Fishermen outside the Teifi Inn, St Dogmaels

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For many centuries, the River Teifi has been a centre for fishing. On the estuary, St Dogmaels had been home to many generations of fishermen. They would usually fished for whiting during the winter and for salmon in the summer. The two predominant methods of fishing in the area were those that involved the use of coracles and Seine nets.

From the 17th century, herring fishing became an increasingly important industry in the area. The herring season began in late August to September and usually lasted three or four months. Fishing for herring, which would take place between sunset and sunrise, required more men and finer nets than salmon fishing. Two methods could be employed in order to catch herring: the nets could either be anchored overnight or spread widely across the tide. As these fishing boats would venture further towards the sea, they were more strongly built than the seine boats, with oars as well as sails. The boat weighed 10 or 12 tons and carried a crew of seven to twelve men.

Source:

W. J. Lewis, Gateway to Wales: A History of Cardigan (Carmarthen, 1990)

Gathering the Jewels ref: GTJ73766

Tony Bowen (Private Collection)

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