Martin Wilcox's concise and informative guide to the fishing industry will be absorbing reading for anyone who wants to learn about its history or find out about the life a fisherman and his family. In a clear and accessible way he takes readers through the technical, economic and social aspects of the story. He gives a graphic account of the development of the British fisheries through the medieval period and into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The themes and issues that family and local historians will need to understand in order to pursue their research are a key part of the study. He introduces the reader to the variety of national and local records that are available for genealogical research and considers the many other resources that can yield fascinating information about the industry and those who worked in it.