Press Release
Fishing Meids Book Launch – Water in Burgidale
A fascinating new book will be launched in Shetland Museum and Archives Boat Hall on Wednesday 25 August. Water in Burgidale, is the story of fishing in Shetland before electronics replaced the use of meids – the lining up transects of features on the land to locate fishing grounds. Based on conversations with retired fishermen, it tells where and how fish were caught, and the rich narrative, almost entirely in dialect, brings out local variations in fishing terms and pronunciations.
In 2001, Shetland Amenity Trust commissioned Charlie Simpson to commence the Fishing Meids Project, a joint initiative between the Biological Records Centre and Shetland Place Names Project. Over a two-year period he interviewed 16 retired skippers and owners about the great line, halibut line, haddock line and seine net grounds around Shetland’s coastline. A detailed oral history emerged: fishing methods, individual boat histories, stories of bad weather and big catches, and details of interesting meids and unusual place names. The project also involved compiling detailed reports on each fishing ground and plotting the grounds on digital maps. A few are included as appendices, but the full set of reports is available for study in the Shetland Archives Searchroom.
Charlie said “To me, the most impressive part of the exercise was to realise the impressive abilities of these men, in a profession not really recognised or valued in Shetland society before the 1980's.”
Eileen Brooke-Freeman Shetland Place Names Project Officer commented “This is a hugely significant publication in terms of Shetland fisheries, place names and the dialect. It paints a vivid picture of the life of fishermen in the second half of the 20th century. Charlie’s careful transcriptions of many hours of sound recordings mean we can almost hear the voices of the men. However, like much of our place name information, we are reminded of the fragility of the oral resource as sadly five of our informants have died since being interviewed, making it all the more valuable to have captured their words and recorded their knowledge.”
The book takes its title from a meid east of Sumburgh. Burgidale is an old name for the valley between Sumburgh Head and the Mid Head, named after the fort once situated at Sumburgh Head. Seen from 13 miles east, the valley dips below the horizon, giving the appearance of water in the dale.
Copies of the book are available from Shetland Amenity Trust offices at Garthspool in Lerwick, The Shetland Museum and Archives Shop, and The Shetland Times Bookshop.
Charlie will be signing copies of his book at The Shetland Times Bookshop on Saturday 11th September from 12noon to 3.00pm.