FISHERMEN at Minehead are fearful that potential council plans to dump shingle from the build-up at Minehead Harbour could damage historic fishing stakes and affect herring spawning grounds.

Michael Martin, 64, one-time assistant harbour master at Minehead and one of only two fishermen with registered commercial boats there, said he would fight tooth and nail any plans to dump the shingle where his family’s historic stakes are.

And fisherman Paul Date said he was so concerned about potential damage to spawning grounds for herrings if the pebbles were dumped in the wrong place that he had now been in contact with the Devon and Severn Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA).

“The stones have got to be moved but it’s got to be done in an environmentally friendly way, you can’t just dump them in the bay and damage the environment,” he said. “They have not thought this through at all.”

Mr Martin, who was assistant harbour master from 1989 for three years, said he was dismayed when a man who did not give his name but said he was from the council – West Somerset Council is the harbour authority - spoke about tipping the stones where his herring fishing stakes were.

“These fishing stakes have been there for the last two or three hundred years and belonged to my great grandfather and those before. This is the only place in the country I know of where you can fish for herring this way,” he said.

“The council has to play ball and respect this the same way any other contractors do.”

The 23 stakes, used with special herring nets, go across the sand at ten foot intervals and are covered by water when the tide is in.

As reported last week, West Somerset Council said it was working closely with its technical advisers on the problem but was confident the harbour remains safely accessible to current users, while Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) officials called for the ridge of pebbles blocking the harbour entrance to be urgently removed.

Mr Martin said it would not be long before the ridge of stones became dangerous and prevented boats getting in or out when the water was not high enough.

He said the council was not taking good advice from the locals and had let the stones build up and up.

“It used to be cleared twice a year but in recent years they have not done enough,” he said. “The stones come up at a rate of knots if the wind is westerly or north westerly, and it builds up and then costs more to remove.”

He said it would make sense for the council and the Environment Agency to work together, as there was a need to replenish the beach at Warren Point where it was eroding, while there was a need to remove the build-up of stone across the harbour: “It’s not rocket science, why can they not work together?”

Mr Date said: “We work closely with the IFCA who monitor our nets, fish, everything.

“We need to protect this area around the fishing stakes as a spawning ground and they (IFCA) are liaising closely with us. Herrings need to spawn in sand and we don’t want any more sand covered up.

“The council hasn’t got the money to minimise the build-up of the stones so now it’s a big issue, with thousands of tons, but it’s got to be sorted in an environmentally friendly way. They have to take into account the ecology of the bay when they move them.”

He agreed with Mr Martin that the most useful place to dump the stones would be at Warren Point, to help protect the area from erosion.

A spokesman for West Somerset Council said: “We have met with a specialist excavation contractor who deals with dredging issues and we are currently looking at our options.

“On the issue of waste the shingle is not defined as waste as long as it remains on the seabed or the foreshore.The shingle is only classed as waste if it is removed from the beach or foreshore and to do this would require a licence.

“In relation to historical fish grounds we are unaware of any fishing rights that have been granted over the Minehead foreshore.”

The council repeated its hopes that a local user group could be established, similar to one in Watchet which has established a good working relationship with the authority.

“Following representations from users of Minehead Harbour with regards to the shingle bed at the entrance, a meeting was held between operational staff and external advisers CF Spencer to discuss an appropriate way forward,” the spokesman said.

Work to remove an initial shingle bank had taken place in April this year, when the shingle was moved further along the foreshore and to an area near the sea defences, following discussions with local fisherman and residents.

“The current shingle bank has been dragged along the coast by prevailing weather and tidal conditions and has been deposited at the entrance to the harbour.

“This accumulation is far larger than previous amounts and, having discussed this with local residents, the last time such an amount was deposited by sea conditions was some 40 years ago.”