‘Dredging for scallops is like trying to pick up your wallet on the fast lane of the M25, in the fog.’ Nick Harman meets the Rye ‘scallopers’ just ahead of Scallop Week

It’s all a bit quiet down on Simmonds Quay in Rye, East Sussex. The scallop boats are moored tight and the fishermen are in their huts. The stormy weather that hasn’t ceased battering England for weeks is once again stopping them from going to sea.

‘We haven’t been out more than a couple of times since Christmas,’ sighs one fisherman sadly. At this time of year scallops are an important harvest, but the boats are small, under 10m long, and crewed by just two men. The big seas would be too much. Continue reading →