It’s a beautiful day in the very earliest days of spring on Scilly. There’s a great tit calling in the scrub - teech-er-teech-er-teech-er - and a chiffchaff singing its name over and over. Very occasionally, a Cetti’s warbler bursts out with its loud, cheerful song. We’re in Doily’s Wood, tucked behind the school and the waste disposal site on St Mary’s, on the narrow path that winds beneath the trees. Birders affectionately call this area the ‘dump clump.’ The air is laced with the smells of garlicky three-cornered leek, peppery nasturtium and fragrant narcissi blossoming in the adjacent field. 

I’m chatting to Jof Hicks from St Agnes. Jof works two patches of land here, supported by the Council and the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust. He uses the space to grow and pollard a very specific crop, otherwise uncommonly harvested across the rest of Scilly. Willow (often referred to as withies). 

Jof has planted hundreds of willow trees in this area across the last three years. He has also restored and re-pollarded these withy beds that were used annually until a few decades ago by local fishermen for lobsterpot materials. This is a hotspot for wildlife adjacent to the Lower Moors wetland, and the patch is a great place to see birds and invertebrates. We are looking at the last of the year’s willow growth; all the other trees have been harvested. He is about to cut the final stems, which look beautiful against the blue of the sky: erupting from the trunk, they are golden-yellow at the base fading to a deep, burgundy red at the tips. The highest shoot 12-feet into the air, strong but pliable.  

“It’s actually a bit late to harvest these,” he explains. “Ideally, this would be done in the mid-winter, between the leaves dropping and the sap rising; that’s when fishermen are traditionally ashore, and it’s also when the withies are at their most pliable. But I’m not too worried; I’m amazed how forgiving and resilient the willow is.” 

He points to a neighbouring tree, recently harvested. The stubby, rounded trunk looks naked without the stems, but you can see tufts of green leaves poking their way through the bark.  

“You can see that they are already sprouting new growth; it won’t be many weeks before this one catches up.” 

Minimising the impact 

Jof is a maker and lobster fisherman on St Agnes, but like many Scillonians has many strings to his bow. He learned the art of traditional lobsterpot making 25 years ago, and in the intervening years has also trained in industrial design. Now, he is combining his skillset and his deep-seated love and respect for the environment, by producing and fishing plastic-free lobsterpots: the first of their kind on Scilly to be produced and fished in any number in decades. Some of the older members of Scilly’s fishing community grew up making and using withy inkwells, with skills handed down through the generations. One fisherman, Barry on St Mary’s fished them in his younger days, is still a master of the craft. 

Commercial realities of the modern fishing industry require the mainstream use of steel and plastic fishing equipment; these materials make cheap, strong, durable and efficient fishing gear. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine fishing buoys and ropes especially in any other material. This is a double-edged sword; their longevity can also be their drawback, and there is increasing international concern around the issues of ghost fishing gear and marine pollution and debris. Jof wants to do his bit for the environment by adopting and developing biodegradable, sustainable methods that minimise his impact on his local and wider environment.  

For him, the continuation and passing on of these traditional skills, and their recognition of their place in Scillonian history and culture, is worth preserving in its own right, too. But this is just a starting point in developing and researching new designs and techniques. 

Each traditional withy inkwell pot is carefully woven using traditional techniques, using exclusively Scilly-grown materials (including the willow and tamarisk). They take around four hours to weave, but this doesn’t include the time spent planting and tending the trees, harvesting and transporting the materials, plus the time needed to be out on the water putting the pots to use. In a winter, when he’s ashore, Jof might make up to 50 pots. To put this in context, older Scillonians remember making hundreds of pots each winter.  

“I still feel I’ve a long way to go to match them!” he laughs. “It’s one of those crafts where you are always learning.” 

Similar methods are used by Indigenous communities around the world. In addition to selling his pots and catch, he also offers talks and sometimes training to members of the public, who can learn about the art of traditional pot making. As a one-man band, Jof is responsible for every aspect of his business, from seed to sea.  

Although the pots are incredibly strong when first made, they are only useable for one season to catch the local seafood. They can then be naturally biodegraded or sold on to visitors (they make stunning pieces of furniture or decorative pieces for houses and gardens). Jof even uses sail-and-oar methods to set and check his pots emissions-free, further minimising his impacts on the marine environment. As sustainable, local micro-fishing goes, it’s as good as it gets. 

“I know I’m not making much impact because I don’t seem to catch much,” he grins, “but it’s a start.” 

Tradition and innovation  

Jof started this project 25 years ago but has been creating and fishing these pots in this way for three years. He is now looking at how he can expand his business and research project and strengthen his collaborations with other partners, from Scilly and beyond. He sells the pots to other fishermen who want to lessen their impact on the environment, but with so many aspects of the business to manage, he is keen to make sure he leaves a wider legacy. Engaging positively with the local and wider fishing community and exploring opportunities for development for viable and sustainable fishing models is part of his ambition. 

“I don’t want to look back in ten years and feel I haven’t made a positive and innovative contribution,” Jof explains. “More and more, people want to know where their food is from and are happy to support local, sustainable businesses if it lessens their environmental impact.” 

As much as Jof is interested and skilled in traditional methods, he is looking to bring in his design expertise to innovate the business. He is working on many potential prototypes (hybrid pot designs), for example pots that could last longer whilst fishing more efficiently and more selectively, and take less time to make, plus he could be more easily assisted by members of the public, volunteers or even apprentices.  

‘We all want these things, don’t we?’ he grins. 

At the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust, we are looking at how we can partner with Jof to help his business expand and demonstrate how food production, fishing and land management can work together for people and wildlife. We hope to help him in the future with his land, specifically making his life easier and his harvesting more efficient by minimising the brambles and reeds encroaching on his willow sites. We hope to showcase his business, his pots and his produce, and assist him in sharing his sustainability ethos. It is also important for us to help him by building links with other innovative, environmentally-conscious businesses on Scilly, to share knowledge and skills. IFCA are also being supportive of the project. 

You are welcome to visit Jof in his workshop (the ‘lobster pottery’!) at Periglis, St Agnes (the old lifeboat station next to the church) and get in touch with him on Instagram. He sells products on request (send him a message or email) and his lobsters are landed on St Agnes and are available across Scilly. We will also be running some events with Jof this year - check our website for details.  

See Jof's Instagram