David Watson
“We want to be part of the solution – but it’s hard to find space when the sea keeps shrinking.”
Location: Peterhead
Job: Skipper, FV Boy Enzo LH511
David Watson is part of a long fishing legacy. Now in his early 30s, he’s a fourth-generation fisherman who started his career on local prawn trawlers in Eyemouth.
After two decades at sea, eight of those as a skipper, he now runs the FV Boy Enzo, named after his eldest son. “I was 15 when I left school and joined the boats,” he says. “At first I was just keen to earn, but I soon realised I loved it.”
His path took him from Eyemouth to Peterhead, where he worked across various whitefish vessels, before studying at the Peterhead Maritime Academy in 2017. The course gave him the qualifications to run a vessel up to 24 metres, a goal he’d worked toward for years. It also laid the groundwork for a major career step - becoming a shareholder in his own boat.
That vessel is the Boy Enzo, a 19-metre twin-rig trawler working in nephrops and whitefish, carrying a crew of six. “It’s the smallest working boat in our sector,” David explains, “but it punches well above its weight.”
The business is a family affair. David’s wife, Shannon, handles the shore-based admin, from invoices and logistics to raising their two young sons. The couple take great pride in what they’ve built, and in the hard-working Filipino crew they’ve brought on board.
“They’re a credit to their country,” says David. “Without them, many boats just wouldn’t sail.”
But running a modern fishing vessel is more than just steering the ship. There’s quota management, maintenance, fuel costs, and dealing with increasingly complex legislation.
David decided to get more involved in those bigger industry conversations, joining Aberdeen Fish Producers Organisation as a director in 2023. “I wanted to learn what happens behind the scenes – how quotas are set, how science influences the numbers.”
Despite his optimism, David sees worrying trends. “Science on some stocks is outdated, and the costs are rising constantly,” he says. “That’s without even getting into the space we’re losing.”
He’s talking, of course, about the loss of viable fishing grounds to wind farms, conservation zones, and other spatial pressures. “It’s hard enough as it is. When the grounds we rely on disappear, it puts the whole system under stress.”
Still, David remains determined. “I want a future for my boys,” he says. “Fishing’s not easy, but it’s worth fighting for - for our communities and our way of life.”
