About Terry and Terry's Fresh Fish
Terry’s Fresh Fish is owned and operated by Sole Trader, Terry Stimpson, with occasional help from his wife and daughters! Since 2010 he has operated out of Brightlingsea Harbour in his vessel Seaglory ST2 and is one of the last inshore boats in the area. Inshore fishing is supported by Greenpeace as the only commercially sustainable fishing method that must be protected to ensure the future of the fish stocks, marine environment and food supply.
Terry currently sells in Clacton and Brightlingsea and has done for over 40 years (his story is below). Click here for details on the pitches.
I owned my first fishing boat at the age of 12; I saved for 2 seasons working as a barrow boy at Jaywick on the Golden Mile (Brooklands).
My parents would only allow me to launch the boat if I had adults with me, so I worked at the Westcliff Pub as a bottle boy and had more than enough volunteers to go fishing for a day.
By the age of 17 I owned my first registered vessel.
When I met my wife I was a qualified toolmaker, my parents had made me take an apprenticeship (to fall back on they said). As my wife was working full time she paid the mortgage whilst I tried my hand, following my dream of earning my living from the sea.
Since then I have had many boats: small boats named after my wife and children; to an attempt at a big trawler! In 1998 I Invested in my first catamaran fishing boat; greater stability for an aging man! This boat saw me through some tough times, and warnings from the sea (in 2005 I had a head on collision with a navigation buoy that could have broken my back; fortunately it didn’t and I was back to work 6 months later!
C.2008 saw the wind farms construction which meant I would lose my fishing grounds for 6 months of the year. I was paid some compensation however and this was used as a down-payment on my current boat – giving me back the full 12 months fishing ability – and the capability to continue to earn a reasonable living, or so I thought. July 2010 – drastic quota reductions saw a complete ban on fishing to the end of 2010. Luckily I managed to get work on a cockle boat which helped to pay the mortgage. Since then I have sold my own fish supplemented by purchasing from other UK fishermen and wholesalers at Billingsgate Market – using my knowledge to make sure I only pick the best.
In 2018 my family adopted a 3 year old rescued whippet lurcher called Daisy and what a treat that has been! Making sure she gets lovely healthy food and reading all the nasty ingredients in most treats led me to start my lines of healthy dehydrated fish treats – all of which are tried, tested and approved my her; along with her new brother Dash, who joined the family in September 2020.
The pandemic could have been make or break for me, but the sheer volume of support from new customers taking the time to look for locally sourced produce has enabled me to invest in new engines for my boat, which will allow me to continue to fish and serve the local community for many years to come. This is great news for me as in Feb 2021 I turned 60 – and the new engines also reduce the amount of time I need to be at sea from 8 hours to 2!
Thank you all for your continued support!