Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Heritage, Skills and Livelihood: Reconstruction and Regeneration in a Cornish Fishing Port

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Social Issues in Sustainable Fisheries Management

Part of the book series: MARE Publication Series ((MARE,volume 9))

Abstract

The production of heritage is a growing practice within former and active fishing communities. This chapter discusses the implications and possibilities for building sustainable fishing communities. The reconstruction of a sail fishing boat in Cornwall provides a case study for examining the issues. Whilst acknowledging complexity and potential conflict, it is argued that fishing heritage can contribute to sustaining coastal livelihoods. Findings are discussed in terms of need for alternative livelihoods and diversification, potential contribution to promoting and strengthening links between catch and locality and the role of heritage as a source of ‘critical nostalgia’. Emphasising non-essentialist meanings of heritage and practice-based views on place, identity and community it is suggested that modes of heritage production may be as important as modes of consumption.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The Wrecking Season (2005) directed by Jane Darke and produced by Boatshed Films.

  2. 2.

    Wrecking: the traditional term (and the term Darke preferred) for salvaging wrecks or other flotsam and jetsam washed up on the shoreline,(otherwise known as ‘beachcombing’).

  3. 3.

    Obituaries, The Times (November 14 2009, p. 115).

  4. 4.

    ‘Devon Sent’ (Evening Standard Magazine, Standard.co.uk/Lifestyle).

  5. 5.

    The names of interviewees quoted in this chapter have not been disclosed to protect anonymity, with the exception of John Lambourn who provided permission to disclose. All images are the author’s own unless credit is given.

  6. 6.

    Data courtesy of Cornwall Sea Fisheries Council (2009).

  7. 7.

    2001 Census for England and Wales. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.1.0.

  8. 8.

    Ibid.

  9. 9.

    Ibid.

  10. 10.

    The Superintendent emphasised that the views expressed were his own and that he was not speaking on behalf of the Fisherman’s Mission.

  11. 11.

    Objective One Partnership for Cornwall and Scilly (n.d.).

  12. 12.

    Beamy: a terms used to describe a vessel that is broad (i.e. the proportion of its ‘beam’ or breadth relative to length).

  13. 13.

    Fore and aft: referring to the front and rear sections of a vessel, or towards the ‘stern’ and the ‘bow’ respectively.

  14. 14.

    Keel: A lengthwise structure along the base of a ship.

  15. 15.

    Thanks to Tony Pawlyn, maritime historian (personal communication) for information regarding the social history of the Cornish fishing industry in the lugger era.

  16. 16.

    First published in France under the title La Méditerranée et la Monde Méditerranéen á l’Époque de Philippe II, 1949.

  17. 17.

    Ketch: two-masted, fore and aft sailing ship traditionally used for transporting small cargoes.

  18. 18.

    The overheads created by fuel expenses are huge—for some Newlyn based trawlers £ 10,000 of diesel per trip on average—arguably a significant pressure towards overfishing as well as affecting fisher incomes.

  19. 19.

    Plans were informed by the Cornwall Archaeological Unit report: Cornwall and Scilly Urban Survey. Historical characterization for regeneration: Newlyn (Russell 2003).

References

  • Abernethy, K., Trebilcock, P., Kebede, B., Allison, E., & Dulvey, N. (2010). Fueling the decline in UK fishing communities? ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahmad, Y. (2006). The scope and definitions of Heritage: From tangible to intangible. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 12(3), 292–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, D., Cooke, S., & Spooner, D. (2002). Tales from the Riverbank: Place-marketing and maritime heritages. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 8(1), 25–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowen, E. G. (1972). Britain and the Western seaways. Thames and Hudson Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braudel, F. (1995). The mediterranean and the mediterranean world in the age of philip II (Vol. I). Berkeley: University of California Press. (Original edition, 1972).

    Google Scholar 

  • Casey, E. S. (2002). Representing place: Landscape painting and maps. University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clifford, J. (1986). On ethnographic allegory. In J. M. Clifford & G. E. Marcus (Ed.), Writing culture: The poetics and politics of ethnography. University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crang, M. (1994). On the heritage trail: Maps of and journeys to olde Englande. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 12(3), 341–355.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crow, G., Hatton, P., Lyon, D., & Strangleman, T. (2009). New divisions of labour? Comparative thoughts on the current recession. Sociological Research Online, 14(2), 10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cunliffe, B. (2001). Facing the ocean: The Atlantic and its peoples 8000 BC—AD 1500. Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Darke, N. (1999). Plays, 1. London: Methuen Drama.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, D. L. (1986). Occupational community and Fishermen’s wives in a Newfoundland fishing village. Anthropological Quarterly, 59(3), 129–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Day, A., & Lunn, K. (2003). British maritime heritage: Carried along by the currents? International Journal of Heritage Studies, 9(4), 289–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Easthope, G. (2001). Heritage sailing in Australia: A preliminary schema. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 7(2), 185–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray, J. N. (2000). At home in the hills: Sense of place in the Scottish borders. New York: Berghahn Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenhalgh, P. (1997). The history of craft. In P. Dormer (Ed.), The culture of craft. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, D. C. (2001). Heritage pasts and heritage presents: Temporality, meaning and the scope of heritage studies. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 7(4), 319–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hendrickson, P. (2012). Hemingway’s boat: Everything he loved in life, and lost, 1934–1961. Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hewison, R. (1987). The heritage industry: Britain in a climate of decline. London: Methuen London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howard, P. M. (2012). Workplace cosmopolitanization and the power and pain of class relations at sea. Focaal, (62), 55–69.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howard, P., & Pindar, D. (2003). Cultural heritage and sustainability in the coastal zone: experiences in south west England. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 4, 57–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ingold, T. (2000). The perception of the environment: essays on livelihood, dwelling and skill. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Laurier, E. (1998). Replication and restoration: Ways of making maritime heritage. Journal of Material Culture, 3(1), 21–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Laviolette, P. (2006). Ships of relations: Navigating through local cornish maritime art. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 12(1), 69–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Longhurst, A. (2006). The sustainability myth. Fisheries Research, 81(2–3), 107–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lummis, T. (1985). Occupation and society: the East Anglian fisherman 1880–1914. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald, S. (2002). On ‘Old Things’: The fetishization of past everyday life. In N. Rapport (Ed.), British subjects: An anthropology of Britain. Oxford: Berg.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matsuda, M. (2004). A place for history. History and Theory, 43(2), 260–271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MMO. (2012). The UK fishing industry in 2011: Landings. Marine Management Organization.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nadel-Klein, J. (2003). Fishing for heritage: Modernity and loss along the Scottish coast. Oxford: Berg.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oliver, A. S. (1971). Boats and boatbuilding in West Cornwall: A study of traditional cornish fishing craft. Barton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Objective One Partnership for Cornwall and Scilly (n.d.). ‘Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Fishing Industry Task Force Strategy 2000-2010’. (http://www.objectiveone.com/ob1/pdfs/FTF%20STRATEGY%20final.pdf)

