Mending nets

Frequently we go to Port Seton to buy fish and so I decided to blip a fishing boat coming into the harbour with Inchkeith Island (mentioned yesterday) in the distance. There are always nets lying on the quay side and frequently some stretched out being repaired.
Then I changed my plan when I noticed that there were two nets being mended. The man in the background (see large) was using a shuttle to repair his while this man was threading rope through. He had been checking and measuring the bobbin wheels which help the nets to pass more easily over rocks which tend to be the places for the best prawns. Prawn nets constantly need repairing as they are used to get the prawns on the sea bottom. It is a skilled job particularly as nets are often made in different patterns so these need to be learnt.
Last week we learnt that at the moment the financial return on prawns is low due to the cost of diesel. It's not an easy life.