The fisherman of the north east coast is outspoken, suspicious and fiercely protective of his rights. John Pearson is urbane, articulate, and a master tactician. Although they are so different, their lives are linked. For Pearson is a very senior civil servant in the EEC and his work has a decisive bearing in the future livelihood and prosperity of the fishermen. This winter, when after eight years of wrangling, the EEC was edging gingerly towards agreement on a Common Market fisheries policy, they met at the Berlaymont building in Brussels. Perhaps John Pearson would have described the meeting as a 'full and frank exchange of views'. The fishermen had another name for it.