Some images of beautifully preserved #medieval wicker #fishweirs/trap from #Hemington, #England. The area around Hemington is known to have a large number of early fish weirs. Weirs dating to the mid-4th millennium BC have been claimed to exist from the #RiverTrent.1/4

Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) running in the Newport River, which forms part of the upper River Mulkear catchment, Co. Tipperary. The River Mulkear joins the River Shannon downstream of the ESB hydroelectric scheme. Salmon can reach these spawning grounds without having to negotiate the Shannon hydroelectric dams. I have watched hundreds of salmon ascend this cascade on the Newport River, on their way to spawning grounds in a catchment of approximately 90 km² upstream of this point. In comparison, the vast Shannon catchment upstream of the hydroelectric scheme covers approximately 10,400 km² - about 116 times larger than this small tributary catchment. Yet Inland Fisheries Ireland reported just 41 salmon ascending through the fish lift at Ardnacrusha during the whole of 2025, with the counter operational throughout the year. I have personally watched more salmon pass the cascade on the Newport River in one afternoon. This is in a catchment less than one percent of this size of the River Shannon catchment upstream of the ESB dams. The conservation limit for the Upper Shannon has been calculated to be 49,638 adult salmon annually. This reflects the spawning requirement associated with the extensive juvenile salmon habitat throughout the cascade catchment. It gives some indication of the scale of the salmon population this vast river system should support. Salmon have declined widely across Ireland and the North Atlantic. However, the declines on rivers with ESB dams are in a league of their own. ESB’s own 2024 report acknowledges that genetic analyses found the original wild salmon stocks above the hydroelectric stations on the Shannon, Erne and Lee to be extinct. That is an extraordinary loss of our natural heritage. ESB recently rebranded its fisheries work as “ESB Sustainable Rivers”. Yet the fundamental problems associated with its hydroelectric operations - obstructed fish passage, turbine impacts, altered river flows, and fragmented salmon habitat - remain unresolved. The branding has changed; the ecological damage has not been remedied. In my opinion, this is pure greenwashing. That such claims can be presented without demonstrating the recovery of these rivers reflects a wider failure of accountability in river management in Ireland.

Images of a V-shaped fish trap from Fishguard Harbour, Pembrokeshire/Sir Benfro, Wales. Fishguard is believed to have a Norse-derived name, Fiskigardr,“fish enclosure,”. 470 feet of the trap wall remain, the rest being destroyed by the 1900 rail line construction. #coastalhistory

Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) running in the upper River Mulkear catchment over the weekend. This stretch of river forms part of the Lower River Shannon Special Area of Conservation (SAC), where Atlantic Salmon is a Qualifying Interest. The River Mulkear joins the main River Shannon downstream of the hydroelectric scheme. More salmon pass through this cascade and spawn in the upper reaches of this relatively small tributary than do in the vast Shannon catchment upstream of the hydroelectric scheme. According to Inland Fisheries Ireland, only 41 salmon ascended through the fish pass at Ardnacrusha hydroelectric station for the entire of 2024. To put this into perspective, the conservation limit for the Shannon upstream of the Shannon hydroelectric scheme was previously calculated at 49,638 adult salmon annually, reflecting the number of spawning fish needed to populate the extensive juvenile salmon habitat available throughout this catchment.

A fitting icon for Mesopotamian mythological fish-human Oannes, an Apkallu, or wise one, passing on antediluvian knowledge of culture and civilisation, teach humankind how to cultivate the soil, and offer sacrifice to the gods. #Assyrian #nimrud #iraq #coastalhistory #muSEAum

Until now, archaeologists had only seen traces of central Germany's Mesolithic structures in soil discolorations. That’s what makes this wooden post exciting. It’s 10,500 years old, and it could be early evidence of building huts and settling down! archaeology.org/news/2026/10…

Kelp & wrack on the seashore? Nature's chemical storehouse & humans' chemical factory! B&W picture from Co. Antrim in Northern Ireland, 1900, showing seaweed such as Laminaria being collected & burnt in a stone kiln to produce soda, potash, “kelp” later iodine. #coastalhistory

Drawing of fish smoking in Kamchatka, Russia, 18th Century. This drawing comes from an 18th-century travel book, shows the Indigenous peoples #Itelmen, also called #Kamchadal, found in the #Arctic #Kamchatka Peninsula. It shows the process of butchering and smoking salmon.

From the salty sea to up in smoke! 18th century illustration of the smoking of #sardines/#herring in#France. A method of conservation of protein especially with fish that has been part of the human repertoire since the palaeolithic.c and in some respects hasn't changed in ages.