What are the fishing grounds like and how far from shore?
Mainly rough ground and small reefs with odd patches of sand/shale and mud/clay. Rough ground marks start from the harbour entrance, especially South of the South pier where the tops of the rocks dry on spring tides; the St. Louis Rocky Patch is marked on the chart and is less than a mile from the piers and can be classed as “Alpine” in parts as seen on the sounder! To the North, the inshore ground is mainly sand and shale with patches of rock and reef like “North Bush” and the “Whitestones” off Hendon. Wrecks are many, and vary from almost intact, to scattered plates and machinery. The size also varies from small fishing vessels and barges to large cargo vessels up to 15,000 tons. Numerous wrecks are within a 5 mile radius with over 100 wrecks within a 15 mile radius of Seaham Harbour.
