I'm one of Fleetwood's last fishermen and I'm banned from the docks

John Worthington, 59, runs two commercial fishing boats, the trawler Mia More and shrimper Eastbar, along wth a charter fishing boat, Kingfisher.

For around half the year, he lands fish such as sole, plaice, dogfish and skate, as well as shrimps, and sells them locally to fish merchants on Fleetwood docks.

But John says he has now been told that he cannot enter the main docks, after more than 40 years as a fisherman.

He says dock authority Associated British Ports has told that he has no legitimate business to enter the docks for, as he is not currently landing fish, and security has been stepped up because of a spate of thefts, vandalism and fly-tipping.

Along with another veteran, Billy McGoff, John is the last commercial fisherman based at Jubilee Quay, the side dock reserved for smaller trawlers and fishing vessels for nearly 150 years.

Until the final Cod War in 1979, when Fleetwood’s deep sea trawlers were in conflict with Iceland and ultimately forced out of the rich fishing grounds they’d traditionally visited, Fleetwood was packed with hundreds of trawlers.

Now the proud industry is no more - and John says it feels like the final straw that he is now banned.

He said: “ I have been banned off Fleetwood Docks to land my fish and do other business there, without any proper explanation.

“I am not fishing at the moment but with the better weather, I’m about to resume fishing and landing the catches and selling them to merchants on the docks.

“With this current arrangement in place, I can’t go about my employment.

“The dock office even had a picture of my vehicles in there which said ‘not to let onto port’.

-John believes he is being singled out because there has been an ongoing dispute between ABP and a group of boat owners, including John, about access and ownership of Jubilee Quay.

But ABP insists John is not been singled out and the issue is not connected with Jubilee Quay,

An ABP spokesperson said: "In light of recent increased incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour around the Fleetwood port estate, ABP has been required to increase security measures across the entire port.

“This means that all port users are now required to have a pass in order to access the main port estate. This helps to ensure the safety and security of customers, tenants and colleagues.

“Those without current employment or regular business on the port are not eligible for the required pass. Decisions on the issuance of passes are solely based on our security policies and reviewed dynamically in the light of requests from customers and tenants.

“Decisions around issuance of passes to the main port estate have no connection to Jubilee Quay."