Manx teenager hopes award nod will inspire women into fishing sector

Isla Gale hopes to skipper her own vessel in the future

A Manx teenager, who has been nominated for a UK fishing award, has said she hopes her story will inspire more women to get into the industry.

Isla Gale is an apprentice skipper on local vessel the Shannon Kimberley.

The 17-year-old is among five shortlisted for Trainee Fisherman of the Year in the Fishing News Awards.

She said she was "so excited" when she found out about the nomination that she "couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day".

Isla said she knew she wanted to follow in the footsteps of her father, who is a fisherman, from a young age.

"I always had the idea that I wanted to be a female fisherman, I actually wanted to be a skipper from the age of about 10," she said.

"When I was 15 I started on the boat that I'm on now and then that's when everything really took off for me, because that's when I got the apprenticeship," she added.

Isla said she was the only female in the catching sector on the island and knew of only one other young Manx person in the industry.

The 17-year-old is an apprentice on the Manx vessel the Shannon Kimberly

Isla said: "I think the more publicity [the award] gets, the more women that'll see it", adding that the career path should be "more available to women" because "it's a great job".

While she said she was thrilled to receive the recognition, she said she had been "overwhelmed" by "all the support".

Skipper Alan Woodbridge said he was more than happy to take Isla on as his apprentice.

He said: "I'm glad to see her in the industry... I'm 100% behind her and I hope she keeps doing what she's doing."

"I wish there was more folk like her, boys. She's putting a lot of boys to shame," he added.