The role of Hull as the nation's biggest fishing port began in the mid-nineteenth century, the foundations being laid by the smacksmen of Brixham and Ramsgate. The arrival of steam pushed the boundaries out beyond the North Sea, and after 1936 Hull was committed to distant water and fishing. Steam cutters were in use by the 1870s but the successful conversion of steam paddle tugs for fishing marked the beginning of a revolution in North Sea fishing. Within twenty years the sailing smack had vanished from Hull; steam power meant that trawling was no longer dependent on the wind and fishing could take place beyond the confines of the North Sea. This book a unique pictorial history of Hull's fishing industry and its community; from the role of the trawlers during the two world wars to the amalgamations of the 1960s and 70s, the infamous Cod Wars and the massive reduction of the fleet after 1975. Despite the dark clouds, there has been good news, and October 2001 saw the opening of the new GBP4.5 million Hull fish market, Fishgate, a new chapter in Hull's fishing heritage.

Founded in the early years of the 19th century, the Wilson Line became the largest privately-owned steamship fleet in the world. Based in Hull, its main trade was to and from Scandinavia and the Baltic States, although the Wilson Line also carried cargoes to the USA, the Mediterranean, and India. Emigrants were an important part of the company's business. Large numbers of Norwegians, Swedes and Jewish refugees of the Tsarist pogroms were brought into Hull, transported overland to Liverpool and shipped to America. In the 1890s Wilson Line ships carried more cargo to the USA than the ships of any other line. By 1919, losses from the fleet were such that the line was put up for sale. Bought by Ellerman, the name changed slightly but the old ways continued. Ellerman's Wilson Line remained independent of the rest of the Ellerman empire. Rebuilding the fleet was a priority but trading conditions were difficult - with too many ships chasing the available cargo. The Second World War saw a reduction in fleet size from 35 to just 9 and another rebuilding programme got under way in 1945. The once-lucrative American trade ceased in 1961 and the Wilson Line began to use the roll-on, roll-off ferries for its Gothenburg service in 1966. In 1983, then entire Ellerman Group was put up for sale. By 1987, the company was in the hands of Trafalgar House and called Cunard-Ellerman. In 1991 P&O purchased the Ellerman Group container business and sold the remaining four ships. Every trace of Wilsons, once the largest independent steamship company in the world, had now vanished.