Fishguard has a Scandanavian name fiskigardr (`enclosure for catching or keeping fish?) which may be related to the presence of two large V-shaped stone fish traps either side of the beach at Goodwick (see also NPRN 401338), within the wider Fishguard Bay area. The commercial port of Fishguard Harbour at Goodwick was largely constructed towards the end of the nineteenth century and the start of the twentieth.
Goodwick Fish Trap 1 is located on the north-west side of Goodwick beach just below the entrance road to the ferry terminal. It is first shown on the early maritime charts of Lewis Morris dating from 1748. The fish trap is also depicted on the first edition Ordnance Survey 25in map of 1889 which details is disposition prior to the destruction of the northern arm with the port development of the early 20th century. In its original state, the fishtrap formed a V, pointing to the northeast. The northern arm was anchored on the coastal rocks along the foreshore, and ran west/east for 100m to the apex, before turning south for c. 120m. The hook at the southern end is not shown in any detail on the OS map. The whole of the northern arm was buried under the rock armour formed during the railway construction between 1901 and 1906, and is not present in the 2nd Edition OS map.
The hooked portion of the trap is locally renowed as a good place to catch Bass which gather there to feed on the crab population. Aerial photographs taken through clear shallow water on 1st June 2009 (AP_2009_1382-87) showed remains of other submerged walls and structures to the south-west of this trap of unknown date and character (NPRN 409081).
The fish trap was recorded in detail by the RCAHMW using a photogrammetry survey on the 30/03/2025 (links below). The surviving arm runs north/south for 114m with a slight outward curve to the east, and an extant width of 5.5-6.5m. Its highest point is at -2m ODN. At its southern end, the hook returns for 36m to the NNW, with a general width of 5-5.5m and a high point at -2m ODN.
Sources include:
Ordnance Survey, 1889, First edition 25inch
National Assembly of Wales, 2009, vertical AP
RCAHMW, 2009, AP_2009_1382-87
RCAHMW Photogrammetry Survey, DS2025_129_PG, 30/03/2025, view here: https://skfb.ly/pvyIL
T. Driver, RCAHMW, 28th October 2009
J. Whitewright, RCAHMW, April 2025.