For many hundreds of years, the people of Cornwall have survived on the arrival of the Pilchard shoals, better known now as Cornish Sardines - shares Rob Wing, The Cornish Fishmonger.

There are folklore stories aplenty of fisherfolk from Mousehole and Newlyn seeking out the shoals as they arrive - just in time to stop near-starvation during winters when crops fail and weather ruins food growing opportunities.

The village of St Mawes has been involved in fishing as long as its existed. I grew up with Pilchards being a culinary mainstay - my first family house was a rebuilt Pilchard store and the health and economic value of Pilchard (or sardines as we now call them) is very well known.

The catching of Pilchards was a community affair. Folk were placed on hills and watched the sea hoping to see the disturbance of shoals of Pilchard, which normally congregate quite close inshore.

The "Huer" would cry or shout advising of the arrival of pilchards. The whole community would gather together; from all walks of life, people would come to help launch the boats. 

A Seine Net is a large net not dissimilar to a driftnet. This would be set around a section of a shoal of pilchards and then drawn into the coast ready to be unloaded.

Sometimes this would take up to 24 hours if a large catch had been landed. There was no refrigeration in the olden days, therefore Pilchards were pressed with salt to preserve them. This was the food of the winter.

We now know them to be full of omega 3 and 6 oils and very good for health. I suspect that back in those days they were seen as being a necessary food to eat rather than a gourmet delight. 

Pilchards were also exported to Italy and Europe. Indeed there has been an ancient trade for thousands of years with the Mediterranean, where olive oil and other foods from that area were traded for tin, copper and of course, Pilchards.

Today the fishery is very small and arguably the most sustainable of all Cornish fishing activities. The amount of sardines now around our coast has increased year-on-year, this is in spite of a regular seasonal fishery. It is normal to see boats of around about 30 to 40ft in length setting their nets around the waters of Mounts Bay or near the Lizard Point.

Lands End is also a regular hunting ground for the sardine fisherman. The boats work in the early evening and land the catch the following morning ready to be sent to the many fish merchants, such as ourselves.

Cornwall owes a lot to Pichards - and with a new name it means a lot to us that this lovely fish that is now so much more recognised than it was years ago.

Historic photos of Pilchard fishing in Newquay Bay, reproduced with kind permission of Newquay Old Cornwall Society.