Conwy Musselman has £1,000 fishing nets stolen

Jul 7 2011 by Mari Jones, North Wales Weekly News

A CONWY mussel man’s livelihood is under threat after his fishing nets worth over £1,000 were stolen.

Geoffrey Hughes now faces a trip to see his bank manager to discuss if he can get a bank loan to buy new fishing nets.

The 69-year-old is offering what he described as a “substantial reward” if someone can offer information about the nets, which were taken from an area known as the second beach in Conwy.

Geoff, whose son Jamie is also a mussel man, said: “They’ve taken 1,200 yards of fishing net sometime between 1.30am and 4am on Monday.

“My boat was moored on what is known as the second beach in Conwy, near the old pumping station.

“They took the nets from my bigger boat and then put them in my dinghy, which is a lot smaller.

“I think the thieves are probably local because they had their own oars as they hadn’t used mine and obviously had good knowledge of the river.

“We later recovered my dinghy by the Morfa, but the nets were gone.

“I also think that whoever has taken the nets must be quite small, as the weight of the nets in the dinghy is quite tremendous.”

Geoffrey says the busiest part of the year is coming up for local fishermen.

“July and August are very busy as there is a lot of sea bass and mullet around, but I won’t be able to do anything without my nets.

“I’m going to see my bank manager to see if I can get a loan. If I won’t be able to get one I don’t know what I’ll do.”

This is the second major blow Geoffrey has had to face in less than a year.

He was left brokenhearted last August when his beloved antique boat, known as a skiff, was chain sawed on Conwy Quay, leaving a huge gash in it.

“I’d been feeling on top of the world that day because I’d won a lot of races with my skiff at the Conwy River Festival.

“I’d come first in three races, including the veteran’s rowing competition, and second in one, including the Championship of the River event.

“Later I got an anonymous call home saying someone was taking a chainsaw to my boat on Conwy Quay.”

No one was ever charged with the incident.

Geoffrey added: “Hopefully I’ll be able to get new fishing nets, but I hope this never happens again.

“People steal them because they are so expensive, and there’s not a lot of money around.

“There’s no way I can lock them up at night as they are too heavy to carry backwards and forwards, I’ll just have to hope for the best.”

North Wales Police are investigating the incident. If you have any information, ring Geoffrey Hughes on 07513 259481.