Salmon Fisheries
Photo of Carrick a Rede by Art Ward ©

Salmon fishing here at Carrick a Rede is recorded from the 1600s,  the rope bridge itself was not installed until 1755, before this boats rowed around from Larry Bane and Ballintoy, at Larry Bane before the headland was quarried away fishermen would have used the caves for storage and keeping boats. The fishery here consisted of two main parts, the island where the fish were netted and the ice house up on the main road where they were carried to and stored. When you cross over the rope bridge today and walk out to the centre of the island you will be able to see from the path the restored fishermen's bothy nestled in the sheltered lee of the island, this served as a 'home from home', workshop and shelter for the fishermen while on the island.

Photo of Carrick a Rede by Art Ward ©

From here they reached the boat by a series of steps leading down to the water's edge, the boat would be raised and lowered by winch depending on the weather. The  bothy area remains much like it was when salmon fishing halted here in 2002. Today, the National Trust have open days where the public can visit the bothy and I believe it is also possible to book a high end tour which includes a visit to the bothy. When your over on the island remember that this small area, the nets and the ice house all worked together to sustained the lives of numerous local familes whose descendants still live in the locality.

Photo of Carrick a Rede by Art Ward ©
Records show that during the 1800s there were 21 salmon fishermen and 10 carriers living in and around Ballintoy, not to mention the fishermen who worked from Ballintoy harbour in regular fishing. The salmon was in large numbers, up to 300 a day were being caught here and that was every day during the peak season. Catches were good right up to the early sixties after which they went into decline for several reasons including mid-ocean factory fishing techniques. During the final season, only 250 salmon were caught, that was for the whole season, not one day. The site became non-viable, a lot of blame went to the aforementioned factory ships which caught wild salmon as a primary catch but also as a secondary catch with other fish.
Photo of Carrick a Rede by Art Ward ©

This factory processing model played a role in depleting the wild stock of Atlantic salmon and its subsequent impact on river stocks, this in turn led to the decline. Government intervention came to all sites it had jurisdiction which resulted in salmon stations ceasing operations not only at Carrick a Rede but right around the north coast. To preserve the depleting salmon stocks a buy out of all commercial nets took place in 2001. Today the bridge is no longer seasonal for fishermen but marketed as a global tourist attraction with a charge to cross it. The heritage of that time is being preserved on the island by the National Trust who have renovated the small bothy and have a replica drontheim boat preserved on site.