Valedhelgwath

This is just a quick attempt to get a site back online. I am Ron, but I write under the name of  Valedhelgwath.

Included in this site are a few galleries of myself over the years, and also from where I work.

I grew up in a fishing family, and began going to sea with my father from the age of four. Although I studied Zoology at University, pretty much all I ever wanted to be was a fisherman. I worked on the boats through most of my summer holidays, and when I left University in 1984 I became a full time fisherman.

Our boats were based in Boston, from where we fished in the Wash for Cockles, Mussels, Brown Shrimps and Sprats. During my time as a fisherman, I saw the boats grow in size from small wooden smacks, to large steel vessels capable fo carrying 30 tonnes. The fishing methods also changed from primarily handworking to mechanised dredging.

Unfortunately, fishing pressure reduced the stocks in the Wash to such low levels that by 1997 I could no longer make a living as a fisherman.

After spending a couple of years working ashore, I got the opportunity to work for Eastern Sea Fisheries Joint Committee. This is one of twelve Sea Fisheries Committees that are spead around the UK coast, and are responsible for managing the inshore fisheries within their district. Eastern Sea Fisheries covers the coasts of Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, running from Donna Nook to Dovercourt, and extending six miles out to sea. It is our responsibility in this area to manage the local fishery and enforce European, National and local legislation. To do this we have a 23 meter patrol boat, Protector III, an 18 meter Research Catamaran, Three Counties, and three Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBs).

When began work with ESFJC in 2000 I was a Fishery Officer/Crewman. In 2002 I became a Fishery Officer /Research Assistant, and in 1003 I became head of the research department. In order to successfully manage a fishery, it is important to know what quantity of fish stocks are present. In our district the main fisheries are for shellfish (cockles, mussels, shrimp, crabs and lobsters), so I spend much of my time surveying and monitoring these stocks.

For more about ESFJC see...
http://www.esfjc.co.uk/

For a long while I have been a fan of the Lord of the Rings books by JJR Tolkien. In 2001 I became a moderator at the Planet Tolkien website, one of the largest Tolkien websites in the world.
http://www.planet-tolkien.com/

Around about this time I also began writing Tolkien Fan Fiction, a number of stories of which have been published on Planet Tolkien. Lincs to these short stories have been included on this site.