The Hugh Fearnley-Whitingstall(spelt wrongly possibly)programme.

[alan whittington]

The gentleman above(not going to do it again,lol)did a programme on Friday night,bemoaning the cod catch limits and the ridiculousness of putting dead undersize fish back into the sea,this morning Kieth Arthur had a lady from Hastings(i believe.....i was rushing to get my gear together)giving him a right going over,saying how the fishermen should be allowed to market these fish,never have i heard or seen such twaddle,cod have been fished out across the Atlantic,these immature cod are too young to reproduce their species and idiots like Hugh(i can spell that)and the lady in question argue the viability,one fisherman on the programme made a statement saying that he set his nets in a way so as to catch only one or two cod as bi-catch,then went out and caught a netfull of undersize codling(below 14in)deliberately and dumped the lot on the beach,the plonker should have his boat conviscated,if you work in the car industry and cars are not selling you get made reduntant,fishermen are placing their own jobs at risk.

 

[Paul Boote]

Yes. As I hinted in Geoff's earlier Fish Fight thread: give a commercial fisherman an inch of 4-inch mesh and he'll take a mile of 1-inch and use it till there isn't a fish left (unless nailed down, filmed, monitored, checked both at sea and along any point along the coast and not just the boat's home port...). Menaces who are trying to talk big-C "conservation" and curry favour and win public sympathy, at present, in my opinion.

 

[stikflote]

the way i look at it,only this country would throw the fish back,,and if the fish are dead then why throw them back, ? they are certainly not going to breed thats a given,
so you might just as well eat them at least they will be doing some good by feeding people

 

[Paul Boote]

Hands thrown up, nothing you can do about it, Passenger Pigeon - Passenger Pigeon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/Fileassengerpigeon.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/Passengerpigeon.jpg/220px-Passengerpigeon.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/9/96/Passengerpigeon.jpg/220px-Passengerpigeon.jpg - thinking. Politicians, here and in Europe, plus the fishermen, need to be given a no-option reality check now and nailed down until a no-backsliding sustainable solution is come to and stuck to.

 

[Morespiders]

Your all wasting your time moaning, IT'S TO LATE, just like everything else, were finished

 

[Ray Daywalker Clarke]

I think Stickfloat hit the nail on the head, whats the point in putting back dead fish ?? If they used the dead fish the price might come down in the shops also.

It's not going to matter what kind of nets the fishermen use, the fish dont know the difference.

The best thing to do is sink all boats other than those from the UK.....:wh

With the amount of cut backs the fishermen have had regarding catch limits, it's no wonder they break the rules, they have to live, returning the dead fish doesnt help.

 

[sagalout]

Watching the "Human Planet" the other night there was a statement that within fifty years we will have stripped the seas bare.

 

[alan whittington]

Stickflote,Ray, netsmen have been saying about bi-catch for months in the media,problem is if they want any sort of recovery to cod numbers(which breed faster than rabbits)they need to be left alone for several years,the cod's best period apparently was around ww2 when netting was virtually suspended,mans greed is irrepressable,if you read my starter for this thread the netsman who emptied fish on the beach actually stated that he normally didnt catch as many cod as that due to how he set his nets,if fishing our shores has to be stopped entirely to ensure some sort of recovery so be it,there are'nt that many fishermen countrywide,lets be fair our own government dont care how many people they make jobless to save money,a few more wont make hurt,as long as its worth it and temporary.
Whether we like it or not,cod shouldnt be fished for,only on baited hook,baited hook,long lining is sustainable,modern electronics aided netting isnt.

 

[Ray Daywalker Clarke]

I agree with what your saying Alan, but it still bloody stupid to throw the dead fish back.

They wont stop the cod fishing, and sadly the human race only looks after itself, we try to help nature when its to late, even when we know we are hurting nature.

If cod fishing did stop, then our fresh water stocks may well start to go down hill very quick, because as sure as eggs are eggs, someone in government will say our freshwater stocks can make up the short fall.

 

[alan whittington]

But Ray if you give credance to allow the taking of undersize cod,there would suddenly be loads of 'dory's' out there taking advantage,we all know fish continue to be taken below the limits by netsmen and anglers alike,but in a minimal manner,a free for all just waiting to kick off is on the sidelines.As for freshwater stocks being in danger,thats been ongoing since Poland's invasion of the UK,yours and my selfishness doesnt alter the sea's plight and as most of our cod comes from abroad(Iceland and Norway in the main i believe)we havnt done enough,simples.

 

[Ray Daywalker Clarke]

But Ray if you give credance to allow the taking of undersize cod,there would suddenly be loads of 'dory's' out there taking advantage,we all know fish continue to be taken below the limits by netsmen and anglers alike,but in a minimal manner,a free for all just waiting to kick off is on the sidelines.As for freshwater stocks being in danger,thats been ongoing since Poland's invasion of the UK,yours and my selfishness doesnt alter the sea's plight and as most of our cod comes from abroad(Iceland and Norway in the main i believe)we havnt done enough,simples.

