The 1940s saw a particularly low ebb in the fishing industry in Ireland, and so the Irish Sea Fisheries Association and An Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) created initiatives that would grant fishermen more control over their livelihoods, or so it was claimed. And so in 1949 the BIM 50-footer was born, and while opinions of the vessels are now conflicted in some parts, there was a time when they were unquestionably at the centre of people's lives.

Construction of the boats continued until 1970, and in the intervening years the 50-footer transformed the fishing industry, laying the foundations for the fleets of today. Pat Nolan has travelled the country interviewing those who owned and worked the boats, and listened to all they had to say about the 50-footers. He has also included fascinating photographs, both new and old, and the histories of every single 50-footer, presented here, for the first time, in meticulous detail.

"Sea Change" is a heartfelt and fitting tribute to the BIM 50-footers, and to those who worked and lived through such a major change in perhaps the harshest of professions.