David Pakes
David Pakes
River Dart Salmon and Sea Trout, A Rare Treat These Days.
A Food & Drink feature (July 2011)
Over a lunch with David Pakes, ex police superintendent turned commercial fisherman and a life member of the Dart Angling Association, I learned a huge amount about the state of fishing on the Dart, the health of the river and the pressures facing those who wish to conserve the river and everything in it.
David has fished the Dart for over 40 years and has seen huge changes in that period. Once a thriving commercial fishery, the Dart’s fish stocks, in particular salmon and brown trout, have declined dramatically over the past century. Currently, even sea trout stocks are giving cause for concern. In 1900, the combined rod and net salmon catches amounted to around 5,000 fish. By 2006 that figure has fallen to 200 salmon caught with most of that number, including 90% of the rod caught total, released. Last year around 80 were caught. Until the late 80’s, 15 netting licences were issued each year providing a living for many families, now there are only three salmon nets on the river. Those stark figures focus the mind clearly on the issues of conservation.
I was very surprised by these figures. When I’m out on the river canoeing or rowing I often think it looks very healthy. There seems to be a heron on the bank every 50 meters, a growing population of little egrets, kingfishers making regular appearances, resident seals and plenty of cormorants. All these rely on fish for food so should be some indication of a healthy environment. However, whilst the constant ebb and flow of the tide brings in plenty of food at the seaward end of the river, and gives the river a twice daily flush through, the story further up is rather different. At the upper end of the Dart, where trout and salmon spawn, the ecology of the river has been seriously affected, often by human intervention in one way or another. Salmon and trout these days are beset by many challenges:
Abstraction: this is the removal of water for drinking water and irrigation. This, along with the draining of marshland on Dartmoor which act as natural reservoirs, have reduced river flows in the upper reaches of the Dart, the spawning grounds for salmon and trout.
Fertilisers: although many of the nastier fertilisers have now been banned, run off into the river means that river weed grows far more readily than was previously the case. More weed leads to more silting up of the river and loss of habitat.
Pollution: pollution comes from a variety of sources. Waste water from sewerage plants, although treated, may still contain chemicals, hormones and enzymes which survive the treatment process. These chemical have a variety of impacts including altering the fishes’ hormones and preventing them from breeding. Industrial spills have impacted the river from time to time including detergents and sheep dip residues from wool treatment plants. The chemicals spilt can remain in the environment for many years after the initial incident has been forgotten.
Conflicting environmental interests: The Dart Estuary is a designated bass nursery so bass cannot be taken from the river. Their stocks are now healthy but they are a predatory species and will happily feed on young salmon and trout smolt as they return to the sea.
Recreation: many people, myself included, enjoy the river in all sorts of ways. However, yachts discharge sewerage into the river and occasionally spill oil, fuel or antifouling treatments. Canoeists and swimmers on the Upper Dart may disturb spawning areas.
Poaching: poachers take fish from the river every year, some for financial gain and others for personal food. With only one bailiff to cover four rivers in the South Hams the control of poaching is very patchy.
Angling and Commercial Fishing: David freely admits that one of the joys of fishing is the chance of catching a wonderful meal. But he argues that fisherman, more than anyone else, are keen to see stocks of fish in the river at healthy and sustainable levels. The Dart Angling Association lobby the Environment Agency over pollution issues and work with DEFRA on issues of stock management, including restocking the rivers with young fish from elsewhere. They have worked with landowners, commercial netters, marinas and their own membership to put into place measure which will help to conserve the environment. They also have a strict limit on membership and rules regarding releasing a large proportion of any fish they catch. They have been instrumental in putting in place many measures designed to conserve the river and its fish stocks.
Predation: it’s a dangerous place in the river for salmon and trout whether large or small. Seals, otters, cormorants, predatory fish, goosanders, heron and egret all revel in a meal of fresh fish. And that’s before they get out to sea. Any individual fish spawning in the river has a fairly limited chance of surviving to come back and spawn itself.
Some rivers are seeing reversals in the fortunes of their trout and salmon levels and the Dart, with the help of David Pakes, the Dart Angling Association and the many other interested parties may yet do the same for the Dart. In the meantime you are unlikely to find much River Dart Trout or Salmon for sale or on a restaurant menu. If you do you should really make the most of it and appreciate what a rare treat it is.
