Trawlermen is a BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 television documentary programme focusing on the work of a number of trawler crews based in Peterhead

Peterhead

Peterhead is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement , with a population of 17,947 at the 2001 Census and estimated to have fallen to 17,330 by 2006....

 and Fraserburgh

Fraserburgh

Fraserburgh is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland with a population recorded in the 2001 Census at 12,454 and estimated at 12,630 in 2006. It lies at the extreme northeast corner of Aberdeenshire, around north of Aberdeen, and north of Peterhead...

. The programme is narrated by the actors Ken Stott

Ken Stott

Kenneth Campbell "Ken" Stott is a Scottish actor, particularly known in the United Kingdom for his many roles in television.-Early life:...

 and Peter Capaldi

Peter Capaldi

Peter Dougan Capaldi is an Academy Award and BAFTA award winning Scottish actor and film director. In 1995, his short film Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life won the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film...

. Four series and a special have been broadcast, totalling 20 episodes. The first series of 5 episodes was first broadcast in 2006 and was stripped across 7.00pm on weekdays. A further 5 episodes were first aired in 2007, 6 in 2008 and a fourth series of 3 episodes in 2009. A special was broadcast in 2010.

The TV stations Dave and Watch

Watch (TV channel)

Watch is a general entertainment channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as part of the UKTV network. The channel launched on 7 October 2008 on satellite through Sky and on cable primarily through Virgin Media.-History:...

 both repeat some episodes the programme.

Boats

Amity 2 - PD 177 - Skipper:Jimmy Buchan

Ocean Venture 2 - PD 240 - Skippers:John Buchan Snr & John Buchan Jnr

Arcane - N907 - Skipper:Charlie McBride

Fruitful Harvest - PD 247 - Skipper:Sandy Watt

Fruitful Bough - PD 109 - Skipper:James West

New Dawn - FR 470 - Skippers:Chaz Bruce & Martin Bruce

Ryanwood - FR 307 - Skipper:Kevin West

Renown - FR 246 - Skipper:James Buchan

Genesis - BF 505 - Skipper:Alan Watt

Chloe May - FR 983 - Skipper:John Alexander

Boy John - INS 110 - Skipper:Drew McLelland

Rosebloom - INS 353 - Skipper:Sandy McLelland

Chris Andra - FR 228 - Skippers:Wilie Tait & Peter Tait

Viking Monarch - K 58 - Skipper:John Musgrave

Sunrise - FR 359 - Skipper:John Steven

Ocean Dawn - FR 347 - Skipper:Ian Ritchie

Radiant Star - LK 71 - Skipper:Victor Lawrenson

Heather K - K 77 - Skipper:Heddle Costie

Starlight - PD 786 - Skipper:James Watt

Starlight Rays - PD 230 - Skipper:Alec Baird

Tragedy

In August 2008, New Dawn deckhand Reynaldo Benitez from the Philippines was swept overboard, several months after filming of the third series of Trawlermen. Brave skipper Chaz Bruce dived into the sea to try and rescue him but sadly 29 year old Reynaldo was lost to sea.

On 27 April 2009, Kevin West, one of the trawlermen featured in the series, was swept overboard and presumed dead. His body has not been found.

Controversy

There was some controversy in the first series of Trawlermen when the BBC screened several episodes with subtitles for English and non Scottish viewers because of the broad Doric and Broch dialects of some of the fishing crew.

Reception

Ahead of the second series, Mark Wright for The Stage

The Stage

The Stage is a weekly British newspaper founded in 1880, available nationally and published on Thursdays. Covering all areas of the entertainment industry but focused primarily on theatre, it contains news, reviews, opinion, features and other items of interest, mainly to those who work within the...

described the programme as an "excellent human-interest documentary series", and said that "one has to admire the calm manner of the crews as they work gruelling shifts in horrible, horrible conditions." Sam Wollaston for The Guardian

The Guardian

The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

said: "I love Trawlermen [...] But, hell, it's miserable." The Independent

The Independent

The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...

's Thomas Sutcliffe closed his review by saying: "If you've been grumbling about the weather recently or worrying about the credit crunch, this series should restore a little perspective."

In January 2007 John Buchan, skipper of the Ocean Venture, won an award from Seafood Scotland in recognition for supplying UK fish and chip shops with top quality, responsibly caught fish. The award was part of the Fish and Chip Shop of the Year awards which Seafood Scotland sponsors. The award was presented to his son John Junior who skippers his vessel on alternate trips.

In 2010, the series won the BAFTA

British Academy of Film and Television Arts

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...

Television Craft award for sound in a factual programme. The series was nominated for the same award in 2008.