Brixham 2 Coast and Country Auctions


Brixham 2

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We may live in a digital age...

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but a surprising amount of British trade

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is still done the old-fashioned way...

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HE CALLS OUT BIDS

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..at traditional auctions.

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Now's your time to get a bargain.

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These sales may feel like throwbacks to a bygone age...

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But for the buyers and sellers who flock to them,

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they are still the best way to conduct business.

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And 1,600, blow your nose and bid again.

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We will be visiting the UK's most dynamic traditional markets.

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Selling everything from pigs to cattle...

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sheepdogs to ponies...

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fish to veg.

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And discovering how they are the heartbeat of rural life.

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There will be bargains to be had today.

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450. That is part of being in an auction.

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Today we are on the south coast,

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home to one of the UK's busiest fish auctions.

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-20, 30. 40.

-This is about as big as it gets.

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We will be meeting the auctioneers in the hot seat.

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This is where we start saying, "The battle commences."

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And following the fortunes of three buyers and sellers...

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Have a look at some mackerel.

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We can spend £10,000 in a day.

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...as they experience all the excitement...

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Best purchase of the day.

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...and tension...

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I could be crying in my coffee tomorrow.

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..as the hammer falls.

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890.

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We are on the Devon coast in Brixham,

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one of the UK's most ancient fishing ports.

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It is a small town with a big business at its heart.

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The world-famous Brixham fish market.

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950, I have got nine and ten.

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Two in a piece and the carry, piece is 1.9.

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Two in a piece and a William, piece is 5.7.

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This historic auction turns over an amazing £30 million a year -

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more than any other fish market in England.

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The livelihoods of hundreds in Brixham depend on it.

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I think what I am always on the

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lookout for is the best fish, the shiniest fish.

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I know it sounds silly, but they have got a sparkle in their eyes.

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£5 on them mixed lemons.

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450. Everyone loves lemon sole, especially from Brixham market.

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Ten for a piece.

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It's 4:30am.

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-Overrated, John, isn't it? Sleep.

-JOHN LAUGHS

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A waste of life, isn't it, sleeping.

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And auctioneers John Rogers and Todd Crombie

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are already hard at work.

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Well, what I am doing at the moment is booking all the fish

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in the market, so I can group it upstairs,

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so it is easier for me and John to sell when we start selling.

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It's a massive hi-tech operation.

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Boats land their catches beside the market...

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And it's sorted overnight,

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ready for the auction at 6am every weekday.

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A punishing schedule for the auctioneers.

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We don't turn in until about 11 o'clock at night

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and we get up at four every morning, so...

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we're used to not having much kip.

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Demand for Brixham fish has never been higher.

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70% of what is sold here will go abroad.

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And the market is booming as never before.

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Last year was the first year that we have actually topped

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a million for a week.

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But this year, I mean, we've had...

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certainly about seven or eight weeks

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on the trot where we have done that and exceeded more.

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But the fishing port, really, in Brixham,

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I mean, it is massive, isn't it?

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The amount of people that is employed through here

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and the business what goes through the port.

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All right, mate, nice one.

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I have been auctioneering out of Brixham now for around 15 years now.

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And I was at sea for 20 odd years.

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The Brixham fish trade is very much a family affair.

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Done 15 years at sea.

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Straight after school.

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Went into the fishing industry and my family has been in fishing, so,

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father, grandfather, and I love the job.

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It is, you know, get a buzz out of it everyday.

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Many of the buyers and sellers who come here to the auction every day

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have fishing in their blood, often going back generations.

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It is 5:45, the buyers arrive to scope out the fish.

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Beautiful. Brixham fish is just on the up and up and up all the time.

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I'll get some dorries.

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-Yeah. We don't need that many, do we?

-No.

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And John and Todd get ready for action.

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This is where we start saying, "The battle commences."

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Raring to go.

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Ta-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra!

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6am, time for the auction to begin.

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BELL RINGS

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HE SHOUTS

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HE CALLS OUT BIDS

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Too many of them. £4.

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-390. Gordon. It's at 20.

-Now it is at 60. 660. 650.

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Gordon, 650.

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There is about 40 buyers here today.

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Some will spend a few hundred on fish for their shop.

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Just that one fish. How much is that one? £4.

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Others are big traders who will spend tens of thousands.

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Just imagine the turbots and the brills.

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That will all make good money today. Bass, that will make good money.

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It is a tight-knit community.

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You have to have a licence to buy here and there are rules.

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Coats and boots must be worn, plus a hat of any description.

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£9 on the number fives. I've got 8.50, 8.60. 8.60, 8.70., 8.90, £9.

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Bidding is in pence per kilo and happens at lightning speed.

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Somebody say 80? 80 by Walker.

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90? £3.80, Walker.

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Obviously I will start the market and I'll start the price off,

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which I think and they will try and knock me down,

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and I will try to batter them back up again.

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50 on the number three haddocks.

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Come on, haddock man.

