Britain’s North Sea fishermen are set to be ‘decolonised’ – as Grimsby fishing museum plans to probe links with slavery, colonialism and racism

Britain’s North sea fishermen are set to be ‘decolonised’ as Grimsby fishing museum plans to probe its material for links with slavery, colonialism and racism.    

The Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre is reviewing its collection of artefacts relating to the now depleted fishing fleets, The Telegraph reports.

The museum dedicated to ‘Grimsby’s fishing heritage’ will aim to address the potential connections between this heritage and ‘colonialism and racism’.

Objects relating to the work of trawlermen will be assessed, along with other material, to decide whether they might be ‘problematic’. 

Any links to slavery will be underlined, and the Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre will seek to include more information relating to those from diverse backgrounds.

The museum, which is overseen by the Tory-run North East Lincolnshire council, displays numerous artefacts linked to North Sea fishing fleets.

There are displays featuring a mock-up dry-dock and high street, with figures of women mending nets, and a fisherman hauling a catch aboard his boat. 

The centre intends to ‘share how museum objects can represent stories of slavery, colonialism, and racism, and are committed to addressing the legacy of these subjects through open and honest conversations with those we represent’.

Britain’s North sea fisherman are set to be decolonised as a fishing museum plans to probe the industry’s links with slavery, colonialism and racism. Pictured: Fishermen on a trawler haul in their catch in the North Atlantic, Skipper Alf Kisick from Grimsby

The Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre is reviewing its collection of material relating to now depleted fishing fleets, The Telegraph reports. Pictured: Women at work at a factory at Grimsby making trawling nets used by fishermen in the North Sea in 1931

It has pledged to decolonise – a term that ordinarily refers to moving away from from a white, Western-centric world view.

This work is understood to have only just begun, and will be centred around a review of the collection to check for any ‘problematic objects, interpretation, or terminology’ with respect to ‘decolonisation and people from protected characteristic groups’.

It is currently unclear what hypothetical links to slavery or colonialism may be. 

A North East Lincolnshire council spokesman said: ‘Work is ongoing and the team are currently undertaking a collections review in respect to items related to decolonisation and people from protected characteristic groups.’

Grimsby was once the busiest fishing port in the world, boasting a fleet of 700 trawlers. 

But it has suffered a dramatic decline following the Icelandic cod wars of the early Seventies and the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy. 

Grimsby was once the busiest fishing port in the world, boasting a fleet of 700 trawlers. Pictured: North Sea fishermen trying on gas masks during World War One

Sir Keir Starmer’s deals with the EU for fishing rights have been branded the ‘death of the industry’ by local trawlermen.

As of December 2022 there were only four trawlers operating out of Grimsby – less than a third of the number of boats servicing off-shore wind farms in the Humber Estuary.

Tens of thousands of men lost their jobs when their boats were decommissioned.