Black Rock Lave Net Heritage Fishery this centuries-old fishing method continues
along the banks of the River Severn.

The waters of the Severn Estuary are among the most dangerous in Wales but this has not deterred generations of fishermen from fishing its rich waters for salmon.

*please click the image below to access a photo slideshow of the Lave Net Fishing

Photographs taken by Ron Lapthorn

August 2011: Report of the day's fishing during the time Ron took photographs
for the website. 

The fishing tide was fine with a large spring tide and a light sowesterly wind. A professional photographer had contacted us as he has been commissioned to illustrate a new book on coastal walks, we had agreed to include him in our trip.
 
Six fishermen had said they would fish that tide and conditions were discussed at Black Rock and it was decided that two would fish "the Gut "(the area in front of the picnic site) then after half hour walk along the Sudbrook foreshore to an area off Sudbrook point called "the Grandstand."

The four other fishermen and the photographer took our boat which is moored in "the bay" west under the 2nd severn crossing to an area called "the Hole". There the boat is anchored and the fishermen get out of the boat to fish, some walking through the water back towards Sudbrook others walking into mid channel towards the middle of the bridge.
 
No salmon were caught but we had a near perfect tide with fishing lasting close to 2hrs .We all then all returned to our net house at Black Rock for a cup of tea !
 
We have fished all week with fair weather on both morning and afternoon tides starting the week on Tuesday at 3am. One salmon is the count for the week taken by Richard Morgan in "Gruggy". A fine fish of 11lb

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Traditional Welsh methods of catching them survived particularly strongly in the area. Within living memory a range of methods were used, including putcher ranks, stopping boats, putts, drift nets and lave netting. Sadly the latter is the only method to have survived into the 21st-century.

The number of lave netsmen has dwindled over the years and now they can only be seen in the area of the Second Severn Crossing close to the villages of Sudbrook and Portskewett (Monmouthshire).

These men, members of the Blackrock Lave Net Fishermen Association, carry on a tradition that has a unique cultural and historical significance. The Association's chairman, Bob Leonard, has been a lave netsman for more than 60 years and explains that it is imperative to only go out on the estuary "with a man that knows the river otherwise you are in a very dangerous situation".

Fish are caught at low tides, known as spring tides, using a hand-held net. At one time fishermen were allowed to fish from February to August but this has since been restricted from June to August. At most they can fish for an hour and a half at a time depending on weather conditions.

Fishing commences as it always has with the fishermen going down to the shore at Black Rock. Often fishermen stand in the spots where their fathers and grandfathers once stood.

The basic technique for lave fishing is simple, the hand-staff is held in one hand and the headboard with the other, whilst the fingers are entwined in the bottom of the mesh feeling for the fish. The net is positioned in front of the fisherman, to face the run of the water.

The fishermen consider wind direction and the height of the tide, with the optimum conditions being flat and calm. Rain does not necessarily worry them.

Once positioned, as Bob Leonard explains, "they scan the water for the telltale signs of fish". They feel the strength of the water going by and expectations are raised of a sudden movement in the net. When the movement of a fish is felt the fisherman takes a backward step and raises the hand-staff out of the water.

Once caught, the fish is quickly dispatched using a priest (a mallet named in parody of the priest's role in delivering the last rites) and taken onto the boat. The salmon is taken ashore and divided equally among the netsmen whether or not they had been fishing.

At one time there was no need to divide the catch as there was sufficient salmon for everyone. Times have changed and commercial fishing using the lave net has not been viable on the estuary since before the Second World War. Prior to 1939 the fish were sent to Billingsgate Market in London.

The lave netsmen are as skilled as their forefathers but due to the diminishing fish stocks they are more than happy to reach double figures for the season. They fish to keep their centuries old craft alive as Martin Morgan, Secretary of the Association explains "Lave fishing has a tradition going back a thousand years in Wales. My great-grandfather was a fisherman and passed his skills on through the family".

Background Reading

Severn Tide by Brian Waters. Published by J.M. & Sons Ltd (1947).

Nets and Coracles by J. Geraint Jenkins. Published by David and Charles (1974).

website link: THE BLACK ROCK LAVE NET HERITAGE FISHERY