Bridlington has welcomed its latest addition to the fishing fleet, which saw skipper George Robson navigate Genesis on her maiden voyage through tempestuous seas into the safety of the harbour.
The boat, which was especially designed for crab and lobster fishing, is part of the Genesis Fishing Group, which is owned and run by the Robson family who have a history of three generations working out of Bridlington Harbour.
Neil Robson, who is father of John and George, said the home-coming was ‘rather tricky’ as the boat took the trip down from the Whitby boatyard where it had been built.
“The weather wasn’t great, but the new boat handled superbly. We knew the difficult part would be navigating into the harbour at Bridlington as the wind direction was a strong south-easterly and the water was swirling around unpredictably. But George skippered the boat superbly and we were glad to get tied up alongside.”
A large crowd gathered on the harbour to welcome the boat to its new home and also to celebrate the arrival of the new vessel in the harbour with a reception at the nearby Salt restaurant.
The arrival of the new state-of-the-art 14.99 metre(49ft, 2 in) Vivier crabbing boat Genesis is confirmation that the shellfish industry is doing well in Bridlington.
Neil Robson, who runs Genesis Fishing Ltd with his wife Julie and their children George and John and their wives Verity and Victoria, has fished out of Bridlington all his life and is proud to see his children and their families carry on the tradition.
They have invested in the future of the industry by purchasing their latest vessel which was constructed by the Parkol Marine Engineering ship builders in Whitby.
The boat was officially christened by George’s wife Verity as hundreds of onlookers watched the ceremony in Whitby a few weeks ago. The boat has been undergoing sea trials and was then brought down to Bridlington in December with Neil, George and John Robson and crew member Steve.
The company currently owns 4 boats under the Genesis Fishing Ltd banner and solely catch crab and lobster which is mainly for the UK market, but some is exported to France and Spain.
Andy Wheeler who runs his own fishing consultancy business based in Bridlington, said:
“Offshore catches and business in the harbour is very good. Bridlington punches well above its weight in this sector being the biggest shellfish port by catch in Europe.
“Whilst the fishing business is buoyant it will always be the town’s main economic driver with lots of local employment and secondary jobs created around the industry.
“There is more of a sustained move to get people to eat and taste the quality of UK domestic catch.There is also a strong move to create a solid and sustainable industry in Bridlington and beyond.” added Andy.