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They are a bit small but I am getting them smoked.

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That's all right. So I am not asking you if you are getting them smoked,

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I am asking you if you want to buy them.

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There is a huge amount of fish to sell today.

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It is a Monday, and the weather has been good, so a lot of boats have

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been landing fish all weekend.

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Everything must be sold within the next few hours.

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We always have two auctions going on at once.

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So basically I will be selling the prime,

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Todd will be selling the day boats.

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Prime fish are the big species like sole,

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turbot and monkfish caught in deep waters by the big trawlers.

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The smaller boats land their fish daily,

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making it the freshest on the market.

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Right, start off at head grabs, I've got 1.40...

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It's a slick operation,

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but the people at the heart of this auction,

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the fishermen, are not usually here to see the fish sold.

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Why the fishermen don't come down and watch the market going on,

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purely because they are out there catching fish.

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You get the odd one now and again, if they have landed a nice land,

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they might pop up and have a look on the market,

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but nine times out of ten most of them go sea.

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The fishermen rely on Todd and John

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to get the best possible money for their catch.

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It does sometimes get a bit heated down there, but, you know,

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you have got to be trying...

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A fine line between the fishermen, the buyers.

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You know, you are trying to do a service to both, basically.

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A good auctioneer would be getting the best prices for the fish.

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You know the boat is going to be happy and the fishermen

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are going to be happy.

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So you can walk into a pub with your head held high

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at the end of the day.

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But the industry is unpredictable,

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with supply and demand affecting prices daily.

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Just that one fish. I might sell on £4.

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-Yeah.

-£4 by Walker. 4.10? 4.50, 4.60.

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70? 70, 80?

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For fishermen like Matt Ould,

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the instability of prices makes earning a living a real challenge.

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The prices can be heartbreaking some days.

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So you are always hoping

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for the best money that Todd and

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whoever else is selling your fish can get you.

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20p, 30p extra, you can get per kilo,

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might be your fuel for the week or

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even your wages for the week.

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Like so many of the people involved with the Brixham auction,

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fishing is in Matt's blood.

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My dad was a fisherman, grandad a fishermen, great grandad.

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I left school at 15. Was never very good at school.

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Went fishing from then.

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It overpowered everything else.

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I have just had a new eight-metre catamaran built.

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The name of the boat is the Michael Robert.

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That is what Dad is called, Michael Robert.

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Dad had been very ill.

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I am getting a bit of a...

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He had got over it, came back again, got over it, and I thought...

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That is the name for it. He is still at sea, still doing a little bit.

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Him and my grandfather,

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they have taught myself and my brother what we know.

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And we have been lucky.

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For Matt to keep the family fishing business

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alive, he has spent over £100,000 on the new catamaran.

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Such a big investment means the

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prices he gets at auction matter even more.

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But even with his brand-new boat, he can't get out earning just yet.

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Hello, Dad, all right? Yeah, at the moment we are a bit stuck.

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Well, let's...

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Well, if we can get it going, we can go this afternoon.

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Here we are on a beautiful Wednesday morning, no wind.

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Nice and sunny, a bit chilly.

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Come down to go to sea, and we have got an engine broke down.

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Luckily, a fiddle with the electrics...

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Oh, right.

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...and the Michael Robert is raring to go.

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Hello, Dad, all right? Yeah, we are just leaving now.

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All right? Cheers.

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-Bye-bye.

-Finally, Matt is going fishing.

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We have got 60 pots to do on three recs.

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What compels somebody to get up at four in the morning?

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It's that hunter gatherer in you.

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Taking the gamble that the fish is going to be where

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your hunting instinct is telling you to go.

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The drive is definitely primeval.

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Matt needs to get around £400 for each day's catch at auction,

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just to cover his running costs and pay himself a basic wage.

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Cock crab.

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So far, today's catch is looking good -

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a mix of male or cock crabs and female or hen crabs.

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It's narrow. That's a cock crab. That's wide. That's the hen crab.

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The value is usually better on the cock crabs.

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Especially when it's decent stuff. They're usually more money.

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These crabs could make as much

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as £2.50 or even £3 a kilo at auction.

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But Matt has no way of knowing what prices he will get.

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And the last few months have been unusually tough.

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You are treading a very fine line.

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This year, for example, I have got this new boat,

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cuttlefish season for us in shore was absolutely dire.

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The mackerel have only just turned up,

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and then the price has gone rock-bottom on that, so...

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It's like putting a bet on a horse. Don't know which will win.

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Go inside to shoot these, because I have got to miss the rack, so...

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Matt has dedicated his life to the sea.

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It is hard, physical work, long hours and no guaranteed income.

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But it does have its perks.

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Yeah, there is a love. You have got to love it or you wouldn't do it.

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Getting out there on a lovely, quiet summer's morning,

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daylight is just coming at four o'clock in the morning,

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birds are chirping outside the house.

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You get down to the quay, everything is coming to life.

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Just seen some dolphins, big dolphins.

