Devon fisheries hit by faulty harbour gates

Calls for a permanent fix

The Plymouth fishing community is demanding a plan B to be put in place so their livelihoods are less affected should the lock gates at Sutton Harbour fail again as they did this week.

The gates, which also act as a flood defence, broke down on Monday leaving boats loaded with catch trapped outside the harbour and others inside unable to be put to sea.

They were opened again today (Wednesday), around lunchtime, following repairs but local fishers claim problems with the gates are a regular occurrence.

The fishing community would like to see more support from the Environment Agency (EA) who maintain the lock and Sutton Harbour Holdings who operate it. Their pleas are being backed by Plymouth City Council which has written to the government  to ask the EA to take a more proactive approach.

Council leader Tudor Evans (Lab, Ham) said Plymouth’s fishing industry had enough challenges already without being further impacted by ongoing issues with the flood defence gates

In a statement today the EA said the lock was now up and running: “We understand this has been frustrating for the local fishing community and our officers have been working hard to get the lock fixed as quickly as possible.”

They explained that a hydraulic fault meant that the gates were not able to be moved but were in the closed position so had continued to protect the Barbican area from flooding, which was which they were designed for as well as allowing vessels to access the harbour at all states of the tide.

Crab and lobster fisherman Brian Tapper said unfortunately the bad weather forecast for the next few days meant that his boat would not be going out at all this week affecting not only his livelihood but that of his skipper and crew and the people he supplied to plus there would be other knock on effects.

He said 12 weeks ago there was a similar issue with the lock gates, which were now 30 years old, and more valuable fishing time lost.

“I think we all understand that things break now and again but there needs to be a back up plan. We have had to stop working but our bills have not stopped. I have lost a day’s fishing through this, others have lost more this week.” 

Around 13 boats were affected by the breakdown. The fishers are asking for an alternative landing site nearby to berth their catch if it happens again. Some managed to land their catch on Monday at other harbours along the coast like Brixham, Looe, Polperro and Newlyn and Cattewater Harbour Commissioners set up two temporary berthing pontoons at Cattewater.

Sutton Harbour is the key location for landing and selling fish in Plymouth. Mr Tapper said: “At the moment there is nothing else here to land fish if something goes wrong. It’s a case of if the lock gates are closed, sort yourself out”.

He added that there was little response from the EA when approaches for assistance and information were made by the fishermen.

Sutton Harbour announced on its Facebook page on Wednesday: “We are pleased to advise the Environment Agency engineers have now completed repairs on Sutton Lock, which is returned to normal operation.”

The EA is due back in Sutton Harbour next week to replace hydraulic rams on the outer lockgates as part of scheduled maintenance work,

Use of the lock will be disrupted when the crane is “booming” over the lock. To minimise impact on harbour users, access will be allowed through the lock during free flow, when the level of water inside and outside is the same . 

However if a delay occurs, the EA says it may need to close the lock gates for a short time outside of free flow.

“The work is essential planned maintenance to ensure the lock gates continue to provide flood protection to the homes and businesses in the Plymouth Barbican area, as well as ensuring the fishing and leisure fleets can continue to operate,” it said.

Cllr Evans said: “With more work on the gates programmed next week for a different repair, I am also urging the EA to put contingencies in place for the fishing fleet, and to support them in making claims for compensation. 

“This is vital as many of these inshore fishers will be surviving financially from landing to landing and lengthy processes and timeframes for claims could cause severe hardship to some households.”

In his letter to Defra ministers Cllr Evans said: “These brave men and women risk everything to bring us fish suppers, but it is clear that over the past 10 years things have become a lot harder, and we must do what we can to support them and fund opportunities where we can.”

He has asked Defra to reinstate bass fishing entitlements to smaller vessels that have previously had them removed and highlighted the difficulties facing potters after an octopus bloom left them with little crab and lobster to catch.

The leader has argued that many of these vessels used to catch crab and lobster could diversify into bass fishing but would indeed help with the cost of new equipment.