Coastal Fishing
Haaf, or heave, netting is a traditional and long-established method of fishing for salmon and sea trout on the rivers of the North West, notably the Lune and Ribble. It also takes place on the Solway estuary. The Scandinavian name perhaps suggests its use locally from pre-Norman times but there is no evidence for this. It was in common use in the early 19 th century. Today, haaf-net fishermen and women are licensed by the Environment Agency to help protect fish stocks. Licence discs are fixed to each net frame.
The net itself is suspended from an 18-foot long horizontal wooden or aluminium pole supported by three legs. This frame is placed across the current by a fisherman standing behind the net in the cold water and holding the central upright. The net streams out in the water and bags, or pokes, form in the net. As soon as a fish swims into the net the legs of the frame are allowed to float to the surface thereby trapping the fish, which is disabled by a blow from a wooden club called a nep, priest or killer. A rope is threaded through the gills of the fish, using a wooden needle, and tied to the waist of the fisherman until he returns to the shore.