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There they are, behind us.

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You see things around the coast that a lot of people would never see.

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They are over here now.

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These white beak dolphins are special.

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There is thought to be only 100 or so in the English Channel,

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so this is a rare sighting.

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To make life even harder, Matt can't even sell

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everything he catches.

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Just a bit too small.

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The government upped the size last year for hen crabs.

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So it's... Whereas last year they would have been saleable,

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they are not now, so... Chuck 'em back.

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It's an added pressure, especially on a small operator like Matt.

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He has to keep on top of changing regulations

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to ensure he does not take any fish to market that are not allowed.

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Small lobster.

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It's too small. So I chuck him back.

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After a day at sea, Matt has pulled

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all his crab pots and seems to have a healthy haul.

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But what it will make at the auction he has no way of knowing.

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It will probably be a £400 day. Maybe a bit more.

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Hopefully, if the prices are right on the market,

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it all depends on that. It could be...

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I could be crying in my coffee.

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All right, Brixham bound.

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Put it on the market, see what it makes.

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It will either make good money or it will not make such good money.

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These are the tallies. That just

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lets the market know whose fish it is.

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When the boats come in to land, we have numerous staff

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down on the market, they will land the boats,

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take the fish by forklift into the market

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and then the night shifts start.

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Matt's crabs are weighed on a sophisticated conveyor belt

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and sorted by boat and size.

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Every box is clearly labelled Michael Robert

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so the buyers can see which boat the fish came from

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and the weight of the box they are buying.

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John and Todd, I do put a lot of trust in them.

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Yeah, we put a lot of trust in the sorting staff at night.

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If they don't look after it properly,

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Todd isn't going to sell it for decent money the next day.

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Right, now, the mixed lemons, then.

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Mixed lemons. £3 on them lemons.

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Back at the auction, and by the time his crab comes up for sale,

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Matt is already back at sea.

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The Michael Robert's haul joins the catches of 30 other boats

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in this unusually big market.

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-I've got 90, 80...90.

-£9.80.

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And moving on, chaps.

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The question is - will Matt get the £2 a kilo for his crabs

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that he is hoping for?

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Right, onto the next boat, it is the Michael Robert, then.

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£1.50. £1.60. £1.50, John Bond at £1.50, Johnny.

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And what would you like, my old fruit? Just one, please. One box.

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The first box sells for £1.50 a kilo.

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50p less than Matt was hoping for.

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£1.40, £1.50.

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£1.50 now, £1.60.

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£1.50, and that is the piece...

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And that is the 14.5.

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The next box goes for the same price.

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And the other box, I have got £1.40, £1.50.

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One bid by Jonas, £1.60.

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£1.50, Jonas. £1.50, Steve.

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And that, mate, is the one box. And moving on...

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Not quite the result Matt was after.

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But it is the fickle nature of selling at auction.

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The prices vary because of the supply and demand.

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The buyers have got a price that they go to,

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and if you're not going to get that price, that's it.

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Ten, 20. 20, 30. 35, then 40.

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40, 50?

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£20.40.

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Ironically, the auctioneers think it is the unusually good weather

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that has driven the crab price down.

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You know, this time of the year, I mean,

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we're just not having the bad weather

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like we have had in years past.

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Prices at the moment have dropped in the last few weeks.

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Every port has got fish being landed to it, including the continent,

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obviously the Dutch and the Belgian and the French

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are out as well in fine weather.

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A lot of our markets are export markets,

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and if they have got a lot of fish over there that drops,

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then that determines our price that is going to drop as well.

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Fishing has always been competitive and unpredictable...

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but over the centuries, Brixham has always prospered...

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through innovation.

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In the 1900s, the port developed trawlers

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that could go further and deeper than their competitors.

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A design so good it was copied throughout the UK and Europe.

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It has been a fishing town for many a year.

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Back in the 18th century, really,

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it all starts from the same sailing smacks right up until now.

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And Brixham market itself,

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with its digital displays and interactive pads

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for the auctioneers,

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is one of the most hi-tech in the world.

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-And number two, please. I have got £2.20.

-Number two box.

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7.20. 7.10...

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The fate of fishermen like Matt is dependent on buyers like Josh Perks.

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The young entrepreneur is excited by the huge range of fish available at

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this bumper Monday market.

0:20:440:20:46

Today is a really big day, as you can see.

0:20:480:20:50

There are boxes all around me.

0:20:500:20:52

And this is about as big as it gets.

0:20:520:20:54

Josh may be young, but he is from the biggest fishing dynasty in town.

0:20:540:20:58

His dad, Ian, and uncle Sean, are the Mr Bigs of Brixham fish auction,

0:21:020:21:07

spending tens of thousands of pounds on fish every day.

0:21:070:21:10

But young Josh has made a big leap and set up on his own.

0:21:120:21:16

Josh's new business is just 20 yards from the auction.

