Have your say on haaf netting
The race is on to try and save the ancient Solway tradition of haaf netting from extinction.
Supporters have until February 16 to register their feelings about a set of proposals by the Environment Agency designed to safeguard salmon stocks.
The Agency wants to restrict salmon fishing by requiring haaf netters to return their catch to the water.
The fishermen would still be entitled to keep some sea trout.Solway Haaf Netters Society is opposing the ban which it sees as a threat to its existence. Chairman Mark Messenger said: “We are a salmon fishery. Catching a salmon with a haaf net chest deep in the Solway Firth is difficult and dangerous.
“Fishermen will not risk these dangers to catch a salmon and return it. This would put us out of business.”
The Solway stands to lose its 1,000-year-old tradition which has been in operation since about 900AD when Norse Irish first brought it to Cumbria.
Mark, who is landlord of the Highland Laddie Inn at Glasson where fresh Solway fish is served in his restaurant in the summer months, also fears that, without haaf netting, his turnover would be reduced by 60 percent.
To find out more about the Environment Agency proposals and to register your comments, visit consult.environment-agency.gov.uk.A decision on the proposals is expected in early March, before the start of the river angling season.
L Laval