paper in 2018 and the Fisheries Act 2020. Most recently he has been overseeing innovative and ground-breaking new Fisheries Management Plans under the Fisheries Act for seabass and a range of demersal non-quota species being developed in 2023. Phil looks forward to contributing to strengthening collaborative working across fisheries management.

North Sea Fisherman, Ashley Mullenger – otherwise known as the female fisherman – is a relatively recent industry entrant working out of Wells next to the Sea. She is the owner of the vessel Fairlass, and she is currently a skipper in training on a smaller boat called Saoirse, which is predominantly fishing for whelks, crabs and lobster. Her ambition for the future is to diversify into catching other types of seasonal fish for direct retail sales. Ashley swapped an office job for commercial fishing after spending multiple summers working on a charter angling vessel – and she is now on her way to owning and skippering her own vessel, as well as building up a massive social media following and appearing on various popular television shows to champion the work of women and men in the fishing industry working on small scale day boats. She is passionate about sustainable fishing practices and bringing locally caught seafood to UK markets, as well as promoting fishing as an attractive career to encourage new entrants into the industry. Ashley is community orientated and is vice-chair of the local parish council, a harbour commissioner, and involved in amateur dramatics when time and fishing permits.

Yasmin runs the Hastings Fishermen's Protection Society based on Rock-a-Nore beach in Hastings. She's worked with the fishermen at Hastings for nearly 20 years and have seen a thriving, culturally rich, historically important, sustainable fishing community rapidly decline. She wants to uphold fishing as a cultural way of life in Hastings, facing challenges such as the decline in local stocks. She works to support the local beach launched inshore coastal community to withstand the present and survive into the future.

The exceptional experience and knowledge of Mike Park is already well-known throughout the UK fishing sector, and he has been an important supporter and contributor to FITF’s work since its inception. He previously worked seine netting and trawling in the North Sea, however, he currently takes on the role of the CEO of the Scottish White Fish Producer Association (SWFPA). He is also the Chair of Scottish Fisheries Sustainable Accreditation Group, which deals with the MSC certification of fisheries, the Chair of the Seafish Scottish Committee, and the Chair of Box Pool Solutions (a Fish Box provider to the catching sector). Additionally, he participates in the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation through SWFPAs membership, and is also a Director of Seafood Scotland. Mike lives in the small fishing town of Stonehaven with an office in Fraserburgh, with the main whitefish port of Peterhead nearby, however he represents SWFPA members from as far afield as Oban on the west of Scotland to the Firth of Forth on the east coast. He is passionate about sustainability of fisheries, welfare and wellbeing of crew, the creation of sensible and workable fisheries management regimes, and the suitable training and education of young fishers. His vision for the future of industry is a well-balanced fishing sector that provides opportunities within a sound economic framework.

Beshlie’s interest in fishing communities is a long term one, since her first ever 'job' at six years old removing shore crabs from salmon nets on the River Teign in Devon. 'After some time attempting to find her route into commercial fishing, she started a degree studying vulnerable marine ecosystems and environmental sciences with a view to working in fisheries. She remembers storming out of a lecture when a professor described fishermen as 'rapists of the sea' – and has since worked to support fishing communities. She worked for the Marine Fisheries Agency as a British Sea Fisheries Officer, Conservation Officer and Catch Quota specialist, giving her a grounding in both fishing methods and fishing communities, and led her to seek out work embedded within a fishing community, rather than on the periphery of it. She’s spent the last decade at South Devon and Channel Shellfishermen Ltd - an association of fishing community personnel including skippers and owners of fishing vessels, merchants, processors and exporters and gear suppliers. She’s passionate about inclusion, and capacity building and supporting people within her community with challenges stemming from complex regulatory and bureaucratic requirements. She wants to support FITF as she is also passionate about building relationships, expanding understanding and giving people confidence to participate.

Jenny and Karl Price jointly own the Isobella M, fishing for shellfish out of Bridlington. Karl skippers the boat and Jenny occasionally joins as crew and also handles the admin & business. They have successfully grown a fishing business while raising a family, and are active in the local fishing community, leading industry initiatives, and participating in science and management. Owing to issues finding reliable local crew to work on their boat, they have developed the “Get a Life at Sea” campaign off their own backs, a project that aims to attract young men and women into the industry.

