HERITAGE FISHING: Fishing in the past for the later time

Heritage fisheries are aquatic resources that are carefully preserved in various parts of the world where fishing habitat has been protected from contemporary ills.

A heritage fishery may be a lake, river or part of the ocean; the place has more concern with the preservation style or era than the heritage model. Heritage fishing has two aims, to experience traditional fishing and to keep and maintain fishing for the future.

Glendalough state park is the latest member of the Minnesota state parks family. Its land was given to the state by a private organization in the 1990s and the lakes on the part land were fished privately for almost a century. Nobody except the members of the organization or their guests was permitted to make use of the lakes at Glendalough state park. For this reason, fish sizes and population in the Glendalough lakes are more representatives of ancient times than of contemporary times.

Annie Battle Lake, the largest of the Glendalough lakes, allows the fishermen to experience fishing as it was in Minnesota during the 1800s. Motors of any kind are not permitted on the lake. Canoes and rowboats are available for hiring at the park office and shore fishing is an enjoyment from any location here.

Gas powered vehicles are also not allowed, as they are used for finding electronic fish. Different kinds of fish like large bass, pan fish, walleye and northern pike are plenty under the crystal clear waters of Annie Battle Lake, since the waters are unpolluted by gas or oil. Catch and release rules and fishing restriction are absolutely enforced here, thus maintaining the size and count of the population for future generations. A small river connecting Annie Battle Lake to another of the park lakes is waist deep with a sandy base, providing superb wading areas for bass fishing.

The lave net fishery at Blackrock on the Severn Estuary in Wales is the last of its kind in Wales and has also been designated as a heritage fishery. Dangerous tidal waters with average speeds of 7-8 knots have witnessed ages of fishermen applying this fishing technique.

The Welch government supplies less than a dozen Lave net fishing licenses each year, with all belonging to a local organization committed to preserving this special technique of Salmon fishing. The only clear distinction between modern and ancient lave netters are that they now wear waders as against animal skins. The Lave net itself, a Y-shaped structure made of wood and a hand -made net, remains unchanged. Fishermen wade into the river and either "cower" waiting for the salmon splashes announcing where they are at that particular time. The fishermen can then net the fish before they move to deeper water. This kind of fishing is regulated by law and by the tides.

Fishermen have about one and half hours before low tide to practice their skill when conditions are calm. Their skill of the tides and of the area, gotten from the earlier generation, worked as their guide.
Kjaerra laxefiske on the Kjaerrafossen River near Helgeland, Norway dates back to 1388.
Ownership of the two heritage fisheries here is marked by the" markebol" an average unit of measurement. Salmon are caught through the use of historic fishing tools, whereas the buildings that are around the fisheries were brought back to medieval timber and stone during the 1950s.
Strangers are welcomed to the week up opening of Salmon pots every Thursday, where the catch of the week is made known. Wherever they are sited, heritage fisheries become a crucial part of the surrounding and the community. In addition to granting the simple pleasure of fishing itself, they offer a chance to learn from the past, and as well, maintain the present heritage of fishing for up-coming fishermen.


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