0:21:210:21:25

I did ten years working for my dad, who is Ian, and Sean, my uncle,

0:21:250:21:31

then kind of got fed up of their bickering.

0:21:310:21:35

So we got our heads together with a chap called Nigel Ward and said,

0:21:350:21:39

"Let's make a bespoke little business,

0:21:390:21:42

"supplying only top-quality fish, working with only the best chefs."

0:21:420:21:46

He loves fish, he eats fish almost every day.

0:21:470:21:51

It's a revelation to deal with someone so enthusiastic.

0:21:510:21:55

The company, Brixham Seafish,

0:21:550:21:57

supplies high-end restaurants around the country.

0:21:570:22:00

Not only is it right opposite the auction...

0:22:010:22:04

That's my unit, just there.

0:22:040:22:05

But it is just a stone's throw from a rather bigger,

0:22:050:22:08

well-established business, his dad's.

0:22:080:22:11

And young Josh is determined to prove he can succeed on his own.

0:22:120:22:16

This isn't your average job. It isn't.

0:22:170:22:20

There are far easier jobs in the world.

0:22:200:22:23

But doing this and having the passion to come down

0:22:230:22:27

here every morning at five o'clock, five days a week,

0:22:270:22:31

to work with some of the best fish in the world,

0:22:310:22:34

and know that it is the best fish, it really drives you.

0:22:340:22:38

Like so many in Brixham, fishing really is in Josh's blood.

0:22:400:22:44

My great-great-granddad had a fishing boat,

0:22:490:22:53

so then my great grandad it was passed onto.

0:22:530:22:56

Working down the line to me.

0:22:580:22:59

I used to come here on my days off from school with my dad,

0:23:010:23:04

come and buy fish with Dad and stand around on the auction,

0:23:040:23:07

listening to all the older men swearing.

0:23:070:23:10

And I loved it. I used to be into extreme sports a lot,

0:23:100:23:15

so mountain biking, snowboarding, I thought, yeah,

0:23:150:23:18

I will create a business doing that or something.

0:23:180:23:20

I went away backpacking for a couple of years

0:23:200:23:24

and coming home made me realise how special Brixham is

0:23:240:23:28

and what we have on our doorstep.

0:23:280:23:30

Brixham is a community built on fishing and tourism,

0:23:310:23:35

and Josh's favourite visitor falls into both camps.

0:23:350:23:39

A bit like working at SeaWorld. Ready?

0:23:390:23:42

There he is.

0:23:450:23:47

Every day I take a little bit of

0:23:470:23:48

fish off the market and I feed Sammy.

0:23:480:23:50

You can never get fed up with a face like that.

0:23:530:23:56

10.10, 10 20, 20, 30?

0:24:030:24:05

30, 40? 40, 50?

0:24:050:24:07

We will give this squid a blast, shall we?

0:24:070:24:10

That's a whopper, isn't it? Look at him.

0:24:100:24:12

Back at the auction, and Josh is always among the early birds.

0:24:120:24:16

For his high-end clients, only the best and very freshest fish will do.

0:24:160:24:22

Nigel and I get down to the fish quay at about 5:15.

0:24:220:24:25

We write down a list, like a shopping list, between us.

0:24:250:24:28

A large plaice, mackerel, portion-size plaice.

0:24:280:24:32

Sprats, turbot, squid, scallops and hake.

0:24:320:24:36

So it is quite a list.

0:24:360:24:38

Right. Trust me, we will get there, mate.

0:24:380:24:40

This auction is like no other auction in the UK.

0:24:400:24:43

It is like a league of buyers,

0:24:430:24:45

different buyers for different fish, different species.

0:24:450:24:48

So you have got all these people of different levels, almost, competing.

0:24:480:24:53

And Josh relishes the competition.

0:24:530:24:55

At the market, we can spend anything from £2,000 to £10,000 in a day.

0:24:550:25:02

For that sort of money, you better get the best fish,

0:25:020:25:05

and with the stakes so high, you better make sure your bids

0:25:050:25:08

-are heard too.

-Yeah.

-30.

0:25:080:25:13

He has won his first lot of the day - hake -

0:25:130:25:17

and chooses how many boxes he needs.

0:25:170:25:19

Uh...three. Three.

0:25:190:25:22

Three boxes...

0:25:220:25:25

So, I have just bought some 1-2 kilos size hake.

0:25:250:25:29

Which is perfect for my friend who has got a group of restaurants

0:25:290:25:32

for fish and chips.

0:25:320:25:34

That is one ticked off the list and one satisfied customer.

0:25:340:25:37

It can be a gamble, buying fish off the market like this,

0:25:410:25:44

because some days you will buy fish at an all right price...

0:25:440:25:48

-Right, large haddocks, then.

-1 50.

-2.50.

0:25:490:25:53

Tomorrow, twice or three times the amount of that same species

0:25:530:25:56

might be landed and the price might fall, might completely drop.

0:25:560:26:00

Josh plays hardball on prices for day-boat fish...

