Michael Kenneally has been a fisherman for over 35 years. Along with his son Michael Jr, and crewman David Heffernan, he had always fished with nets off the coast of Co Cork. That is until the seals found their way into the fishing grounds. For the past three years, staff at Riverdale Mills Corporation, manufacturers of Aquamesh, have worked closely with Michael Sr as he transitioned from fishing with nets, to lobster pots made exclusively with Aquamesh.

A welder by trade, Michael believes Riverdale’s Aquamesh is unique, of excellent quality, and key to the continued success of his business. “We have built hundreds of pots, all with Aquamesh. After three years, there are no signs of rust, no chipping, and the mesh is incredibly durable. The pots even held up to a hurricane.”

Riverdale Mills sources the very finest steel, creates its proprietary PVC coating in-house, and employs cutting-edge manufacturing lines to make sure Aquamesh will withstand the harshest fishing conditions. Galvanising the wire mesh with a protective zinc coating after it is welded is the key to the durability of Aquamesh; the plant-based PVC coating further protects the wire, minimises corrosion, and extends the lifetime of the pots. Aquamesh is now used worldwide in the construction of lobster and crab pots, oyster and shellfish trays, and fish pens.

“Wrestling one’s living from an unforgiving ocean is always a challenge. Working with the folks at Riverdale Mills is not,” said Michael. “They understand our business and what we need to build a great lobster pot. You can tell Aquamesh was designed for the fishermen. Our pots are very strong.”

Innovation, quality, and customer service are top priorities at Riverdale Mills. Aquamesh is the only wire mesh fabric in the world specifically engineered to be durable, flexible and environmentally-friendly. Riverdale Mills has purposely never used any of the now-banned petroleum-based phthalates, including those listed in Europe’s REACH regulations, when formulating the company’s PVC compounds.

“Our goal is to help fishermen keep their costs down and businesses profitable,” said Riverdale’s James Knott Jr. “Lobster pots made exclusively with Aquamesh will last four to five times longer than traps made using a galvanise-before-welding process.”

Riverdale Mills revolutionised the lobster fishing industry in 1980, when the company created Aquamesh to build a more durable lobster trap for New England lobstermen. Today, over 80% of all lobster traps in North America are built with Aquamesh. Traps made exclusively with Aquamesh typically last seven to 10 years.