28 November 2014 £2.50

The presence of healthy stocks of pelagic and whitefish in local waters, together with buoyant market prices, has contributed towards the Shetland fishing industry experiencing what has generally been a positive and successful year, reports David Linkie.

With the value of landings into Shetland, plus landings elsewhere by LK registered vessels, in excess of £100m per annum, fishing plays a vitally important role in the local community, which is one of the most fishing dependent in the UK.

In terms of Shetland’s economy, fishing accounts for around 33% of the total value; well ahead of the usually more publicised oil and tourism industries that contribute 10% and 2% respectively, while the local authority generates 26%.

Most significantly, by being based on a natural renewable resource, unlike the offshore oil industry, a sustainable fishing industry has the potential to make a long-term contribution to Shetland’s economy, as it has proven for generations already.

Although there are a lot of positives and ongoing developments, including new builds and large scale harbour developments plus a new fishmarket at Lerwick, the sense of achievement these forward looking initiatives would normally be expected to generate are currently being eclipsed by the by the rapidly approaching landing obligations requirement.

Fishing News will include a special Shetland feature next week.

New ruLes woN’t meaN ‘cheap bait boNaNza’ Landing Obligation regulations will not result in ‘spare’ fish for potters

The Shetland seine netter Comrades lying off Burra as the last haul is cleared before landing at Scalloway

Encouraging year in Shetland

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When it comes to fishing some families are steeped in history. Sadly the current economic climate, linked to the rules and regulations that are causing hardship to many has resulted in a change of direction for some just to survive John Periam reports

At Budleigh Salterton in Devon the Mears family have �shed these waters from small inshore boats for over �ve generations. The �shing was seasonal as the boats were beached launched

It was crab and lobster from March to September, then in between that herring/mack-erel and scallops. At the end of September the boats would be pulled up high on the beach, only going out to sea on �ne days.

As the years went by, sail gave way to the larger motor powered vessels giving them the opportunity to go out to 12 miles. The �shermen had no navigation systems like today – it was just a compass and landmarks to watch.

David French born in 1958 was part of this respected �shing family.

“This way of �shing was and is still the most environmen-tally sustainable way to �sh, with the smaller boats you don’t need a quota system as the weather will prevent you from over �shing and you don’t have the holding space on board to over�ll,” he told Fishing News.

“I would like to see better prices now given to locally caught �sh from smaller vessels using the traditional methods then maybe more people would be encouraged to go back into �shing. The old �shing fami-lies are giving up due to lack of interest and the sheer cost involved. It makes me sad,” he added.

As a child David watched his Grandfather Walter Mears make his Withy Pots. “I was fascinated by them and their construction.

He would make the main shape of the pot then his sons Geoff and Gerald (my uncles) would turn the base of the pot. On a good day they could make four pots.

The willow used had to be fresh and green so they were made from December to March with it coming by rail from Somerset, with a little locally grown for back up.

TradiTions die hard when iT comes To fishing

David French with one of his Withy Pots - all hand-made from willow

www.intra�sh.com/�sheries 28 November 201416 TRADITIONAL POT MAKING

28 November 2014 17www.intra�sh.com/�sheries TRADITIONAL POT MAKING

The Mears family stopped �shing from the beach in the late 1960s when their last boats, the 21ft Sylvia Anne, and the 24ft Mike, were sold.

David’s uncle Gerald went on to do to do other things, but eventually came back to �shing from Brixham and later had his own boat at Exmouth.

His other uncle Geoff (RIP) became a docker and was a member of the Exmouth life-boat for 17 years ending up as Coxswain. In those days many �shermen made up lifeboat crews.

“I used to go to sea with my family whenever I could. I also went to sea with Ray Hill from Dartmouth on the Samuel Irvin (crab boat). It gave me an opportunity to see what was happening and after due consideration I decided not to follow in their footsteps. I could see changes coming and costs rising,” David French said, adding that back then he was

still fascinated by the Withy Pots and persuaded Gerald to show him how to make them – a task which is very hard on the hands as working with Willow and taking about �ve hours to make one pot is no easy job.

“I am now the �fth gener-ation in my family making pots in this way. Sadly there are no new people taking up this skill and believe there are about only ten others doing the same,” he said.

“There were used a lot in the old days but costs prohibit their use for �shing. Mostly now they can be seen in pubs as decorative pieces, where there is still a demand.”

The willow for these pots is purchased from the Musgrove family in Somerset - the same supplier that David has used for many years.

Withy pots, unlike the modern counterpart, are �shed either singularly or in pairs being hauled in by hand.

Because of their construc-tion you can’t tie them together in strings like the modern ones or they would be torn apart, but the good thing about this way of �shing, and using smaller boats, is that you can get into areas that bigger boats cannot, and so be very selec-tive and precise.

The down side is that it can get them caught in a very rocky area and damaged, which means they may need constant repairing.

Fishing News asked David where other pots can be found.

“The only people I know making them are in Corn-wall/Devon and Dorset. The ‘Cornish pot’ is similar to the Devon pot, but the spiral goes anti clockwise to the Devon’s clockwise.

The base of the pots in Budleigh is different to all of them; this comes down to the ground they are being �shed on.

“Making them was some-thing you learned from father to son, and by trial and error.

“The willow is a living thing and each one is different in the way it wants to bend and be worked. Also, as the months go by it starts to dry and behaves totally different to when it was green and it needs soaking in order to get it pliable again.

“It took me about three years to make a pot I was proud of; this is because you only have three months to make the pots each year so the following year you have to start all over again,” he added.

David makes a lot of his pots at Heritage shows now to show how this craft played such an important part in some regional communities.

“Brixham Fishstock Festival is one of my favourite venues. It’s nice to see current �sh-ermen show interest in my craft and the quality of these pots. Of course it is important

also for the younger generation to see what our grandfathers did.”

To David’s knowledge he is one of the youngest doing this at the age of 56 whilst Alan Lander in Dorset is now 80.

“I still use them from time to time when I �sh with Gerald, who still has a boat at Budleigh – it gives us a lot of pleasure to see quality put to use,” he said

CommentYes traditions do die hard, and sadly, as often mentioned in Fishing News, many of our children won’t be able to enjoy the pleasures of stopping and chatting to �shermen like we used to.

It is nice to see David and his colleagues carry on the same skills that our grandfa-thers did and it is important that those involved in the current industry remember this before it is too late.

St Mawes in Cornwall – a typical area for pots to be used

David working at one of the Brixham Fishstock Festivals showing his skills to fishermen and visitors

Fishing boats at anchor at Bridgewater – where many have used Withy Pots

Close up of a Withy Pot showing the build-in detail