Fishing weir
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A fishing weir is an ancient type of fish trap that is traceable back to Roman times in the UK. It is also a technology used by, among others, North American Natives and early settlers to catch fish for trade and to feed their communities.
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[edit] Types
In North America, fishing weirs are constructed using wooden stakes woven together to create a barrier that water can pass through yet fish cannot. The pattern of wooden stakes depends on the location and nature of the waters being fished.
Natives in Nova Scotia use weirs that stretch across the entire river to retain shad during their seasonal runs up the Shubenacadie, Nine Mile, and Stewiacke rivers, and use nets to scoop the trapped fish. Various weir patterns were used on tidal waters to retain a variety of different species, which are still used today. V-shaped weirs with circular formations to hold the fish during high tides are used on the Bay of Fundy to fish herring, which follow the flow of water. Similar V-shaped weirs are also used in British Columbia to corral salmon to the end of the "V" during the changing of the tides.
[edit] History
In the UK the traditional form was one or more rock weirs constructed in tidal races with a small gap that could be blocked by wattle fences when the tide turned to flow out again. Surviving examples, but no longer in use, can be seen in the Menai Strait. Because they were so effective they reduced inshore fish stocks and in 1861 Parliament banned their use except where they could be shown to have been in use prior to the Magna Carta. An example of such a fishing weir was at Rhos Fynach in North Wales, which survived in use until World War I.[1]
An enormous series of fish weirs, canals and artificial islands was built by an unknown pre-Columbian culture in the Baures region of Bolivia, part of the Amazonian savannah[2]. These earthworks cover over 500 km^2, and appear to have supported a large and dense population around 3000 B.C. See also Dr. Erickson's research website[3]. An approximate location for these sites is 63.4128°W, 13.4812°S.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Reid, Ian (2001): "Rhos-on-Sea Heritage Trail". BBC Wales North West website retrieved 7 August 2007.
- ^ Erickson, Clark (2000): "An artificial landscape-scale fishery in the Bolivian Amazon". Nature, 408(6809):190-193
- ^ Erickson, Clark (2000b): "AN ARTIFICIAL LANDSCAPE-SCALE FISHERY IN THE BOLIVIAN AMAZON" University of Pennsylvania website retrieved 12 Oct. 2007
[edit] External links
Herring Weirs in the Gulf of Maine (informational website on the herring fishery in the state of Maine, U.S.A.)
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