page_title: Cuisine of Pembrokeshire
section_title: Fish
hierarchical_section_title: Cuisine of Pembrokeshire / Fish
caption_attribution_description: English: Fishguard Herrings. Reflecting the fact that Fishguard in Wales was once a busy fishing and trading port, the sculpture, by John Cleal, overlooks the harbour which is chiefly the home of pleasure craft these days. Erected 2006. For a fuller view and description, see 213778
context_page_description: Pembrokeshire has been called "the cottage garden of Wales", due to its good soil and the beneficial effects of the Gulf Stream, which provide a mild climate and a longer growing season than other parts of the country.
  The good climate and soil meant that the south of the peninsula was coveted by the Norsemen and Normans because it had "great plentie" of corn and cattle The county has prime agricultural land, much of which is located at about 70m above sea level, while to the north, the Preseli Hills rise to 500m above sea level and form uplands that are made up of heather and bracken, which are used for grazing sheep.
  Consequently, Pembrokeshire is classed as one of the most fertile counties in Wales, with its 392,300 agricultural acres having 14% of its land classed as of good quality, 67% being classed as medium quality and 19% being classed as poor quality. However, agricultural production is subject to market forces and in the 1890s, as a result of the Panic of 1893, a deep agricultural depression led to the area under cultivation falling by a third. Many labourers and farmers had no option but to emigrate to the New World and many of the large farming estates were sold.
context_section_description: The coastline of Pembrokeshire has an extensive wild fishery with small fishing fleets traditionally operating out of Fishguard, St Davids, Solva, Tenby and Milford Haven. The larger fishing trawlers operate from Milford Haven, which was recognised by Lord Nelson as "one of the greatest natural harbours in the world". In 1890, there were 1,660 fishing vessels using Milford Haven's docks and it became one of Britain's most successful fishing ports. However, Milford Haven became less busy after World War II, although in 1950 its trawlers still landed about 5-6% of the UK's wet fish (chiefly European hake) and had the UK's fifth largest fleet.
  Milford Haven now acts mainly as a base for foreign-registered trawlers which export most of their catch to continental markets. The trawlers and small fishing craft bring prosperity to Milford Haven and exploit the hake-fishery of the west coast and south-west of Ireland, with herring being landed in season. Prime fish landed at the port includes common sole, turbot, plaice, monkfish and European seabass, which fetch high prices. The smaller trawlers catch crab, lobster, crayfish, herring, whiting (merlangius), pollock and salmon, or line fish for mackerel. The old fish market at Milford Haven docks has closed but a smaller, trade only, market has opened instead. Milford Haven also has a marina and restaurants.
  Fishguard harbour is the ferry port for Ireland and is a commercial centre, but according to Pressdee the wild coast from St Davids to St Brides Bay houses the best secrets of the entire coastline. He considers North Pembrokeshire to be more rugged and beautiful than the south. It also has a number of  fishing ports which once exported stone from the limestone and slate quarries of the area. These ports, such as Porthgain, Abereiddy, Pen Clegyr and Tresinwen now have small fleets of working craft and pleasure boats. They serve local pubs and restaurants that produce fresh seafood and farm produce and which vary with the season and tides. Pressdee cites The Harbour Lights Restaurant at Porthgain, Jemima's near Haverfordwest and Tates in Fishguard as popular examples of such places. 
  The winter herring industry gives large landings of fish, especially around the estuary of the River Cleddau at Llangwm, Pembrokeshire. This was once an important component of the county's inshore fishery, with the catch being made into kippers and bloater (herring) at Milford Haven's fish docks. At Llangwm the inhabitants formerly lived exclusively by fishing cockle (bivalve)s, oysters, mussels and clams collected at low tide from the Llangwm boats, which were the modern equivalent of the British osier or coracle.
  Oysters are an important shellfish crop and the principal oyster beds were found at Penna Mouth, Lawrenny, Llangwm and Milford Haven. They were once delivered by packhorse throughout South Wales. Farmed rock oysters, a Pacific species, have been used to re-stock some oyster beds, although native oysters are making a comeback around Carew, Pembrokeshire and Benton Castle at Milford Haven. However, the shellfish industry has disappeared from around the Llangwm part of the coast.
  Seabirds were once taken for food and, because they came from the sea and lived on fish, they were regarded as fish for religious purposes, when meat was required to be replaced with fish in the diet.
caption: Sculpture of herrings,  overlooking Fishguard harbour, and erected in recognition of the harbour's fishing and trading history, the sculpture is by John Cleal and was erected in 2006 (photo by Pauline Eccles).
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