Sometimes all it takes is the introduction of one new element to turn the tide. The common thread tying together thework of lobstermen around the world is Riverdale Mills’ specialised wire Aquamesh®.

“I have been building traps with Riverdale Mills’ Aquamesh® connected panels for some time now,” said Joe Savoie, Owner SS Fish & Sales in New Brunswick, Canada. “The connected panels are less labour intensive, and are easy to handle, store and shear which allows me to construct more traps in less time with no wasted wire.”

The wooden and rope lobster trap was invented in the early 1800s in Massachusetts. Riverdale Mills founder James Knott, Sr., a native of one of America’s oldest seaports, saw the ocean quickly corroded the wooden structures, forcing lobstermen to spend an inordinate amount of time and money replacing their traps. So Knott created Aquamesh, a wire mesh fabric specifically engineered for ocean use and to withstand the harshest subsea conditions. Lobstermen around the world have now been using Aquamesh for over three decades.

“Fishermen want cost effective, durable creels” says Bertie Gibson, co-owner of Norscott Creels in Fraserburgh, Scotland. “The traps made with Aquamesh are extremely rugged, which goes a long way to keeping our costs down and our business profitable.” Creels made exclusively with Aquamesh typically last eight to ten years.

Steel, like nearly all metals, corrodes when exposed to marine environments. In the fishing industry, corrosion impacts the pots durability, level of maintenance and ultimately return on investment. Aquamesh is manufactured from premium steel that is hot-dip galvanized after welding with a thick layer of zinc that surrounds the weld to prevent the steel from corroding. The wire is then covered with a state-of-the-art, marine grade PVC coating, produced in-house at Riverdale Mills Corporation. The coating is fuse-bonded to the wire, forming a protective layer that resists algae growth and prevents corrosion.

”Aquamesh is used worldwide in the construction of creels, crab pots, oyster and shellfish trays, and conch and whelk trays,” said Riverdale Mills CEO Jim Knott, Jr. “When you build your creels with Aquamesh, you are building them with the highest quality product available.”