The Catch

Phil, the Skipper of a large gill netter called the Goveneck of Ladram, runs a tight ship, wanting his crew to work hard and eat together. As his crew isn't getting any younger, he needs to bring in new blood before his experienced deckhands retire.

Following two boats of very different fortunes. The Our Miranda, skippered by Matt Evans, is one of Devon's highest-earning boats, while The Van Dijck, a scallop trawler run by skipper Andrew McLeod, has definitely seen better days.

There's war brewing at sea for Skipper Phil and the crew of the Govenek. Competing with foreign boats for fish doesn't appear like it's going to be smooth sailing.

Andrew `Drew' McLeod, skipper of The Van Dijck, has a hard time convincing his crew to stick around, as a run of bad hauls has kept wages low and everyone knows they could earn more elsewhere.

The Govenek of Ladram has been docked in the harbour for seven weeks undergoing a complete refit, and the crew are down £130 000 from loss of earnings. It's time to get back out to sea and start paying the bills.

In the North Sea off the coast of Scotland, rumour has it the fish are plentiful and the pay cheques are high. The Ocean Dawn, skippered by Ian, is having one of their best decades, but they are struggling to get young men on board.

Drew is struggling to maintain the business he and his father have run since the late 1970s. At its peak their company had seven boats, but now it's down to one, The Van Dijck, which needs repairs and isn't bringing in enough cash.

After a few days stuck in port fixing electrical issues, Phil can finally take the boat out to sea. However, Phil's preferred fishing ground is teaming with Irish and Spanish fleets and there's no room to cast his nests.