Aiden is a young St Ives fisherman that uses nets, pots and handlines to catch a range of fresh fish and shellfish. He is a part of the St Ives Fish Selling Co-op, a small group of inshore fishermen, all operating vessels under 10 meters from St Ives.
Aiden tells us all about how he got into fishing, what he loves about it and how he fishes sustainably:
"My brother and some of my cousins are fisherman and my dad has been for 40+ years. It's in our blood! We work with nets, pots and hand lines as it gives us a good opportunity to target different species all year round and still be able to make a living 12 months of the year. During the summer we use our nets and pots, and then when it comes to winter, we use our lines to catch mackerel.
The thing I like most about fishing is the freedom. You are your own boss, rather than being sat in an office from 9-5, you're out and about working amongst nature. I don't look at fishing as a job, it's more a way of life than anything, with this job you're effectively on the hunt, looking for species to catch and when you have a good haul, it's always a good feeling that your work has paid off.
Sustainability is important because in order for us to fish for years to come, we have to look after what we have now. You've got to be looking ahead all the time. It's not about what you've caught today but what you'll be able to catch 5-10 years down the line.
We consider sustainability by the use of different nets to target the species we want. This way we are giving juvenile fish a chance to swim through and continue growing. The pots are a sustainable method as we can selectively choose to keep shellfish that are over size limit. Everything undersized goes back over the side, back onto the same ground which it came from, which gives us a chance to sustainably fish that ground for years to come. "