"It's great to go in the press, but we're still sitting here"

Queen scallop fisherman reacts after gov't grants announcement

Last week, it was announced that government was offering grants to queen scallop fishermen to branch out, and fish for other species.

We've heard from the Minister of Environment, Food and Agriculture, Geoffrey Boot MHK, and from the Chief Executive of the Manx Fish Producers Organisation, David Beard.

This follows the news queen scallop stocks are thought to be at their lowest level in more than 25 years, according to the department's surveys.

The gradual process of retraining and respecialisation is expected to take several years.

But what do fishermen think? Will the grants be helpful? Is diversifying realistic?

Marshall Thompson is from the boat 'Two Girls' in Peel.

Dollin Mercer took a trip down to the marina to have a chat with him, and get his thoughts:

That interview was first broadcast on Manx Radio's Perspective programme - you can listen to the episode in full here.