0:26:020:26:05

£9.50, Brixham.

0:26:070:26:09

2.50, Brixham, at £2.50, Josh.

0:26:090:26:11

Where you like, mate. 1.30, over them two, Brixham.

0:26:110:26:14

He only wants the best, but he also wants to get everything on his list.

0:26:140:26:19

His reputation relies on it.

0:26:190:26:21

There are some lovely reds just on the right there.

0:26:210:26:24

Going to be near the end of the market.

0:26:240:26:26

But as well as hits, there are also misses.

0:26:260:26:29

I have crossed off the sprats,

0:26:290:26:31

because there are no sprats on the market.

0:26:310:26:33

I have bought a bass and some plaice.

0:26:330:26:35

And Nigel has bought the Dover soles we needed.

0:26:350:26:37

So we are getting there, it has begun.

0:26:370:26:39

It is the sheer range of fish in this market

0:26:390:26:43

that makes Josh's ambitious business viable at all.

0:26:430:26:48

Right, now, that large bass, then. That large bass, ten on the bass.

0:26:500:26:53

What sort of fish you can buy in Brixham market you can buy near

0:26:530:26:56

enough anything you want, really.

0:26:560:26:58

I mean, we have got a massive diversity of fish here.

0:26:580:27:01

I mean, turbot makes the most money.

0:27:010:27:03

Your large turbot. And your Dover soles, they make good money.

0:27:030:27:08

Hake, at the moment, we have a lot of hake from...

0:27:080:27:12

And that is underrated, I think.

0:27:120:27:14

I mean, you won't taste any better than hake, I mean...

0:27:140:27:17

Beautiful fish.

0:27:170:27:19

The boom at Brixham market isn't just about foreign sales.

0:27:240:27:28

We Brits are consuming more and more fish,

0:27:280:27:31

spending over £4.5 billion on them annually.

0:27:310:27:35

There are over 10,000 fish and chip shops in the UK.

0:27:380:27:42

The posh ones might even be serving hake.

0:27:420:27:45

And an amazing 20% of us indulge at least once a week.

0:27:450:27:49

And most of our towns still boast a fishmonger or two,

0:27:520:27:56

despite the aggressive advance of the supermarkets.

0:27:560:27:58

Right, left a piece of twos, 10.80 again.

0:28:010:28:04

A little bit expensive.

0:28:080:28:11

Back at the auction,

0:28:110:28:12

and one buyer who knows all about both fishy businesses

0:28:120:28:16

is Matt Endacott - owner of a fishmonger's,

0:28:160:28:20

a fish and chip shop and a smokehouse too.

0:28:200:28:24

He is a familiar face at the daily market.

0:28:240:28:28

On the mackerel side, no, unfortunately,

0:28:280:28:30

this isn't enough on quantity-wise for the commercial side of the

0:28:300:28:34

smokehouse, but for retail, that is ideal for the counter.

0:28:340:28:39

For Matt, the auction is essential to the survival of a family business

0:28:390:28:43

that has been going for nearly 100 years.

0:28:430:28:46

Matt lives and works 15 miles from the market

0:28:580:29:01

in the town of Newton Abbot.

0:29:010:29:03

He is the third generation of his family to run Jackson Limited,

0:29:030:29:08

keeping the family legacy alive in the last remaining shop.

0:29:080:29:12

The family, as a whole, has been involved

0:29:150:29:19

with the fishing industry since 1922.

0:29:190:29:22

The original founder of Jackson Limited was a gentleman called Cecil

0:29:220:29:26

Jackson, who would be my great uncle.

0:29:260:29:29

He founded it a number of years ago,

0:29:290:29:32

along with some other fish shops within the area,

0:29:320:29:34

and this is the one remaining one nowadays.

0:29:340:29:38

Two salmon, please.

0:29:380:29:39

I do remember my mother asking me if I could lend a hand

0:29:410:29:43

and help my father for a couple of weeks.

0:29:430:29:46

Subsequently, 24 years later, I am still here, helping out.

0:29:460:29:51

The business isn't just his legacy, it has become his life.

0:29:510:29:55

This job is cold, wet, and smelly, it is incredibly long hours,

0:29:550:30:01

but there's something about being

0:30:010:30:03

in the fishing industry that's addictive.

0:30:030:30:06

Just behind the fish and chip shop

0:30:070:30:09

and fishmongers is Matt's smokehouse.

0:30:090:30:11

There is a definite art to smoking,

0:30:140:30:15

I learnt certainly a good 90% from my father

0:30:150:30:19

who obviously instigated the whole process in Jackson's.

0:30:190:30:24

Currently we've got some haddock fillets which has been sourced

0:30:240:30:27

from Brixham and is being cold smoked naturally,

0:30:270:30:31

ready for the consumers.

0:30:310:30:33

Fantastic being part of the fishing community.

0:30:350:30:37

Obviously we do go back generations and most people know of my father

0:30:370:30:42

in Brixham and or my great uncle.

