On the days when the weather is kind and the fish are plentiful, Steven Mair can pause for a moment and take in the sights and sounds of the sea.

There can be glorious sunsets and the clearest of nights, when the crew of the Sharyn Louise switch off the on-board lighting to watch the northern lights dance or to wonder at galaxies of distant stars.

Sometimes when the haddock and mackerel are in an abundance, a passing pod of orcas accompany the crew. There are dolphins, an array of seabirds and even the glittering lights of oil rigs, like Christmas trees towering over the waves.

The crew of four - average age just 23 - are rarely completely alone. Unlike the popular image of gnarled fishermen in sou’westers battling stormy seas, the weather isn’t all bad.

“Yes, it’s physically demanding,” says Steven, 32, one of a new breed of fishers choosing to embrace a hard and unpredictable way of life. “But it’s okay as long as you don’t think about it.

“Some people think this is tough. But if I had to sit in an office all day, I’d think that was hellish too.

“I like this. While it can be demanding, frustrating and everything in between, it’s rewarding too.”

Steven has just invested in a third share of the 60ft long whitefish trawler alongside skipper John Anderson, 26. The other third has purchased by LHD fishing agents, based in Shetland.

It’s a major investment for two young men when Brexit continues to linger across fishing territories, and after pandemic lockdowns saw incomes decimated.

With that in mind – and the not insignificant issue that trawler fishing is among the most dangerous jobs in the UK - the lure of something less risky may seem far more tempting.

Yet they are among a growing number of younger men opting to take on frustrating fishing quotas, Brexit squabbling and the risks of returning home battered and with little to show for it, to invest their futures in Scotland’s often beleaguered fishing sector.

They have just received funding as ‘new entrants’ to the industry from the Scottish Government’s £14 million Marine Fund Scotland, intended to help them purchase a second-hand fishing vessel and kickstart their new careers.

The ‘new entrants’ element launched earlier this year as part of a major drive to encourage people under 40 into the sector, with grants of up to 75% of the purchase costs of an existing vessel available.

In Lerwick, the Sharyn Louise (LK250) gleams bright red and white, her engine and electrics have undergone a major overhaul as a result of the new bosses’ takeover. There have been alterations to improve fuel economy and for handling the catch.

“It’s like a new boat inside,” says John, 26, whose father and grandfather ran the trawler for almost 20 years.

He could have carried on his original path to become a marine engineer, but the prospect of skippering his own boat appealed more.

With a two-year-old daughter, Mia, and his partner, Natasha, at home, he sets off with his crew to spend around four days at a time tracking the best stocks of white fish to sell at Lerwick’s fish market.

“I’ve not had any doubts about doing this,” he says. “I thought it was worth the gamble.

“I’m 90% sure everything will work out okay, but there’s always that little bit of concern with all the politics and things that our sector ends up involved in.”

Indeed, relations between Britain and France are in crisis over post-Brexit fishing rights that have seen Paris threatening retaliation if ministers do not grant more licenses to French boats.

Spanish boats, meanwhile, have been embroiled in their own confrontations with fishing vessels off the west coast of Shetland.

Yet the string of issues, from quotas to adhering to legislation and paperwork, does not appear to be deterring fresh blood to the sector.

“There’s certainly a lot more young people coming to the industry in Shetland, I know of two boats this year with young crew taking over from older men,” adds John.

In his father’s day, around 60 white fish trawlers operated from Lerwick, while further back during the ‘herring boom’, there were hundreds. Now, however, he reckons the number is down to little more than 20.

“My father got his first vessel when he was 20-years-old,” he says, adding that he attempted to encourage him to stick at marine engineering.

“Things are harder now than it was for his generation. It’s these quotas. The science doesn’t add up with what we see at sea, it makes it hard.

“There’s an abundance of cod up here but no-one believes the fishermen.”

On the west coast, 26-year-old new dad Daniel Watson, has just purchased his own vessel, Integrity, after five years fishing with other skippers.

He will work alone, fishing for brown crab, velvet crab, prawns and lobster, leaving Ullapool and working his way towards Mallaig, fishing and selling the catch on the way.

Most of what he catches is destined for France and Spain. However, he hopes at least some will land on Scottish tables: helping to re-engage consumers here with the high quality shellfish that’s on our doorsteps is part of what motivated him to embark on a new career.

“There are risks, especially because you’re working alone,” he says, “but there are safety mechanisms to alert the coastguard if anything happens.

“At the end of the day you are out there on your own with ropes going out the back of the boat.

“If you’re caught in bad weather it can be a lonely place. But it’s a way of life.”

He does not come from a fishing family – his father once fished on a Shetland trawler for a few weeks which was enough for him. “He thought I was off my head doing this,” adds Daniel.

His partner Katie, however, was raised in Arisaig by a family steeped in fishing tradition: “She understands,” he adds.

His Marine Fund grant arrived in the same week as his new daughter, Rosie, signalling a new chapter for the family on all levels. “I’m not going to be taking massive risks – I’ve got too much to lose - but I want to push on and make a better life for my family,” he says.

“There’s a good living to be made and if I’m working on my own there’s more flexibility. You’re at the pier for sunrise, and it’s as quick as you can to get through the work and get home. Sometimes that’s lifting 1000 creels a day.

“It doesn’t appeal to everyone, some days you can go out and only make £20 or £30.”

There are benefits that mean more than money alone: “There’s peace and quiet, and sometimes it’s easy to take it for granted when there’s a dolphin within touching distance or minke whales.”

Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said: “It’s fantastic to see this funding helping to attract young talent to a sector which has struggled in the past due to perceived lack of career progression opportunities.

“These new entrants are crucial to boosting the resilience of the industry which supports jobs in some of our most rural communities.

“By supporting up and coming fishers to become a skipper or to own their boat I hope it will help inspire young people to enter and progress through the fishing industry. This is an important part of our Fisheries Management Strategy, which includes actions to promote fishing as an attractive and safe career of choice.”