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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Joanna Partridge

‘We are at 50% of the quota we had’: boss of UK’s last long-range trawler rues ‘squandered’ Brexit hopes

Jane Sandell sitting on the foredeck of a large oceangoing trawler between two heavy ropes, with the bridge of the vessel in the background
Jane Sandell, chief executive of the Kirkella’s owner, UK Fisheries: ‘Now we are forced further north, which isn’t ideal, because the weather is worse.’ Photograph: Richard Saker/The Observer

Docked in the port of Hull, the fishing vessel Kirkella dominates the quayside, towering over a nearby warehouse. Usually found trawling Arctic waters off the coast of Svalbard, catching cod and haddock to supply British fish and chip shops, it is in port for a short time before departing on another lengthy voyage to those distant seas.

It’s not just enormous: the five-year-old freezer trawler is also state-of-the-art. Fish snared in its giant nets are filleted and frozen within 40 minutes inside the onboard “factory” that spans a deck of the ship.

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