Fishing

Fishing was an important industry in Perranporth until the end of the nineteenth century.

Pilchards and herring were the main catch, providing food and a source of income. The oil was used for lamps and leather tanning. Discarded fish were used as fertiliser on the farms.

The main method of fishing used seine nets and seine boats as seen in the photo [?]. The metal rings where the boats were tied up can still be seen at low tide. The fish were landed on the beach and everyone helped to process them before the next high tide. Seine fishing was so important and productive that 4 seine fishing companies were formed. The earliest one, the Miners Seining Company, was established in the late 1700s, initially on the site of Droskyn Castle. Later on it moved nearer the beach to the site of the present day Sand Bay Flats. The other seining companies were the Union on the site of Atlantic Bay Flats, the Love where the beach car park is now, and the Farmers on the site of the Seiners Hotel.

During the twentieth century local men set dredger and banker lines for bass, skate and turbot to supplement the family income. The sprat hook in the photo [?] was used to catch the bait for the 10-20 hooks that were used on the lines.

Nowadays there are a few individuals using rods to fish from the beach or rocks, and the local fishing lakes are popular.