Angus is a region on the East Coast of Scotland. The Coast of Angus faces the North Sea and has high cliffs and long beaches. There are many villages and two small towns. At one time every village and town had some fishing boats. Ferryden had the most fishing boats, but Arbroath was also important. Today Arbroath is the largest fishing centre in Angus.

At the beginning of the 19th century fishermen only had small, open boats. They fished close inshore. They could only sell their catch locally. Often the fisherwomen walked for miles, exchanging fish for other goods. Sometimes fisherwomen from Auchmithie and Arbroath walked as far as Dundee to sell fish. Things changed a lot in the 19th century. There were many more fishing boats. The boats became larger and fished further from shore. Some had steam engines. Railways were built and they joined many places together. Some railways carried fish for long distances.

In the old days the small villages did not have a harbour. At places such as Usan and Auchmithie the fishermen kept their boats on a beach. Sometimes the wives and daughters of the fishermen helped push the boats into the sea. The women also helped bring the boats back onto the beach after the fishing trip. If the sea was rough, waves could break over the heads of the women and children.

It was not until 1891 that Auchmithie built a harbour. At the village of Usan fishing boats sheltered in a gap in the rocks. Many of the other villages never had a harbour at all. Fishermen from Easthaven, Ethie Haven and Westhaven still pulled their boats onto the beach.

As fishing boats got larger, they needed somewhere safer than a beach. Many fishermen moved to towns such as Arbroath, which had a harbour. The large fishing boats from Arbroath and Ferryden could sail well out to sea. They fished all round the British coast. Now there is very little fishing from the small villages. Arbroath has the largest fishing fleet in Angus