National Fishing Remembrance Day

Today fishing communities were remembering fishermen who were lost at sea and the families who were bereaved..
One hundred and fifty years ago in 1875, five fishing boats from this community were sunk with all hands lost in a storm on the east coast. 37 men died that day. A huge loss to their families and this community. There have been other fishing boats which have gone down since. One just a few years ago where three men tragically died.
There was a procession with banners representing the lost boats, and a stone with the name of each lost fisherman was placed by a family member at the base of the memorial statue.
The Reaper, an 120 year old herring drifter based in Anstruther (next village) came along to Pittenweem harbour and took the community wreath out to sea and cast it on the waves.
The pole with the streamers represents each person bereaved by a fisherman’s death. The white streamers for wives and the black and purple for the children and other family members.
Although I only moved to this area 25 years ago, and have no connections to the fishing industry, I found the ceremony really moving. It really brought it home how dangerous the job can be.