The fishtraps of Fishguard Harbour, Goodwick.

Fishguard has a Scandanavian name fiskigardr (`enclosure for catching or keeping fish?). The commercial port of Fishguard Harbour at Goodwick was largely constructed towards the end of the nineteenth century and the start of the twentieth. Two stone-built fish traps flank the north and south sides of Fishguard Harbour, Pembrokeshire.

The fish trap to the north-west of Fishguard Harbour (NPRN 407699) lies just below the entrance road to the ferry terminal. It is first shown on the early maritime charts of Lewis Morris dating from 1748, and is depicted on the first edition Ordnance Survey 25in map of 1889 as an inverted 'V'-shaped submerged stone wall, adjoining coastal rocks north of the village of Goodwick at its west end.

The south-east fishtrap (NPRN 401338), filmed for BBC Wales? Hidden Histories in 2009, is a 'V'-shaped stone-built fishtrap, springing from coastal rocks on its south side. It measures approximately 34m from base to apex, with equally-spaced arms measuring 40m long and up to 9m broad. It is built from large boulders, now partly dispersed with a few smaller stones visible in the matrix. The trap is only exposed at the lowest tides, of 0.5m and under. It is likely that a build-up of sand behind (to the west, beach-side of) the trap may have obscured further parts making it considerably larger. Because of the present sea-level it would be difficult to regularly use and make repairs to this fish trap, and this might indicate a construction date back in the Middle Ages, or earlier. This trap is not mapped on any sea-charts or historic maps, unlike its counterpart on the north-west side of Fishguard Harbour (NPRN 407699). The site was discovered and photographed through shallow water during Royal Commission aerial reconnaissance.

Visited by T. Driver and D. Groom of RCAHMW during filming for series two of Hidden Histories on 22nd July 2009.

T. Driver, RCAHMW, 28th October 2009