Trawlermen

Every day, trawlermen from Peterhead in northeast Scotland

risk their lives to bring home their catch

and put fish on our tables.

Tonight there can be only one winner

when two skippers go head-to-head in the great prawn hunt.

Full speed, muster stations. Fruitful Bough attack.

These are the men who do the most dangerous Job in Britain.

Viking, North Utsire, South Utsire, Forties.

North seven to severe gale 9, perhaps storm 10 later.

120 miles from shore in the icy North Sea ,

the fishing boat Amity is in the teeth of a storm.

Skipper Jimmy Buchan is beginning to fear the worst.

His nets are caught on the sea bed.

Amity is stuck fast and in danger of sinking.

The four-man crew working below decks are unaware of the drama unfolding around them.

With the nets fast the boat can't move

and it's at the mercy of the wind and the sea.

Boys, close all the hatches. We're hard fast before a wind.

All the hatches have to be closed to make the boat watertight.

Close the hatch, lads.

First mate Kevin O'Donnell doesn't need to be told twice.

Boys, go, go, go.

If we don't close this door we could flood here.

Flood the engine room, the deck... Water.

The boat will go down. Wouldn't want that.

Tied to the sea bed, Amity is unable to rise in the huge swell of the storm.

She's in danger of being swamped by water.

I've heard in the past that boat's skippers have kept heaving and heaving

until they start keeling the vessel over

and then when you get a heavy sea the wire doesn't break

and the boat can't free itself from the sea bed and you swamp the stern.

So I'm very aware there's a high risk of flooding the stern.

And we don't want that to happen.

To save the boat, Kevin and the crew must head out onto the exposed deck -

putting themselves at huge risk.

If they're washed overboard the freezing waters will kill them in minutes.

Everything is running through your head.

You're worried about your crew and the safety of the boat.

If it's going to go wrong, it's going to go wrong on a night like this.

It's a very anxious time.

Nicholas? Nicholas!

- Go and bring the grinder up here. - 0K.

As a precaution I'm going to get the grinder ready.

If we can't free ourselves we'll cut ourselves away from the gear -

should anything go seriously wrong.

Last year, 34 of the UK's fishing fleet were lost at sea.

To save his boat, Jimmy is preparing to sacrifice the nets,

worth £30,000.

Before he cuts them loose, he makes one last attempt to free himself.

I'm see-sawing the net - letting one side out and heaving the other,

hoping to pull through and get the net clear.

When that happens I will be relieved. At the moment I'm quite tense.

Kevin!

As suddenly as it began...

something on the ocean floor gives way.

Amity is free again.

I think we're free. I think she's clear now, Kevin!

Whoo. Big relief.

Jimmy has saved his crew and the boat,

but his nets have been ripped to shreds.

The catch so far in the fish room is about £3,500

and the damage to the net is about £2,000.

We've burned about £2,000 of fuel, so...

I'm now three days into a trip

and we're further in debt than we were when we left the harbour.

One of the most dangerous jobs in the world, they say.

I'll say they're right!

Ripped By mstoll

24 hours out of Peterhead Harbour,

Fruitful Bough, which fishes for prawns,

is at the start of a ten-day trip.

This state-of-the-art fishing boat is owned by the West family -

a fishing dynasty that stretches back well over a century.

In charge is the ambitious and extremely successful James West.

He was only 19 when he first became skipper

and, at 29, he's still one of the youngest in the UK.

The next five minutes is going to be a telling point for us.

His brother and second-in-command of this £1.5 million boat

is 24-year-old Robert.

Spot-on. That's what I like to see.

We're out here to make money.

At Just 21, Andrew is the youngest of the three brothers.

He's the rookie and he's only been at sea for three months.

This is by far the best haul we've had. I would say that was...

I'm not very good at guessing but I would say there's 55 stone there.

Absolutely brilliant.

Chuffed.

Another big haul for the Fruitful Bough.

Great.

These prawns are not destined for prawn cocktail.

These are some of the biggest and most prized cold water prawns in the world.

We select the prawns here. It's a different selection of prawns.

That's probably a decent enough prawn.

It's a good size. It's still alive. You can see it...

That's what we're looking for - a good decent-sized prawn.

You couldn't get fresher than that.

Absolutely excellent.

Lurking amongst the prawns is one of the most feared fish in the North Sea.