0:30:420:30:44

The sense of family tradition is strong.

0:30:460:30:49

But the new venture of the smokehouse

0:30:490:30:51

is partly a response to the modern threat of supermarkets,

0:30:510:30:56

by making unusual products that they don't.

0:30:560:30:59

The motto of the company is anything that's edible can be smoked.

0:31:000:31:04

So we have core products of salmon, haddock,

0:31:040:31:07

cod but we also do niche products for anyone's demands.

0:31:070:31:12

We do many wacky, wacky things and on the trolley that's actually just

0:31:120:31:15

come out round the corner there is actually three Mars bars.

0:31:150:31:19

But we've also tried Pringles, peanuts,

0:31:190:31:21

salts, we do actually do smoked salt

0:31:210:31:24

quite regularly for some people as well.

0:31:240:31:27

The tag of being known as the guy who will smoke anything

0:31:270:31:31

is a bit of a compliment really,

0:31:310:31:32

because like I say if it's edible, we'll give it a go.

0:31:320:31:36

While smoked fish is as popular as ever,

0:31:360:31:39

the processing is expensive and margins are increasingly tight.

0:31:390:31:44

Because I go to the auction every day,

0:31:440:31:46

I'm able to monitor the prices of what the fish made the day before

0:31:460:31:51

or the week before.

0:31:510:31:52

When you buy fish for smoking, certainly from Brixham fish auction

0:31:520:31:57

the overriding sort of criteria is price,

0:31:570:32:01

it has to be of a certain price for us to be able to process

0:32:010:32:04

and pass on to other people.

0:32:040:32:06

The next thing is the quality,

0:32:060:32:08

it's got to be of a reasonable quality,

0:32:080:32:10

because if you start with poor fish,

0:32:100:32:12

you will just end up with poor smoked fish.

0:32:120:32:14

Over the years, Jackson's has used Brixham market

0:32:220:32:24

to source almost all of its fish.

0:32:240:32:28

And today very little has changed.

0:32:280:32:30

Morning, morning lads. Set up going OK?

0:32:320:32:35

This is our wonderful display of fish,

0:32:370:32:39

which Roy sets up every day and a good 90% of it coming from Brixham.

0:32:390:32:45

I personally go to Brixham every Monday to Friday

0:32:450:32:48

which are the auction days and source all this myself.

0:32:480:32:53

It's early mornings, but it is good camaraderie.

0:32:530:32:58

Back at the market, and the auctioneers are shifting

0:32:580:33:01

a lot of fish fast.

0:33:010:33:03

Right, now, that small stuff, then, £7? I've got £7, ten?

0:33:030:33:07

£5? £5 buy ten, buy ten, buy 20? 20, 30. 30, 40.

0:33:070:33:13

70, 78, 80, 89, 90, 99. 8.90.

0:33:130:33:19

I'm looking for some mackerel.

0:33:190:33:21

Matt will need his wits about him

0:33:220:33:24

if he is to get everything he needs today.

0:33:240:33:26

Whoops!

0:33:280:33:30

Matt, I've known him for quite a few years,

0:33:300:33:33

his business dropped down to Matt from Dollar Jackson,

0:33:330:33:37

as they used to call him, the nickname was for the old man.

0:33:370:33:41

Janet, as I call him, Matt, Jackson,

0:33:410:33:44

as I call him Janet - Jackson -

0:33:440:33:47

I do have a laugh with him every day on the market.

0:33:470:33:50

Yeah, he's all right.

0:33:500:33:51

30.

0:33:530:33:54

With three different businesses to cater for,

0:33:540:33:57

Matt has a long shopping list.

0:33:570:33:59

Mackerel and white fish for smoking, and prime fish like turbot,

0:33:590:34:04

bass and monkfish for the shop.

0:34:040:34:07

Fives. How much for those?

0:34:070:34:10

One box and three pieces of fives.

0:34:100:34:13

But he needs to get it for the right price too if he is to keep the

0:34:130:34:16

Jackson's business viable for the future.

0:34:160:34:18

First up for grabs are some monkfish tails,

0:34:230:34:25

a good luxury item for Matt's shop.

0:34:250:34:27

Right, now that's small monk, £6 on that small one.

0:34:270:34:30

-Seven.

-£7 by Jackson. 7.10.

0:34:300:34:34

£7, Jacko. Seven, Matt.

0:34:340:34:37

It is a result for Matt who snaps them up at £7 a kilo.

0:34:370:34:41

Next - some tub gurnard,

0:34:410:34:44

a firm white fish that is good for grilling and stewing.

0:34:440:34:47

Bit of a cheap alternative to cod.

0:34:470:34:49

That's 350 on them tubs. £2 on them tubs.

0:34:490:34:53

-150.

-I've got 150 by Jackson. 160? 150, Jackson.

0:34:530:34:57

They're a real bargain at just £1.50 a kilo.

0:34:570:35:01

That's 3.4 kilos, mate.

