Port Isaac People - Fisherman Tom Brown
Local fisherman Tom Brown is descended from a long line of Brown men, all of whom have worked the ocean. The fisherman, lifeboatman and harbourmaster has seafaring in his blood. Traceable back to the 1870s, he shares his current profession with his great, great grandfather Caveth Brown, great grandfather and namesake Tom Brown, grandfather Harold and father Jeremy. Tom’s own sons Archie, born in 2011, and Harold, born in 2018, have both already shown a keen interest in being out on the water!
Tom currently runs the family business Just Shellfish, a fishmongers located in Port Isaac harbour. Selling fresh caught, cooked shellfish, it has been run by the Brown family for the past 30 years. Handed down through the generations, Tom and his partner Laura Sloan now oversee the day to day operations and management of the shop. Tom heads out daily from the harbour in his boat Maverick, pulling up the pots to collect the catch of the day. The family have 900 pots out at sea at any one time, ranging from the entrance of the harbour to up to 30 miles out to sea along the north Cornish coast. Strong supporters of sustainable fishing, every crab and lobster is measured to ensure that high standards and regulations are met.
Speaking to Port Isaac Heritage, Tom Brown said, “I was eight years old when I first went out to sea with my dad. It was on his boat Nimrod and I had to listen to him singing all day! I never imagined that this was going to be the life for me. We have had a few family boats and I remember Lisa Maria and Free Spirit. It was my dream to be a Moto X Rider so I never thought about becoming a fisherman. However that was not to be (when you have children of your own you suddenly become sensible!) and my dad persuaded me to try fishing. The seed must have already been set, because I remember sneaking onto the boat when I was younger and catching loads of mackerel. Being the son of a Fisherman’s Friend I am often asked if I sing with my dad – and yes, we sometimes sing shanties when we’re out at sea – but only for a laugh!”
Every generation of the Brown family was involved with life at sea. Both Tom and Laura are members of the Port Isaac RNLI, and Tom’s father Jeremy is a fisherman and also a proud founding member of popular sea shanty group the Fisherman’s Friends. Back in his younger days, Jeremy Brown can recall cutting withies (flexible willow stems) in the Port Isaac valley with his father Harold, and watching his dad make traditional crab and lobster pots called ‘withy pots’. A withy pot can take a skilled maker around 4-5 hours to create, and the craft is now in danger of being lost. He also remembers, “going to sea on the Winifred with my father and Nibs and working pots made from telegraph stay wire. Ports were hauled using a winch made from a back axle and gear box.”
The Brown Men Family Tree
Nibs Brown b. 1871
Caveth Brown b. 1872
Tom Brown b. 1900
Harold Brown b. 1925
Jeremy Brown b. 1960
Tom Brown b. 1988
Archie Brown b. 2011
Harold Brown b. 2018
You can support Port Isaac’s fishing community and sample some of Tom’s catch at Just Shellfish, in the Fish Cellars next to The Platt in the heart of the harbour.