A fishing industry has been based in Mullion Cove for hundreds of years. There is reference to fishing boats on the Lizard Peninsula as early as the 1600s, with domestic state papers from the time of Charles I recording details of fishing boats and their crews often being captured by North African Barbary and Turkish pirates. A record of the Calendar of State Papers for 1636–1637 shows that ""At St. Keverne and Helford Creek seven more fisher boats were taken by the Turks... three were fisher boats belonging to St. Keverne, three others of Helston, and one more of Mollan" (Mullion) "and about 50 men in them"".