- Very dangerous. - Look at its front teeth there.

Can take your finger off.

I've heard some people... some fishermen getting bitten by a catfish

right through their boots. Very, very painful.

I wouldn't like it myself.

It's the biggest haul that rookie Andrew has seen

since he started his new life at sea.

I wanted to be a fisherman, basically,

because the rest of my family's involved in the fishing

and I really enjoy it - it's good fun aboard a boat.

But one of the best things when you're out at sea is to get a really big haul.

It's one of the most satisfying things and exciting as well.

Once sorted, the prawns and any fish they catch are stored in the fish room.

It's a giant fridge about the size of a small terraced house.

To get the prawns to market in perfect condition,

Robert covers them in liquid ice.

All this slush ice is small particles

and it goes right through into every small space in the box.

The quicker you can get your prawn to cool down,

the longer shelf life you'll get for the consumer.

With their nets freed and the storm behind them,

the crew aboard Amity is also hunting for prawns.

Skipper Jimmy is shooting his two spare nets from the back of the boat,

which will be towed for six hours along the sea bed, 450 feet below.

If this is the stern of the vessel,

you've got the trawl warps going out like this...

You've got your outer boards here...

and from here to here is 600 feet...

and from here to here is 360 feet.

So there's a huge opening on the trawl mouth.

The nets are 600 feet behind us.

It's a huge amount of gear on the sea bed.

So here I come, trundling along at 2.5 knots with my twin trawls

and Freddy the prawn has strayed too far from home and it's...

for him - he's in my net.

Basically, it's just a big tractor.

A farmer goes out, sticks a plough on the back and goes up and down.

0K, it's not a plough but it's the same idea.

Similar to a tractor, I've got my trailer on behind

and I'm hoping to fill the trailer and head on home.

Jimmy needs a good catch to pay the crew

who depend on a share of the profits to feed their families.

The size of their share is determined by their age and experience.

A lot of pressure on him. He's got seven families to feed.

Seven families he has to try and keep going when he's out here.

So he's trying his best up there...

and we're trying our best to keep our cool down here.

I think maybe value... 300-£400.

That hardly pays for the fuel for this tour.

We need two or three times that amount.

Desperate to bring in a good catch, Jimmy decides to shift ground

in an attempt to find the prawns.

He's heading for one of the deepest areas of the North Sea.

This area's called The Devil's Hole.

The good prawns - the ones we want - are always in the dangerous area

where there are large stones or torn nets.

If we get it to work then it can be good for us,

but if it works against us it will destroy me

because I've had to come in from here before with no gear to shoot.

Then you've got to spend the next three or four days on the quay

repairing your gear.

And that's not good for morale.

Kevin is expecting trouble.

You can do a lot of damage down here where we're going.

They don't call it The Devil's Hole for nothing.

It's a bit of a risk to take but it's a risk going anywhere out here.

I'm sure he knows what he's doing. He'd better be.

Jimmy's rival, Fruitful Bough, is already fishing at The Devil's Hole.

Young skipper James is hoping for another big catch of prawns.

I'm hoping it's a good haul,

but I am ready for it not being quite so much.

Everybody's a bit tired and it affects everybody.

Be our third day today.

Long hours.

The crew pays a heavy price when they get good hauls.

They might be in the money

but they have only managed to grab a couple of hours' sleep in the last 24.

After nine years at sea,

deckhand Kenny knows the risks of working when you're tired.

When you're sleepy more accidents will happen.

It's not just you that's sleepy it's the whole crew

and accidents will happen when you're tired -

especially up in the wheelhouse.

Andrew?

How much you hoping for this time?

Looks like a good enough haul again.

So we'll pleased to get a bit more into the hold.

A bit more money.

No sleep though!

Thumbs up.

That'll be another 15 boxes or something. That's what I'm looking for.

There's a lot of life about the prawns. They're kicking. That's what I like to see.

This is just coming up to a day and a half in

so to be able to get on to a patch full of prawns already we're doing all right.

We've got maybe four or five days to go

so it's actually looking 0K

to be hitting a patch of prawns so early on in our trip.

If we can keep this up it could be a cracking trip.

That'll keep everybody happy. Including me.

- And me. - And me.

And me, baby!

With the prawns packed away, the crew finally have a chance to eat.