. . a y By the Dart’s Emma Jones visits BRIXHAM FISH MARKET with Mark Lobb “M
eet me at the gate at 5.45am with wellies,
white coat and a hat.” these were the words mark Lobb uttered – a seemingly odd uniform at a scarily early time. mark had agreed to give me a tour ... not just any tour ... a brixham Fish market tour. I was a little apprehensive, though intrigued knowing that
this was a place frequented by an elite club of people, a tight-knit community, most of whom have been in the fishing trade all their lives. It seems a little odd that many of us know so little about the journey a fish makes from sea to plate. As a premier fish port, brixham has an economy that has depended on the sea’s produce for many years, landing the largest catch in value in the whole of the uK, totalling over £25 million per year. so, after an early start (even for me, a
farmer’s wife) I whistled through brixham at lightning speed, seeing no traffic until I approached the harbour when the white vans and men in white coats and wellies started appearing. mark met me with his normal cheeky smile and looking fresh as a daisy; impressive seeing he had been up since 3am and this is his normal schedule, 6 days a week. He
unloaded his stack of coloured fish crates in the parking lot full of lorries of all sizes. buyers include national processors (supplying top restaurants and supermarkets), local fishmongers and restaurants as well as the export market. mark then led me through into the bright, beaming
Fish market. this is part of the impressive £20million redevelopment project which was unveiled by Princess Anne in 2011 to accommodate the needs of the 21st century fishing industry. the smart, glassy exterior hides the stark, functional fish market which is essentially a very large concrete floored, whitewashed room which conveniently opens out onto the quay. there is an institutional air about the place, not dissimilar to a school or public swimming pool - footbath included. strangely there is no overpowering smell of fish but that is probably due to the arctic-like temperature and large amount of ice. At 6am, 5 days a week, the handbell is rung and the auction begins. the market is full of men in white coats - fishmongers of all shapes and sizes (both in terms of physique and size of business) jostling and joking whilst subtley placing their bids with nods and finger wags. It’s like a club where everyone wears a hat and they are all different.
Around 40 different types of fish are landed in brixham including the local soles found in the bay, a significant catch of shellfish and the valuable hook and line caught seabass. the boats range from 20ft
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