0:35:010:35:03

Matt's delighted and marks them up with a Jackson's tally.

0:35:030:35:07

But he's still got a lot to buy and not much time left to buy it.

0:35:080:35:11

I've got 150 on these.

0:35:110:35:14

I've got a pound by everybody now.

0:35:140:35:16

Sorry? By Jackson 160.

0:35:160:35:18

Jacko at 150.

0:35:180:35:21

Good purchase for the shop, we now have got a little bit of prime monk,

0:35:210:35:25

a nice bit of flatfish dab and also a few more tub gurnards.

0:35:250:35:28

Prices were good, happy with the price, not bad for a Monday morning.

0:35:300:35:33

Everyone's feeling the pressure, though,

0:35:330:35:35

and all have businesses to buy for.

0:35:350:35:38

It's an auction, so even though we're all pretty good friends

0:35:380:35:42

down there, we're all working within the same industry,

0:35:420:35:44

there is always a little bit of rivalry because you are bidding on a

0:35:440:35:48

person next to you to try and win the fish.

0:35:480:35:51

Fellow fishmonger Tracy is one such rival.

0:35:510:35:55

And she and Matt are about to lock horns over some pollock.

0:35:550:35:59

Todd starts the bidding at £3.50.

0:36:010:36:05

That pollock, then, 350.

0:36:050:36:07

-I've got £3 by Jackson.

-Matt's in at £3...

0:36:100:36:14

-Yeah.

-3.20.

-..but immediately gets outbid by Tracy who wins the fish.

0:36:140:36:19

310. 310, Trace.

0:36:190:36:24

But it's all fair in love and pollock

0:36:240:36:26

as Matt puts Tracy's tally in the box.

0:36:260:36:29

You can on days not win the bid

0:36:320:36:35

and if there is another fish there to fill the order,

0:36:350:36:37

you can leave the market a bit

0:36:370:36:39

dejected because you possibly let someone down.

0:36:390:36:42

If Matt keeps losing bids, it's the business he'll be letting down.

0:36:420:36:48

But now he shows a bit of canny opportunism...

0:36:480:36:51

750 on that number four monk.

0:36:510:36:54

-Pounds.

-Michael Jackson, 710.

0:36:540:36:57

£7, Jacko.

0:36:570:36:59

Snapping up some monkfish at a bit of a bargain price.

0:36:590:37:03

Well, funny thing is what happened there was the auctioneer put it up,

0:37:030:37:06

the price seemed just about right, it's good-sized monk,

0:37:060:37:09

almost a little bit undervalued, so I purchased it.

0:37:090:37:13

Now we'll see if we can get the bass.

0:37:140:37:17

But he needs to stay focused.

0:37:170:37:18

Less than an hour left and some crucial fish still to buy.

0:37:190:37:23

Including the elusive sea bass.

0:37:240:37:27

-I can't see!

-And the bass. What would you like for the bass?

0:37:270:37:30

6.50.

0:37:310:37:33

£7.

0:37:330:37:35

Todd tries to get £7 for the bass.

0:37:350:37:37

Right, we've got 6.50 by Jackson, 660?

0:37:370:37:39

660, Jackson. Going for that.

0:37:390:37:41

-Please.

-But nobody else is biting, so Matt's scoops it up for £6.50.

0:37:420:37:46

A real bargain.

0:37:460:37:48

The prices today were good for us, certain things were very good.

0:37:520:37:58

Over here some nice monk,

0:37:580:38:00

needs a little bit of tidying up before we send it down

0:38:000:38:04

to the shop ready for the customer, but it's lovely and fresh.

0:38:040:38:08

Managed to get a few bass as well, not as many as I would have liked,

0:38:080:38:11

but we've actually got some for the counter as well.

0:38:110:38:15

Oh, best purchase of the day...

0:38:150:38:16

Ling. Traditional favourite, we can process this as well, smoke it,

0:38:180:38:24

this here was only 30p a kilo.

0:38:240:38:27

So by the time we fillet it,

0:38:270:38:30

there will be a nice margin in that for us.

0:38:300:38:33

The Ling is a good added extra for smoking.

0:38:330:38:36

So Matt leaves the auction with enough fish

0:38:360:38:38

to keep all three businesses going.

0:38:380:38:41

And ensure the future of Jackson's limited.

0:38:410:38:44

That's it. That's all the lot.

0:38:460:38:47

Right, let's go and do some squid now. Squid!

0:38:470:38:50

So what we got, we've got plaice and monk?

0:38:500:38:53

That's it at the minute, isn't it?

0:38:530:38:55

Matt's list might be done and dusted,

0:38:550:38:58

but buyers Josh Perks and his business partner Nigel Ward

0:38:580:39:02

still need fish for key customers of their

0:39:020:39:05

upmarket company Brixham Seafish.

0:39:050:39:07

And with the auction about to close, they've got to get bidding.

0:39:090:39:13

Josh's target is the top grade fish, size one.

