As we talk, a small fishing boat chugs into port. "There she is, the Weston Bay," says John. "She was the third boat I bought, and although she's just a little 40-footer, she'd cost around £400,000 to replace today." 

The Weston Bay is very much a vessel of the 'Perfect Storm' ilk. As she bobs like an angler's float coming into harbour on the calmest of days, you can just imagine how she must be tossed around at the mercy of the elements off of Scotland's harsh West coast. No-one ever said being a fisherman was easy, it looks as if things haven't changed much over the years. 

But for today, work is over. Within minutes, the Weston Bay has docked and unloaded its catch into the Troon Fishmarket building. Skipper Neil Munro and his crew of two, Paul Ritchie and Phillip Harris, clear up and scrub up and are on their way.

"They've been out since first light, it's a long day," says John, perhaps a touch ruefully. These days he spends most of his time ashore running the business.  Does he miss the sea?

"Of course I do," he replies. "But it’s all very different these days. Even the fish market is nothing like it used to be.  Now, it's just a person sat at a video monitor while buyers bid over the internet for the catch. It's all very high-tech, but it does open up the market – our prawns can now end up almost anywhere within Europe, which is quite amazing, really. But I'm not complaining, in this industry we need every bit of help we can get!"

So next time you tuck in to a prawn cocktail – or sweet and sour prawn, or a prawn biryani – down at your favourite restaurant, just pause for a moment and think how it got there. There's not that many prawn fishermen around these days, so it's just possible that John the Prawn may be the very man who's delivered the dish direct to your table!