I picked up a sea trout form Mark Lobb, though this one had been caught in Wales (where it is known as Sewin). I wanted to really make the most of it so I used the one fish to produce three recipes. All of the following recipes can be used for other fish and would work very well with farmed rainbow trout or salmon.
Sea Trout Ceviche
Serves 4.
If you are confident of the quality and freshness of your fish then ceviche is a great recipe. The fish is ‘cooked’ using a little lemon juice. The ascetic acid breaks down the protein as heat would do but in a very delicate way, allowing you to taste the fish in a pure state.
- 200g fish fillet cut into cubes no bigger than 1cm.
- Juice of a lemon
- For the dressing:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tbsp white balsamic vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
- ½ tsp Dijon mustard
- Zest of half a lemon finely chopped or grated
- ½ tsp sugar
- Salt and pepper
1. Toss the fish in the lemon juice and leave for 10–15 minutes.
2. Drain the lemon juice off.
3. Arrange the fish on top of a simple salad. (I used red peppers and finely sliced onion)
4. Whisk the dressing ingredients together to make a sweet, lemony dressing. The sweetness is to counter the sharpness of the lemon juice which is why I recommend white balsamic vinegar if you have it.
5. Spoon the dressing over the fish and salad but not so much that it overwhelms the ceviche.
Sea Trout Steamed in Paper
Serves 4.
This is a wonderful way to cook fish. Not only does the paper wrapping preserve the moisture of the fish but the parcels can be prepared in advance and placed straight on to a plate. Entertaining made easy for you and your guests get a lovely waft of aroma as they open their parcels.
For my recipe I used a 100g fillet of sea trout and served it on a starter platter (see photo) to be shared out at the table. A 50g fillet would make a nice individual starter whilst a 150g piece is good for main course.
- 200g skinned fish fillets cut into 4 equal pieces
- 2 stalks lemongrass
- 2 shallots, peeled
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- ½ fresh red chilli
- Salt and pepper
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1tbsp sunflower oil
- Fresh coriander.
- 4 x 20 x 20 cm sheets baking parchment or greaseproof lightly brushed with oil.
1. Peel the lemongrass, slice it very finely and put in a mortar. Cut the shallots, garlic and chilli into small pieces and add to the mortar. Add salt, pepper and sugar and pound the mixture with the pestle until finely ground. Add the oil and mix.
2. Cover one side of each piece of fish with ¼ of the mixture then place each piece coated side down on to the paper. Put some small pieces of coriander on top of each piece of fish.
3. Carefully fold the paper over the fish and fold in the edges to form a tight seal. You want the steam and flavours to stay inside the parcels.
4. These parcels can now be cooked immediately or refrigerated for up to 4 hours.
5. When ready to cook the fish, place a baking sheet inside your oven and heat the oven to 220°C/Gas 7. Place the parcels directly onto the baking sheet.
6. I cooked a 100g piece of sea trout for about 6 minutes but you will need to adjust the cooking time if you are cooking larger pieces.
Trout in Oatmeal with Lemon and Parsley Butter
Serves 4 for lunch or breakfast.
This is a classic Scottish breakfast recipe which works with any oily fish. It will often be used for herring or mackerel but here I wanted a more traditional recipe with the rest of my sea trout. David Pakes and I enjoyed this with a simple potato salad as we discussed fishing on the Dart.
- 4 fish fillets or fillet portions of about 100g each
- A little milk
- 75g fine or medium rolled oats
- Salt and pepper
- 50g softened butter
- Zest of a lemon, finely chopped or grated
- A handful of parsley, finely chopped
- 2tbsp sunflower oil and 25g butter for cooking
1. In a small bowl, mix together the softened butter, lemon zest and parsley. Season and roll into a log, wrap in clingfilm and put in the freezer.
2. On a plate, mix the oats with the salt and pepper. Brush the fillets with the milk, dip them in the oatmeal, then put on a plate, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
3. Melt the remaining 25g butter and oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the fillets, skin-side down; cook on each side for 3–4 minutes (depending on thickness), until the fish is cooked and coating is crisp.
4. Cut the seasoned butter into rounds and serve on top of the fish with a new potato salad.
First Published July 2011 By The Dart
Manna From Devon - 01803 752943 www.mannafromdevon.com