0:39:150:39:19

And he's just made a catch that he's delighted with.

0:39:200:39:23

So I've just brought a box of number one plaice off the Pamela Gill,

0:39:230:39:28

I know that was only fishing over the weekend,

0:39:280:39:31

so the plaice is super fresh and perfect size for us.

0:39:310:39:34

Right, now that bass. What would you like for the bass, then?

0:39:360:39:39

I've got 6.50, 6.60?

0:39:390:39:41

£7 by Gordon, 7.10.

0:39:410:39:42

710 by Brixham.

0:39:420:39:44

7.20? 7.10, Brixham at 7.10.

0:39:440:39:47

Now the bass are in the bag too.

0:39:470:39:50

So that's something else that I can tick off my list this morning.

0:39:510:39:55

If you look at this, it's all scribble now,

0:39:550:39:57

Constantly having to listen out as well

0:39:570:40:00

to see what the auctioneer's selling.

0:40:000:40:03

With just a few fish left to catch, Josh crosses over to the other

0:40:030:40:07

auction for the last vital purchase on his shopping list.

0:40:070:40:11

Scallops!

0:40:110:40:13

-How many?

-50, John.

0:40:130:40:15

Scallops are a staple on many of Josh's restaurants' menus.

0:40:150:40:18

So he needs to get as many boxes as he can.

0:40:180:40:21

Same again, John. 5.50, Brixham, 5.60?

0:40:230:40:25

550, Brixham.

0:40:250:40:28

I will take four, please. Four boxes to Brixham.

0:40:280:40:32

With that last flurry of buying complete, Josh's work is done.

0:40:320:40:37

I had a list of different species I wanted to buy for different

0:40:370:40:40

restaurants, as the market's gone on I've ticked them off my list because

0:40:400:40:45

I've managed to buy them.

0:40:450:40:47

Probably my best buy of the day would be these red mullets.

0:40:470:40:51

They're in season at the minute, super, super fresh.

0:40:510:40:56

Today I bought...

0:40:560:40:58

Looking around, I've got to get it all together, but about 50,

0:40:580:41:02

60 boxes of fish, and that probably comes to about £8,000 to £10,000.

0:41:020:41:08

In the next two to three days,

0:41:080:41:11

all that fish will be sold and

0:41:110:41:12

we'll be buying more fish from this market.

0:41:120:41:15

Josh's fish will be served up on silver platters

0:41:150:41:18

around the country in the coming days.

0:41:180:41:20

But he still has one last delivery to make to a very special customer.

0:41:230:41:28

This is a giant spider crab.

0:41:280:41:30

We don't get them that big down here and I know my friend down the road

0:41:300:41:34

absolutely loves them, so I've bought it as a present.

0:41:340:41:38

Josh's friend is renowned seafood chef Mitch Tonks

0:41:380:41:41

who runs a chain of prestigious restaurants in the South West.

0:41:410:41:45

Whenever I'm on the market, I'm always keeping my eye out

0:41:470:41:50

for little things that I know he loves.

0:41:500:41:52

-He's a massive seafood lover.

-Did it in a little bow for you.

0:41:520:41:56

Little bow! It's like it's my birthday!

0:41:560:41:58

-That's a great spider crab. Fantastic!

-Caught today.

0:41:580:42:01

-That will be lunch for me. Bit of mayonnaise.

-Excellent.

0:42:010:42:04

-Awesome. You're a star, Joshy.

-You're welcome. You're welcome.

0:42:040:42:07

Without Brixham fish market, Brixham would just be another seaside town.

0:42:070:42:12

As the auctioneers survey the empty market,

0:42:130:42:16

they can reflect on an amazingly successful day.

0:42:160:42:19

Over 100 tonnes of fish sold for nearly £350,000.

0:42:200:42:26

-Prices all right, Johnny?

-They were, mate.

0:42:260:42:28

-Good prices today, mate.

-Yeah, very good.

0:42:280:42:31

It's tougher news for fisherman Matt Ould...

0:42:320:42:34

who's just found out how much his day's labour has earnt him.

0:42:360:42:39

A little bit disappointing.

0:42:410:42:43

It totalled out at £224.

0:42:430:42:47

One day it can be a bumper market,

0:42:480:42:51

other days it can be rock-bottom.

0:42:510:42:54

They just don't want it and they're not going to pay for it.

0:42:540:42:57

They'll still buy it, but they're not going to pay for it.

0:42:570:43:00

£224 isn't much for a day's work

0:43:000:43:02

when you have the cost of owning and running a boat.

0:43:020:43:06

But generations of Matt's family have survived the ups and downs

0:43:060:43:10

of the fishing game and he intends to do the same.

0:43:100:43:13

And just along the quay,

0:43:180:43:19

the boats are already unloading for tomorrow's Brixham market.

0:43:190:43:23

In just a few hours, the bell will ring

0:43:250:43:27

and the auction will begin all over again.

0:43:270:43:31

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