The past, the present and the future of Fleetwood Dock

Fleetwood Port the past, the present, and the future  

A new commercial fish and seafood processing plant in operation at Fleetwood Port since May 2024.

New units fitted out with high specification modern amenities, a smoking kiln, a fish auction hall and processing factory along with plans for a new training academy.

Patrick Haydon is a director of the family firm Midland Fisheries, and the chairman of the Fleetwood Fish Merchants Association (FFMA).

“It’s been a long time coming, chomping at the bit to get going in the new facilities because it opens so many more doors for us,” said Patrick.

A big boost to Fleetwood's economy, safeguarding the fish processing industry, providing around 500 jobs directly and indirectly maintaining the town's historic links with the rich fishing heritage and the sea.

Project Manager responsible for the Neptune project for Artal Ltd, Ryan Riches said:

“I’m a Fleetwood lad born and bred. A lot of the fit out designed with carbon reduction at the forefront.

“This allows us to reduce running costs witnessing firsthand the positive impact it will have on the fish merchants, the fishing in Fleetwood and the local community.”

A collaborative venture led by Wyre Council in partnership with Associated British Ports (ABP) and facilitated by the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership.

Capital investment from Wyre Council combined grant funding from the UK Government’s Getting Building Fund and Lancashire County Council’s Lancashire Economic Recovery and Growth Fund facilitated the project to become a reality, investing eight million pounds.

History of Fleetwood Port.

The population of Fleetwood is around 26000 people presently. Fleetwood Port opened in 1877 and became one of the main fishing ports on the west coast of the UK.

In the 1950s and 60s around 120 trawlers registered at Fleetwood Port.

From the late 1960s onwards, and the first of the cod wars in Iceland, Fleetwood’s distant-water fleet experienced a rapid decline. The inshore fleet followed a similar downward spiral.

The fishing industry at the time employed around 11,000 people directly and indirectly.

Like many northern towns Fleetwood suffers from high unemployment rates and voted to leave the EU.

Presently Dockside fishmonger is the only outlet for fresh fish in the town. Fleetwood Market does not sell fresh fish.

At present the services and amenities for trawler men are very basic, not much better for processing staff.

Basic services not provided for commercial fishermen: showers, toilets, power points on the quayside, skips and refrigeration, cold storage is important for the catch awaiting transport.

Power points are a big issue when trawlers are in dock they must run the boats generators 24 hours a day, consequently polluting the environment. The crew live on board when the trawlers berthed in the dock.

The skipper Andy Bynam is the owner of four trawlers and normally captains the Taylor Morgan with one local Fleetwood fisherman.

The fishermen manning Andy’s three other trawlers are Latvians.

Three of his trawlers normally catch whelks and the factory AM Seafoods is only five minutes away in Fleetwood and employ nearly 100 people.

Andy said: “They keep probably 30 to 40 people in a full-time job.”

Also, there are 12 Latvians working three of his trawlers, relying on income.

“We are the only fishermen landing fresh fish and seafood into the Fleetwood market, everything brought by road.” advised Andy.

Over 90 per cent of fresh fish delivered by lorry from Grimsby, the Faroe Islands, and satellite depots from every port in the UK. Filleted at Fleetwood Port and redistributed by the lorry on the return journey.

Brexit referendum 2016

A major issue for Andy is labour, the locals are not interested in working on the trawlers.

He usually sources all his labour from Latvia. Since Brexit and new rules implemented the paperwork is complicated and cumbersome for him to process.

“The Brexit promised would have helped us, but the Brexit we got has not helped us.

“The government does not want the fishing industry anymore, that is the truth of it,” said Andy.

Patrick is the main point of contact for all fish processing activities at Fleetwood Port and attends meetings with the Fox Jackson Ports (prospective new owners of Fleetwood Port) expressing fish merchants and fishermen’s concerns.

Midland Fisheries located at the dockside the biggest fish processor at the port. “If you spoke with most fish merchants in the UK they were quite up for Brexit.

“I think they could have done things slightly better given hindsight.

“It has not had the desired effect we thought it would have on the industry.

“Brexit has made the exporting of fish quite difficult, to say the least, to the point really, I suppose before Covid, we pretty much ceased to export fish into France,” advised Patrick.

Dredging of the port.

Lack of dredging the port is preventing an increase in trade. The trawlers can only sail out to sea at high tide, with a 90-minute window, otherwise there is danger of running aground on a sandbank.

The upshot this restricts when the trawlers can go out to sea, limiting their income. Andy advised if the port dredged regularly, it would attract trawlers to land their catch at Fleetwood Port.

“Firstly, it’s the dredging, to give more time to the guys to get in and out of the port and will then attract other vessels to use it as a facility,” said Patrick.

Chatted with Darren Greenwood the owner of the four dredgers registered at Fleetwood.

They dredge all the major ports on the west coast of the UK. He advised the dredgers booked up for 12 months.

No immediate plans to dredge Fleetwood Port.

ABP and Fox group.

Fox Group have reached an agreement with Associated British Ports for the acquisition of its ports in Fleetwood and Silloth in March 2024.

Fox Jackson Ports is part of Fox Group, a fourth-generation, family-owned and Blackpool headquartered construction, logistics and property group.

Specialising in property, quarrying, the supply and haulage of aggregates, recycled materials, earthworks, plant hire, civil engineering, and waste solutions.

Fox offer services to a range of customers across the house building, civils, maritime, infrastructure, highways and wider construction sectors.

The completion of the acquisition is subject to regulatory clearances, such as the transfer of the appropriate Harbour Authority authorisations, and customary closing conditions.

The piece to camera at the end of the documentary is the original auction house minus the roof. The roof removed by the owners to negate local taxation.

An ideal location to end the story with Fleetwood Port. Evolving from the past and a glimpse to the future.

“It would be great if we could build up a small fleet of inshore fishing vessels that will land in Fleetwood again and put the catch over the Fleetwood market.

“Fleetwood is not Cornwall by any stretch of the imagination, but why can’t we make it some sort of visitor attraction as well, for the future,” said Patrick.

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