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Fishy Tales from Out of the Blue
Solway Firth Partnership (SFP) is inviting people along to the Mill on the Fleet in Gatehouse to see the new ‘Fishy Tales’ exhibition which has just opened.
The exhibition tells the story of how fishing has changed along the Solway coast over the years. Artefacts held in local museums such as limpet hammers date back to Mesolithic times – around 6,000 BC. So hand gathered shell fisheries have been important to the local communities of Dumfries and Galloway for a very long time! Originally harvested for local consumption, trends have changed and now most shellfish gathered or landed locally is exported to the continent where it is prized for its high quality.
As well as providing the historic and cultural background for fishing along the Solway coast, the Fishy Tales exhibition brings visitors up to date with modern commercial sea fisheries. These are diverse and include the valuable king and queen scallop fisheries which are so important to the rural economy of Galloway providing many jobs in the catching and processing sectors.
The exhibition touches on some of the measures that are in place to ensure fisheries are well managed and sustainable for the future. This includes work local creel fishermen are undertaking at the moment to ensure crab and lobster stocks are protected.
Nic Coombey of Solway Firth Partnership says: “The exhibition will be of interest to both local people and visitors and we will be bringing it to different places along the Solway coast over the coming months. Meanwhile, it’s at the Mill on the Fleet until 22nd July so we hope people in the local area will get along to see it there.”
For more information on the exhibition click here.
The Mill on the Fleet is open 7 days a week between 10am and 5pm and admission is free. The Fishy Tales exhibition, which runs until 22 July, is part of a wider SFP project, Out of the Blue. It aims to promote understanding of local fisheries and the delicious seafood landed in Dumfries and Galloway and is funded by the European Fisheries Fund and Dumfries and Galloway Council. |
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SFP Welcomes New Administrator / Finance Officer
We say a fond farewell to Alison Robertson who has ably supported Solway Firth Partnership (SFP) for the past 3 years but give a warm welcome to Paul Mackey, our new Administrator / Finance Officer.
Alison has been a valued member of the small SFP team and will be greatly missed when she takes very early retirement. She will be spending her free time volunteering at WWT Caerlaverock and recording wildlife, and we all, rather jealously, wish her the very best!
Paul comes to SFP from work in accountancy and finance but also as a volunteer for WWT Caerlaverock. It seems that everyone who works at SFP has volunteered there at some point! We look forward to having Paul at the helm of our finances.
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Proposal to extend and Rename the Upper Solway Flats and Marshes Special Protection Area (SPA)
A proposal has been put forward to include a marine extension to the existing Upper Solway Flats and Marshes SPA and for the site to be renamed as the Solway Firth SPA. This would enhance the protection given already by including areas where birds forage in the network. There are also proposals to use the up-to-date evidence on current populations to update the list of birds that are protected within the existing terrestrial SPA.
For more information visit Scottish Natural Heritage’s website where details of site proposals can be found. The Solway is a cross-border site between Scotland and England with SNH acting as the lead Statutory Nature Conservation Body for the site proposals. |
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