cockle boat turning in the narrow creek at Leigh-on-Sea Essex, UK
The creek at Leigh-on-Sea, which empties almost completely at low tide, is used for two hours either side of high tide by cockle fishing boats which work in the Thames estuary. The boats come up the creek as soon as the tide allows and then turn, as here, in order to unload. The cockle season runs for three or four months from around mid-summer to early autumn and during that time, the boats - of which there are 14 licensed to fish cockles - land to small creekside quays, from where the cockles are transported to the processing plants, some on the creek side in Leigh but there are others in King's Lynn Norfolk which also take some cockles. During the cockle season, when the boats are not fishing or landing, they moor further out in the estuary and fishermen use rigid inflatable boats (ribs) to get to and from them, the ribs needing far less water and thus avoid the tidal restriction on movement.
Size: 4288px × 2848px
Photo credit: © John Worrall / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: anchorage, anchorages, boat, boats, cockle, commercial, creek, digger, england, essex, estuary, fishing, leigh--sea, mechanical, mooring, moorings, mud, thames, tidal, tide, turning, uk
