Conwy Bay

Conwy Bay (also known as Conway Bay) is situated on the north-west coast of Wales, surrounded by magnificent Welsh countryside and impressive mountains of Snowdonia. Conwy itself is a medieval town with a rich history and a mighty 13th-century castle at its heart. Conwy Bay was once home to one of the most important pearl mussel fisheries in the country and provided a significant number of pearls for jewellers in London in the early 1800s. Vital shellfish research was carried out in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAFF now CEFAS) Fisheries Experimental Station to support fisheries from 1919 to 1999, and currently the region has a low impact, self-sustaining mussel fishery which still uses traditional handheld rakes. Conwy Bay is also a part of a designated Special Area of Conservation with unique underwater habitats and important marine plants and animals.
Wales once had a prolific fishery for the native oyster which provided a vital food source to the local coastal communities and contribution to the Welsh economy. The significant Mumbles or ‘Oystermouth’ fishery was the largest in Wales supporting 400 fishers across 188 boats. Locally to Conwy Bay, there were also productive native oyster beds during the 18th and 19th centuries in the Menai Strait near Caernarfon and Bangor, off Puffin Island and around Anglesey in Rhoscolyn and Llanddwyn Island. In its heyday in the mid- 1800s, Welsh oyster boats reported landing 8,000 oysters daily, but up to 15,000- 20,000 oysters in some areas. Although fishing for native oysters in Wales had begun much earlier, with native oyster shells discovered dating back to the Neolithic and the Bronze Age (about 12,000 years ago)! Sadly only a few small native oyster populations remain in Wales, but by working together we hope to help to restore this historically important species and support an ocean full of life.