General Information

During the year 2000 D J Clark built a visual record of the Lancaster & Morecambe district using photographs and information submitted by those that feature in the pictures. The project was conducted in association with Lancaster Museum and has been archived for future generations to look back at the district at the turn of the new Millennium. For more information on the project visit the information page. If you find a caption is wrong or there is a fault with the page please e-mail D J Clark.

Date: August 24th, 2000
Location: From Sunderland Point, Lune estuary

Photographer's Diary

Thursday 24th August - Driftnet Fishing on the Lune Estuary.

I set off at Dawn, even though I was not expected until 9:30 AM. I shot Overton Village and then went on to Sunderland Point, taking every opportunity to use the soft morning light for pictures. It was beautiful.
Meeting Margaret and Trevor Owen at their house, I was shocked to see the obvious wealth that surrounded them. Trevor later told me of the Porsche's he used to own and his passion for cars. Both of them fished, Margaret being the first and only woman in the country to have a licence to fish commercially for Salmon. On arrival we sat out on the front and watched. Tom, an old timer who still refused to use a motor, was forcing people out early by getting ready 4 hours instead of 3 hours before low tide. It was all very tactical and we played our cards along with the others. Margaret and Trevor operated as part of a small co-operative working together to get the best fishing positions.

We went out into the estuary, I was put in Trevor's boat (I was told later that Margaret had had a bad experience with a perfectionist photographer in the past). I began to understand the tactics, Tom wanted the river to himself and hence wanted the others to go out early and drift down stream leaving him in the best position for low tide. The others wanted to be the first boat down as this was the one most likely to get the biggest hall. Unlike the shrimp fisherman this was a good year for Salmon and all were pleased with the season (which was to end the following week).
It was a much more leisurely affair than the previous day. Trevor put his net out across the estuary and then sat and waited. We talked at length about fishing and then went onto music and family. I was getting to like Trevor, he was a soft and gently spoken man, but clearly extremely intelligent and deserving of his success in the business. The fishing industry was once again under there, but this time not through a lack of fish, but the Rodsmen further down the river who fished for sport. They wanted more fish to reach them and they were the people with the power. Licences had been reduced to just 8 this year and likely to decrease until there was none left.

We caught a couple of fish and returned to meet up with the others to wait for the tide to come up enough to get home. It was a peaceful yet fulfilling day. In the evening I went along to an exhibition opening at Folly and the Storey. It was the Launch of the Lancaster digital arts festival. I arrived early for a meeting but the other party never showed so I was left to wander Lancaster during the last of the light. I spotted some conservative Jews wandering the streets. I had been aware of a convention going on at the University but had been unable to get permission to photograph any of it. I followed the group to the Town Hall and tried to get a picture. They became aware of me and moved on. I was tempted to follow but resigned myself to the fact this was one picture I was not going to get.

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