In today’s show, I chat to my dad, Arnold Goodlad, about the fishing in Shetland.

Fishing is Shetland’s mainstay industry, combined with aquaculture, these industries make up 50 per cent of the island economy.

In the show, we speak about dad’s life growing up in Burra and what the fishing looked like when he was a boy – half a century ago – and what it looks like today. We touch on the oil industry and how fishing remains the greater employer even today.

We speak about what life at sea was like and how it differs from land-based jobs, and we touch on some of the dangers that come with doing one of the most dangerous jobs in the UK including the incredible courage and bravery of our lifeboat crews. We hear about a time when they lost their boat and had to abandon ship and how he went overboard fishing off Fitful Head.

We also speak about what life was like for him growing up on an island, Shetland’s nature; birds and whales and he offers his top three things to do in Shetland.

Some links that we speak about;

Water in Burgidale: Shetland Fisheries in a Pre-electronic Age by Charlie Simpson

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