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Creel Fishing

Fishing with creels (pots) is Orkney's most popular fishing method. It is one of the most environmentally friendly fishing methods.

Creel fishermen set their traps onto the seabed to catch bottom-crawling shellfish like crabs, lobsters and buckies (whelks). They use bait to encourage the species to get into the traps. When they pull the creel out of the sea they return the smaller shellfish to the ocean and keep the bigger ones. 

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Many fishermen describe creeling as one of the most exciting types of fishing- because they never know what will be in the pot!

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Fishermen can string their creels out on a line and place that on the seabed or they can put creels individually in certain places. Which method they choose depends on how much they want to catch, how many creels they have, and the size of their boat.

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Please remember it is illegal to land or sell any lobster with a V-notch. You can click here to learn more. 

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If you want to learn more about becoming a creel fisherman click here to contact us.

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