The Kirkella used to bring in 10% of the cod and haddock sold in chip shops. But the post-EU settlement means its quotas have been slashed. Can it survive?
Docked in the port of Hull, the fishing vessel Kirkella dominates the quayside, towering over a nearby warehouse. Usually found trawling Arctic waters off the coast of Svalbard, catching cod and haddock to supply British fish and chip shops, it is in port for a short time before departing on another lengthy voyage to those distant seas.
It’s not just enormous: the five-year-old freezer trawler is also state-of-the-art. Fish snared in its giant nets are filleted and frozen within 40 minutes inside the onboard “factory” that spans a deck of the ship.
