North Sea Swells

  • Joanne Coates
Photographer Joanne Coates has for three years been recording the lives of those working in the fishing industry in Scotland, capturing the salt-drenched men who spend time at sea.
For Coates, raised in a rural area of northern England, these photographs are a continuation of childhood trips to the sea.
Every Sunday she was taken with her brother to Scarborough, Whitby and Bridlington, giving her a glimpse of her future subjects.

"Rubber boots here, nets there, catching snippets of seafarers' conversations," says Coates.
"The frayed jumpers, the big smiles. I can't explain the connection, but it was there."
These pictures show a world of hard labour and long days, grubby overalls and grey skies.
It is a treacherous business.
More lives were lost at sea in the first six months of 2016 than in the whole of the previous year.
The Fishermen's Mission charity claims that an average of 15 fishermen a year are killed or seriously injured each year.

n Orkney, where Coates took these images, fishing is a way of life for many of the men.
She captures the inshore fishermen of the Orkney Fishermen's Society, a cooperative established in 1953. with brown crab and lobster as its main catch.
This association works closely with researchers to maintain a sustainable fishing ground, with the area also being home to Europe's largest lobster hatchery, which releases over 100,000 lobsters annually.
Coates' atmospheric photographs trace the everyday lives of these men, as they navigate their way through an uncertain future.

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    BBC

    • Media Production
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    Scottish Fishing Federation