Viking fishing technique at risk

Fishermen try to save Viking methods - 27th January 2020

Scotland has a very old way of fishing called ‘haaf netting’. This old way of fishing is dying. Now there are only 30 haaf netters.

Haaf netting is a traditional kind of fishing from the Vikings. It came to Scotland over 900 years ago.

Now Scotland has rules to save fish in rivers. People can’t take fish out of the river. This stops people learning how to fish.

Haaf netting is very different from normal fishing. It uses a big wooden square. Fishermen put a net into the square. They take the net into the river. They stand in the river and hold the square. They wait for a fish to swim into the net.

Haaf netters fish in groups. Each fisherman stands in a different place near the net. They play a traditional game to choose their places.

Haaf netters are trying to continue their fishing tradition. They want people to see haaf netting as a historical activity.