Alan is a third-generation crab fisherman from the small fishing village of Beesands, Devon. He started fishing with his father whilst he was still at school, and by the age of 14 he had 20 pots around the shore catching crab, lobster and spider crab. In 1997, his father retired and he took over the day to day running of the business and skippering the vessel, Superb-Us. Alan has always had a strong passion for everything to do with the sea. When he is not out on the Superb-Us working strings of crab pots, he is out on a small beach boat diving for scallops or rod and line fishing for bass. He feels strongly about providing a long term sustainable future for generations to come - both environmentally and economically. His role in Fishing into the Future (FITF) started in January 2013 when he was invited by the International Sustainability Unit (ISU) to sit on the Steering group to develop the charity and he has previously served as FITF Chairman, and is also the Vice Chairman of South Devon & Channel Shellfishermen.

Richard skippers Carlee out of Mudeford Quay and is the Secretary and Treasurer for the South Coast Fishermen's Council.

Mike Warner runs A Passion for Seafood Ltd and is a leading UK seafood and fisheries consultant, connecting producer (fishermen) to the consumer 'net to plate,' via storytelling. Mike believes in reporting direct from the 'coal face' of the industry with integrity, authenticity and accuracy to emphasise best practice, environmental responsibility, high welfare, sustainability and traceability. Mike relays the story of UK seafood production in a consumer-friendly way, with aims to demystify wild catch and aquaculture practices. Mike's knowledge of and expertise in, the UK fishing industry and seafood sectors has made him a popular and reliable source of information for food organisations, NGO's, the mainstream media and educational bodies who wish to learn more about the realities of seafood production. In his time as a consultant, Mike has worked and continues to work closely with Seafish, The Shellfish Association of Great Britain, The National Lobster Hatchery (of which he is a Patron), The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers and Seafood Scotland. Mike is UK Seafood and Fisheries Ambassador for Wright Brothers London and is an ambassador for Love British Food. He is also about to join the newly formed Wright Brothers Sea Change Foundation as a Trustee In 2019. He believes fervently, that as an island nation, surrounded by some of the most productive seas in the Northern Hemisphere, we should have far more of a connection to our coasts and their communities. 'Sustainability doesn't just refer to fish stocks, but to the long term viability of our fishing communities and their harmony and balance with the environment within which they work.'

Ian started as a pier pest catching the ropes and helping the boats land, starting fishing professionally at 16 on a Rothesay boat on the Clyde. He brought his first boat to Largs at the age of 20 working her at the prawns and fish and then built a steel 12m Sardonyx II Ba35 for scallops, prawns and pelagics with one of the first 3 drum winches made for twin rig, working the west coast and Firth of Forth on the east coast. Ian currently has the Eilidh Anne GK2 and keeps his catch live selling to high end restaurants. He’s been a member of the Clyde Fishermen’s Association since 1986 and branch chairman for roughly 30 years. He’s been involved in projects to re-design fishing gears to reduce environmental impact and was accredited with the Responsible Fishing Scheme. He also won the 2024 U10 fisherman award this year at the Fishing News Awards and has made appearances on television taking about fishing and promoting seafood.

Based out of Newhaven in East Sussex, Neil Witney is the owner and skipper of About Time NN8, a U-12m trawler fishing for mixed species with one other crew member, actively engaging in working groups and committees to contribute to the future of the industry. He is committed to preserving the local community, small businesses, and local fishing heritage. Neil works with FITF as a means to help secure a future for the industry, and feels it is important to pass on knowledge that benefits future fishing generations, and work towards transitioning the industry to something where everyone involved feels represented, and proud of what they do.

Toby grew up in St Ives on the north coast of Cornwall, spending time hanging around the harbour and the beaches, either fishing or trying to cadge trips from the old skippers on the tourist mackerel fishing boats. After leaving Cornwall to work in in the IT industry, and travel the world, he returned to Cornwall in 2002 to run a wine wholesale business with his with wife which was sold in 2013. During all these years Toby always had boats and fished recreationally. In 2017 he entered the commercial fishing sector, experiencing it’s challenges and rewards, through a steep learning curve! He keeps his boat at Hayle harbour and fishes year round, averaging about 110 days at sea each year. He fishes exclusively with rod and line, primarily targeting bass, but also targeting pollack, mackerel and squid when the bass are elusive! He believes that positive change can only come from working together, even if your views differ from those you are working with. He hopes to support FITF’s work to help make the UK Fishing industry prosperous and sustainable.