After the trawl: Memory and afterlife in the wake of Hull’s distant-water fishing industry

Abstract

This paper offers an overview of Byrne’s recent research into the economic, social, spatial and cultural consequences of the decline of Hull’s distant-water trawl fishery after the 1976 Cod Wars. The research combines documentary sources with oral history narratives to examine memories of decline and adjustment, at sea and on shore, as a once localised industry turned towards a global arena. In cultural terms, Byrne establishes the longstanding ties between industry, district and workforce in the dockside neighbourhood of Hessle Road, before engaging narratives of fractured place-based relationships to explore the ensuing divorce between a maritime industry and its cultural landscape. Finally, as Hull’s trawl fishery recedes in terms of popular memory, the research examines how fishing heritage is currently represented by groups in the modern city and seeks the ‘right place’ for a fishing past as the city looks to the future.