LAST OF THE OLD YARMOUTH FISHERS

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 83, 9 April 1910, Page 13

LAST OF THE OLD YARMOUTH FISHERS

The death has taken place at Yarmouth of Mr. Edmund Alfred Durrant, at the age of seventy-four, who was one of the pioneers of the town's fishing industry. With him has passed away the last of the old-faihioued smackowners, says a writer in an Englich exchange, fishing operations being now conducted by limited liability companies ou a largo scale. A generation ego he owned the K. A. D. fleet of smacks, which worked the best North Sea trawhug grounds and sent thousands of tons of fish to Billingsgate, where Mr. Durrant was for a considerable period a salesman. He began in a small way by going to sea himself, but added boat to boat until his fleet waa second only to the Short Blue trawl fleet of Yarmouth, which numbered several hundred sail. When steam vessels were introduced into the North Sea for trawling the wiling smacks becuno hopelessly out of dale, nnd the E. A. D. fleet waa gradually dispersed. Mr. Durrant, who was also v tugowner, employed a Uige number of hands, and did ueeful public service u» a lowa councillor and guardian, besides being n generous friend to the poor of Yarmouth.