We met up with Tom Brown in The Boathouse, Glencaple for a coffee and a chat. He’d brought along a newspaper article from June 1998 – 20 years ago – which he wanted to share.
Tom said how poignant it is that 20 years ago the article talks about the ‘last of a dying breed’ of fishermen ‘carrying on a method of fishing reputedly practiced in these parts since Viking settlers arrived 1000 years ago’.
The front cover of the Farming Review from June 1998 [above] shows Jocky Deans of Ingleston Farm, New Abbey fishing for salmon with a backdrop of Caerlaverock (Kenneth Bank). Back then, Jocky was described as “one of the last of the Solway haaf netters”.
“There’s no fishing there now, it’s disappeared…”
Haaf netting (derived from the Norse word for channel (or sea)) is only practised around the Solway in South West Scotland and North West England; now limited to just the Rivers Nith and the Annan in Dumfries and Galloway and the Eden in Cumbria. It is distinctly different from other kinds of hand net fishing found around the coast of Britain. Even on the Solway there are regional variations in net construction and methods used, to allow for the varying fishing conditions on the Scottish and English shores.
The end of this ancient form of hand netting, known to have been used by the New Abbey Monks in medieval times. seems to be creeping inward, like the tide itself.
What can be done to save it?
There have certainly been moves in recent years which seem to hinder any rekindling of the traditional methods:
Back in 1998, the Farming Review reported that more than a decade before, the Government curtailed fishing on Saturdays (the most popular day for haaf netting) by decreeing that ‘fishing only be carried out between 6am Monday and 6pm Friday’. This move ‘rankled’ with the haaf netters at the time, especially as there had been no consultation.
It also nodded to the issues raised by the interests of anglers upstream, despite the ‘long local tradition and the low number of catches’ of haaf netters. The Solway Partnership was newly created at the time and credited with improving relations, aiming to achieve a balance of everyone using the Solway. This included a level of cooperation between the Nith Estuary Haaf-netting Association and the Nith Fishing Improvement Association who restocked the rivers with sea trout and previously viewed the Haaf-netters as poachers.
“Years ago, everybody sold their fish – it was a commercial thing, but not nowadays. You have to have a carrot to encourage folk to haaf net – and the carrot is catching something!”
In 2016, Tom reminds us, the Conservation Salmon Act legislation was brought in to conserve salmon. He said that the Scottish Government had to show that they were doing something to protect salmon. These regulations had quite an impact on haaf-netting because it meant that all salmon that were caught had to be released.
Tom explained the 3 categorisations for salmon conservation:
Category 3 – All salmon in all rivers have to be dumped (catch and release). All rivers in the west of Scotland, excluding the Stinchar and the Doon were categorised with a 3, some on the East coast too.
Category 2 – Some restrictions on fishing
Category 1 – Healthy river, no restrictions on fishing
In 2017 – the new Salmon Conservation Act re-categorised different rivers. The Nith went up to Category 2, so the haaf netters would be able to catch salmon. However, the Fishery Board allowed only 2 fish to be caught. For anglers, this was a voluntary declaration. The legislation means that any net-caught fish must be tagged – even if for your own consumption. The tags are issued from Marine Scotland to the Fishery Board, and the Fishery Board keep a record of the number of returned tags at the end of the season.
As chair of the Nith Estuary Haaf Net Fishers Association, Tom made recommendations that they adopt a similar system for tagging and recording net fishings as the Environment Agency in England. They issue a log book (to record time, length of time, tag number, fish caught, location etc, for statistics) and a photo-identity card authorising you to fish. This information is all held within this one document which is then handed back to the Environment Agency.
Tom believes this is a real, true record of fishing return.
Unfortunately, Marine Scotland came back after discussions but felt that it was of no benefit…
The 2017 legislation meant that the river was split into two:
Category 2 from (roughly) Airds Point north and
Category 3 south from Airds Point to Carsthorn
Marine Scotland did issue apologies over lack of communication and consultation, on more than one occasion, but legislation still meant that the New Abbey side and some of Caerlaverock couldn’t catch salmon!
Historically, the original boundaries for the fishery board area date back to an act of parliament in the 1860s which set up fishery boards, the Nith Fishery Board is actually 150 years old this year. The river boundaries were quite clearly defined back in the 18oos.
The 2018 proposals came out with no change to the boundary at Airds point, as submitted by the Nith Estuary Haaf-netting Association. They resubmitted a new proposed line shifting the boundary back significantly, so now from Castle Corner to Drum Mains Farm (on the New Abbey side) which was discussed, but as it wasn’t a ‘clearly identifiable line’, the submission was rejected, again. The river did however rise to Category 1 status. For conservation measures the Board felt it best to keep maximum catch to previous year.
So, the status of 2 tags remains for this year.
Tom would very much welcome Marine Scotland to come to Caerlaverock to see the river, and its history and location and to meet the haaf netters for themselves.
This article just highlights the fact that after 20 years, there’s no longer any fishing at Ingleston, and other places at the Nith Estuary. “It’s so sad and disappointing”.
Tickets issued in the category 1 area for Season 2018:
Caerlaverock: 15
Conheath: 8
Boreland: 5
Kelton: 5 (?)
High Kelton: 2
Category 3 area:
Drumburn: 3
38 tickets issued altogether, but as Tom says, for example at Caerlaverock, you’d be lucky if half of them will be used.
‘Recommendation 52′ in the Fishery Review Board recommends that the cultural and heritage status of fishing has to be looked at and that VisitScotland has to take that up.
There have been a couple of meetings, but it’s difficult as the ‘visitor experience’ discussed isn’t really something that can be supplied due to the limited number of tickets, the many issues hindering more than just an observation of the practise and that the times are varied by an hour each day due to the tides etc. There could, however be amazing videos for example, made to be shown online…
Tom talked about Kelton Haaf netter, Wilf Larsen. “He kept good records of his life’s fishing. He will be sadlly missed on the river. Known to some of us as ‘The Womble’ he would watch the river daily and see what fish were running it”.
“Haaf netting dies if you haven’t got haaf netters”.
“The unfortunate thing now is that you haven’t got young ones coming along – the average age of haaf netters is 60+. There’s a chap fishing at Conheath, this is his 64th year fishing – started when he was 14, and he’s in regularly.”
Tom wants more folk, other than just the Haaf Netters, to write to Marine Scotland to highlight the traditions that have been lost.
“We need to get more people to speak to MSPs too.”
“It’s so sad that over 20 years we’ve gone from a position of having a tradition in New Abbey and Carsethorn and the surrounding area of folk going haaf netting, and they don’t do it now”.
If you feel strongly about the state of the demise in the tradition of haaf netting, and would like to show your support the haaf netters, there are several things Tom suggests you can do to lend your support:
You can view the Marine Scotland Website here: www.gov.scot/Topics/marine
Marine Scotland can be contacted via:
Phone: 0300 244 4000
Email:
marinescotland@gov.scot
Address:
Marine Scotland
Mailpoint 11
1B South
Victoria Quay
EDINBURGH
EH6 6QQ
Oliver Mundell is the constituency MSP for Dumfriesshire. His email is:
Oliver.Mundell.msp@parliament.scot
Joan McAlpine is the regional MSP for South Scotland and has been involved to some extent with haaf netting in the region:
Her email is:
Joan.McAlpine.msp@parliament.scot
Other MSPs for the South of Scotland, and their contacts details can be found here:
www.parliament.scot/mspfinder/
Solway Firth Partnership Haaf Netting page is here: www.solwayfirthpartnership.co.uk/haaf-net-fishing