As I said Alan, I agree, but throwing dead fish away, is bloody stupid.

I dont eat much fish, bit of Rock Eel couple of times a year, thats about it. The problem is China who eat just about anything that moves, let alone swims.

 

[nick dv]

Anyway, I don't like HFW, especially since I saw him catch, kill, cook and eat a Pike a few years ago!

Cheers, Nick

 

[alan whittington]

But,Ray,he shouldnt have caught the netfull to dump,he admits he doesnt normally,same as dragging the seabed,its almost as bad as dynamiting,if needs be people need to fish for crab,or some other shellfish,i mean to say what are these boats fishing for anyway,as most stocks are declining.

 

[quickcedo]

Surely if you allow the undersized fish to be sold then they will be fished for deliberately. Each time the nets are raised it costs money so if that catch has to be returned dead or alive alternative ways should be found to make money ie different types of net etc. The problem is nets are very expensive. If our beloved government were serious about conservation, help should be given to the fishermen (financial) as it is with farming.

 

[alan whittington]

Surely if you allow the undersized fish to be sold then they will be fished for deliberately. Each time the nets are raised it costs money so if that catch has to be returned dead or alive alternative ways should be found to make money ie different types of net etc. The problem is nets are very expensive. If our beloved government were serious about conservation, help should be given to the fishermen (financial) as it is with farming.

Farmers are money men....in general Mark,these netsmen are not,exactly the same as the miners,car workers...i could go on,support is there on a corporate level,not on the street corner.:wh

 

[Paul H]

Anyway, I don't like HFW, especially since I saw him catch, kill, cook and eat a Pike a few years ago!

Why's that Nick?

Why is it ok to eat cod, tuna and mackeral for example and not a pike?

The club I was a member of the other year allowed the catching a keeping of up to 2 pike a session within a defined size/weight limit.

Never did it myself because I'm not convinced of the water quality, but I don't see why it's an issue when done legally.

 

[hooklineand sinker]

Why only Pike Paul and not a couple of Barbel or Carp ? Just as tasty so I,m told .

Back to Hugh

Seems to me this guy has got his agendas all confused trying to end discard
(good) if it can be done in a way to limit fish mortality, but trying to change the public appertite will only put pressure on other fish stocks if popularised just plain stupid .Probaly not all Hugh fault he is getting some bad advice

 

[Ray Daywalker Clarke]

TO All,

So your a fisherman, your nets come in, COD some big enough, but more are undersize, you have a family, and a boat to run. Are you telling me you would all throw them back, knowing your not going to make enough money to carry on like this all year.

No your not, i am sure we would all do the same, its that or go bust.

Using different nets isn't going to stop fisherman from catching small fish, not 100%, and the small fish are the future, I Know, but throwing back the dead fish isnt going to stop them being caught, and is a complete waste, no matter how you look at it.

Would you throw a £50 note away bacuse you cant fit it in your wallet ?? like hell you would.

I agree 100% that something needs to be done, but throwing dead fish away, that are fine to eat, isnt going to solve the problem, but it will keep the price of fish sky high in the shops, and then everyone moans because it costs to much.

 

[Paul H]

Why only Pike Paul and not a couple of Barbel or Carp ? Just as tasty so I,m told .

Well indeed. Each to their own, as long as what you catch and eat is done responsibly within any applicable laws.

Which I believe Hugh did, I remember the episode in question.

Just don't see why eating a pike would make someone dislike Hugh for that reason alone.

That'd be like me saying I don't like you because you once ate a chicken. Quite illogical.

(Not saying you did eat a chicken, you may not have, just illustrating a point).

---------- Post added at 14:56 ---------- Previous post was at 14:14 ----------

Back on topic, I don't think that Hugh pointing out the absolutely undeniable madness of throwing back ton after ton of dead fish is the same as saying we should be keeping that fish to eat.

Sure, he pointed out how many people we could feed if we kept those fish, but the point of the program was to illustrate that just because EU quotas stop trawlers bringing back more cod than they are allowed to, doesn't mean those fish aren't still caught and therefore killed.

In other words - the quota system makes no difference to the numbers of cod (and other fish) which end up dead (either eaten by us or left at sea).

Good on him says I.

I believe he is man with a conscience and the public profile to do something about it. Same for Jamie Oliver. Even Gordon Ramsey seemed genuinely upset by the shark fin trade last night.

 

[hooklineand sinker]

Sorry ,get a bit annoyed with Pike being treated as second class fish, a lot on my local rivers don,t make to the dinner table and end up under a bush what a waste .
The whole EU fisheries policy does not work and Boat skippers know how to show it not working in the worst possible light for T V. I am going to be more than a bit miffed by programs like this putting addtitional pressure on the stock of fish I fish for in the name of sustainablity whens theres no evidence any form of netting is sustainable. There is no restocking of the Sea when there gone there gone, I think the Blue Fin Tuna will be the first fish to be fished to exticntion.