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Roaring water bay is well known for its sea food products. In close to the shore fishermen cut the seedweed from the rocks and stones. This seedweed is gathered and carried up by lorry to factories in Galway where perfume and many herbal remedies are made from it. Along the shoreline fishermen grow isters especially around the island of Sherkin. Isters normally take two to two and a half years to grow and require little time as for most of their growing period they remain untouched. Also periwinkles are collected along the shore but in recent times the quantity of them has decreased dramatically.
In the last fifteen years Mussel farming has become a major activity by the local fishermen.The mussels are grown inside polyester stocks ( 6 to 10 feet in length) and hang from ropes connected to barrels which are anchored in the bay.The general climate in the bay of high temperatures from the gulf stream and general shelter has led to a crop of 7-10 ton of mussels per line(normally 21 barrels). Mussels take just over two year to fully grow and then they are harvested and supplied to the Irish and foreign market.
Apart from the mussel farming, fishermen spend most of their time, fishing for either shrimp, crab or lobster. The shrimp season starts at the start of August and continues until late December and is the most popular activity by the fishermen. Within the bay up to 25 boats could be shrimping in any one season. The shrimp is sorted in nearby factories and shipped away to countries such as France and Spain. In other cases the shrimp is taken alive in large tank lorries to the foreign countries.Due to the short season the fishermen have become more reliant on other sources of income such as mussel farming. The shrimping is done in all parts of the bay. Fishing for lobsters, brown crabs and velvets is also done by the fishermen, but with mussel farming increasing, at the moment only a few fishermen are at these types of fishing.
In the months of August and September the bay becomes a playground for Mackerel and Pollock. This is due to the warm currents coming from the gulf stream. These fish come in by there thousands following the tiny sprat and this attracts many tourists aswell as fishermen.Along the shore and on the bay Salmon and Trout are also common.
If you are interested in buying shrimp or mussels or interested in any of the above you can contact me at the email address below
Email Address : roaringwaterbay@hotmail.com