09/08/2026
Yesterday marked the third fishing day of Tristan da Cunha’s lobster fishing season, and as always, the day began with a sound everyone on the island knows well.
At 6:30am, the gong rang out across the Settlement, signalling the start of another fishing day. Soon afterwards, nine boats headed out to sea, setting off for a long day working the waters around Tristan
The morning began dull and misty, with low cloud hanging over the island and the boats disappearing into the grey as they made their way out to the fishing grounds. As the hours passed, the weather slowly began to improve, and by the afternoon the mist had lifted and the day had brightened.
The fishing boats themselves are a familiar part of island life, and even their names have become part of Tristan’s fishing story. Over the years, the fleet has included Island Pride, Seal Bay, Nightingale, Kingfisher, Bornholm, Verkenner, Boissevain, Kingbird, Saldanha Bay and Shearwater.
While the fishermen were busy at sea, there was plenty happening ashore too.
On a fishing day, the factory becomes a hive of activity. Factory workers, along with ladies and pensioners who come in to help, are busy throughout the day as the catch begins to come ashore. Fishing days really are a community effort, with people of all ages playing their part in an industry that has been at the heart of Tristan life for generations.
Another important part of the day is the work carried out by Tristan’s Fisheries team. As the catches come ashore, Fisheries staff inspect and monitor the lobster, checking that undersized lobster and females carrying eggs known locally as lobster “in berry” are not being taken. These checks are an important part of protecting the lobster population, allowing smaller lobster the chance to grow and protecting egg-bearing females so they can reproduce and help maintain the stock for future generations.
It is all part of the careful management behind Tristan’s lobster fishery, which has been certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council since 2011. Tristan rock lobster is found only around the Tristan da Cunha islands and associated fishing grounds, making looking after this valuable resource particularly important.
As the afternoon went on, the boats began returning to the harbour one by one, bringing their catches home. By the end of the fishing day, the nine boats had landed an impressive combined catch of 7.4 tonnes of Tristan lobster. 🦞
But bringing the boats home certainly doesn’t mean the working day is over.
Back at the factory, the work continues into the evening as the day’s catch is processed. While much of the Settlement is beginning to wind down for the night, the factory is still busy, with factory workers, processing ladies and pensioners continuing the job and dealing with the lobster brought in that day.
It really shows just how much goes into a single fishing day on Tristan da Cunha.
From the gong sounding at 6:30 in the morning, to the fishermen heading out to sea, the Fisheries team checking and monitoring the catch, the teams working ashore and at the harbour, and everyone at the factory working throughout the day and into the evening, it takes many hands to make a successful fishing day happen.
📸 Please enjoy these fantastic pictures from the day, taken by Fouche Conradie, capturing some of the hard work that goes on behind the scenes during a Tristan fishing day.
