Robbie Jamieson
"We need the government to hold a tough line and support fishermen.”
Location: Shetland
Job: Skipper
Vessel: Defiant
For Robbie Jamieson, fishing isn't just a job - it's a generational calling. At 29, he's the latest in at least four generations of fishermen in his family, skippering the vessel Defiant with a crew of six from the tight-knit fishing community of Whalsay.
The Defiant itself is woven into the community’s history. The boat has carried the same name for nearly 40 years and has deep roots in the local area - Robbie's father worked on it before he was even born. When the opportunity came to buy the vessel, it felt like bringing it home.
After 10 years at sea, Robbie knows the highs and lows of the industry intimately.
Recently, prices have been the best he's seen in his career, helping to offset lower catches. But the industry faces mounting pressures. The fuel crisis following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 sent costs spiralling. "The expense just went completely to an unmanageable state," he recalls. "The business couldn't get ahead at all."
Even more challenging is what Robbie calls "erratic data" - wildly fluctuating quota allocations based on surveys that don't match what fishermen see on the water. "One year the quotas can go up and look good, and then all of a sudden they say the fish is zero TAC (total allowable catch)," he explains.
Marine protected areas have also emerged as a major concern. "We've already lost a huge amount of fishing ground to the east of Shetland," Robbie says. The regulations allow some foreign vessels with different gear to fish inside protected zones while local bottom trawlers are excluded. "There’s tremendous opportunity on our doorstep, but it's been closed off to us."
For Robbie, the reality is simple: "Fishermen want to ensure that there is a viable industry for future generations, and we need to do that partly by looking after the environment."
Looking ahead, he's cautiously hopeful there will still be an industry for his children. "It's just a bit of a struggle getting local crew at the moment," he admits. "But if you can just get the youngest generation to come behind you, it should be an industry to keep going forever if it's well managed."
The infrastructure is there - Shetland's markets have been upgraded to world-class facilities. What's needed now, Robbie believes, is government support. "It's just whether the government can hold a tough line and support fishermen. That's the biggest thing."
