Their initial diet includes a high proportion of faecal pellets from copepods (small planktonic crustaceans, commonly known as ‘feed’).                                                    Stephen J. Lockwood The Mackerel   

The man with a black beard had his hands flat on the wooden bar fingers splayed out. They were big heavy hands with thick knuckles. He was waiting for his pint to be poured.

The men had helped themselves to the mackerel from the silver bucket. Four of them sat with a plastic bag under their stool holding the fish to be taken home that evening, filleted  and put in the fridge to be had with bacon the following morning. They would all cook the bacon first in a pan and then fry off the fillets quickly in…