  • Pálsson, G. (1994). Enskilment at sea. Man, 29(4), 901–927.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pauly, D., Christensen, V., Guenette, S., Pitcher, T. J., Sumaila, U. R., & Walters, C. J., et al. (2002). Towards sustainability in world fisheries. Nature, 418(6898), 689–695.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pitcher, T. J. (2001). Fisheries managed to rebuild ecosystems? Reconstructing the past to salvage the future. Ecological Applications, 11(2), 601–617.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reed, M., Courtney, P., Urquhart, J., & Ross, N. (2013). Beyond fish as commodities: Understanding the socio-cultural role of inshore fisheries in England. Marine Policy, 37, 62–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ross, N. (2013). Exploring concepts of fisheries ‘dependency’ and ‘community’ in Scotland. Marine Policy 37, 55–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russell, S. (2003). Cornwall and Scilly urban survey. Historical characterization for regeneration. Newlyn, Cornwall Archaeological Unit.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sckula, A. (1995). Fish story. Dusseldorf: Richter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sennett, R. (2009). The craftsman. Penguin Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, E. (2006). Islam and society in the Indian Ocean: Seafarers of Kachchh. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, H. (1999). The historical geography of the seas around the British Isles. Marine Policy, 23(4–5), 275–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Starkey, D. J. (1998). Growth and transition in Britain’s maritime economy, 1870–1914: The case of South-West England. In D. J. Starkey & A. G. Jamieson (Eds.), Exploiting the sea: Aspects of Britain’s maritime economy since 1870. Exeter: University of Exeter Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg, P. E. (1999). The maritime mystique: Sustainable development, capital mobility, and nostalgia in the world ocean. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 17(4), 403–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Symes, D., & Phillipson, J. (2009). Whatever became of social objectives in fisheries policy? Fisheries Research, 95(1), 1–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thurstan, R. H., Brockington, S., & Roberts, C. M. (2010). The effects of 118 years of industrial fishing on UK bottom trawl fisheries. Nature Communications, 1, 15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Urquhart, J., & Acott, T. (2013). Constructing ‘the stade’: Fishers’ and non-fishers’ identity and place attachment in Hastings, South-East England. Marine Policy 37, 45–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Ginkel, R. (2001). Inshore fishermen: Cultural dimensions of a maritime occupation. In D. Symes, & Phillipson, J. S. (Eds.), Inshore fisheries management. Kluwer: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, K. (1992). The representation of the past: Museums and heritage in the post-modern world. Taylor & Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walton, J. K. (2000). Fishing communities, 1850–1950. In D. J. Starkey, C. Reid, & N. Ashcroft (Eds.), England’s sea fisheries: The commercial sea fisheries of England and Wales since 1300 (pp. 127–137). London: Chatham Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walton, J. K. (2010). English seaside towns: Past, present and future. Coastal Communities Alliance.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wedgwood, T. (2009). History in two dimensions or three? Working class responses to history. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 15(4), 277–297.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice. Learning as a social system. Systems Thinker.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This chapter is based on doctoral research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. The author is grateful for the support of supervisors Frances Pine, Mao Mollona and Rebecca Cassidy and for the time and good faith given by research participants. Early versions were presented to seminars at Goldsmiths, University of London. It has benefited from the helpful feedback of colleagues and peer reviewers to who thanks are also extended.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Goldsmiths, University of London, 222 Croxted Road, London, SE24 9DG, UK

    Tim Martindale

Authors
  1. Tim Martindale
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tim Martindale .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The School of Science University of Greenwich, Chatham, Kent, United Kingdom

    Julie Urquhart

  2. University of Greenwich The School of Science, Chatham, United Kingdom

    Tim G. Acott

  3. University of Hull Yorkshire, Hull, United Kingdom

    David Symes

  4. Greenwich Maritime Institute Office University of Greenwich, London, United Kingdom

    Minghua Zhao

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Martindale, T. (2014). Heritage, Skills and Livelihood: Reconstruction and Regeneration in a Cornish Fishing Port. In: Urquhart, J., Acott, T., Symes, D., Zhao, M. (eds) Social Issues in Sustainable Fisheries Management. MARE Publication Series, vol 9. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7911-2_15

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation