Fisherman aboard the Newlyn beam trawler 'Aaltje Adriaantje'.

Malcolm Smitheram, deckhand and cook, securing the nets, on PZ 198, the 'Aaltje Adriaantje', off the south west coast of Britain.

The Aaltje Adriaantje is a 29m. long beam trawler and part of Europe's largest privately owned fishing fleet, owned by W. Stevenson & Son. The company has been a leader in the British fishing industry for more than a hundred years.

In the 1990s, W. Stevenson and Son had a fleet of 35 vessels, manned by 150 self-employed share fishermen. They also had around 60 shore staff that were involved in landing the fish, selling them at auction and dispatching them across the UK and Europe.

Currently the fleet has been reduced to approximately 20 fishing boats, mainly beam trawlers, as the industry has been hit particularly badly by the steep rise in the price of fuel.