Legendäres Liverpool: Behind the Scenes with Kev Peet & ARD

3 Nov

I was thrilled to be invited to join Kev Peet, one of the last traditional shrimp fishermen on the Merseyside coast, and his friend and helper Colin, to photograph the filming of a new MareTV documentary for NDR/ARD. The crew had travelled from Hamburg, a great German port city with its own long maritime tradition, to document Liverpool’s coast for the series, which finds the most fascinating stories of people and the sea around the world.

Kev’s work follows a method used here for hundreds of years: dragging a wide net through the shallows to catch shrimps as the tide recedes. In the past, horses pulled the nets; today, a quad bike does the job. Timing is everything. The best moment to head out is mid-tide, when the sea is still retreating. It gives enough time to reach the fishing grounds, make the catch, and return to shore before the water turns.

I spent the day documenting both sides of the story, Kev and Colin at work, and the TV crew capturing their efforts for broadcast. Between cameras, microphones, and the rhythm of the nets, the scene felt like a quiet collaboration between generations and disciplines.

Afterwards, Kev returned to Southport to sell his catch directly to local restaurants and customers, the final link in a tradition that ties community, coastline, and craft.

The MareTV feature tells not only his story but also the wider life of Liverpool: its culture, its working heritage, and its enduring connection to the sea. The documentary is available in German via ARD Mediathek - though, outside Germany, a VPN might come in handy.