A very good idea

Ron Troversial Clay · Dec 9, 2004

I did an article in Angling Star some years ago on this very subject. I suggested that commercial fishermen turn to taken out anglers to suppliment their income instead of dragging the sea bed dead.

The amount of fish taken by rod and line from the sea is minute compared with trawling.

And gives real value added to all the marine species. They have done this in parts of the USA I believe and it works.

alan · Dec 9, 2004

i want it to happen, but i wont belive it till its done. they were going to ban pair trawling within 12miles, effetive immediatly, that was decided at the brighton conferance, it hasnt been done, they have bass fisheries where trawlers are not allowed to rasie their nets, but the are allowed to go in and come out with their nets in the water, making the whole thing pointless. You have the twat Rick Stien in the paper yesterday with a list of alternative fish to eat, he reckons instead of bass eat mullet, being a slower growing speices then bass how long till they are trawled to death?

Ron Troversial Clay · Dec 9, 2004

Hopefully one day when someone says: "I would love a nice cod and chip supper", all they have to do is buy some tackle and go and catch it themselves.

Fish would be much higher valued and utimately more jobs created.

Bully · Dec 9, 2004

Whatever the case Ron, we need some areas that are completely protected. I wish more could be done inland as well, where numerous areas (e.g. the Fens) have been drained and numerous species put in danger or lost.

Its funny though. We bemoan the loss of fish, being keen anglers, yet we are hypocritical when it comes to other flora and fauna.

I remember on this site a certain member criticising conservationists wanting some areas of land to continue flooding just because they wanted to save some march marigolds, yet he didn't want to lose fish stocks.

What right do we have to say a few fish lost from a fishery in a flood is more important than other flora and fauna, some of which could become extinct ??

Bully · Dec 9, 2004

Sorry, hit send too early. Is it true that Rod fishing for cod from boats limits the numbers caught ?? What a farce if it is !

alan · Dec 9, 2004

maybe not limits the cod being caught, but giving the angler a chance to return it, something that cant happen on a trawler.

cod will still be takern home, but again most anglers will only take the odd 1 or 2 cod, and put the others back. you will get the idiots who want to take everything home, but then it should be the job of the skipper to stop them.

my last boat trip, i took home 9 whiting, i wanted to stop at 5 because that was enough for me, but due to the greedy buggers swallowing the hook(6/0 with double squid, cod bait) they had to be killed, so they went home as well, the other 20 odd that i had got returned. all the others on the boat did the same thing.

Jim Gibbinson · Dec 9, 2004

Marine conservation zones? Wonderful, providing there is effective enforcement.

Am I alone in being just a tad sceptical..?

Jeff · Dec 9, 2004

No Jim, you're not mate,

A lot of things get put through parliment but rarely actually make it to the area in question...

I am as much the nature/environment lover as I am an angler and would love to see the wildlife we enjoy be preserved. Unfortunatly with the population expanding at a million miles an hour you see new houses breaking into natures back yard and the seas and land being stripped of resources to feed all the hungery mouths...

It would be wonderful to see these zones be put in place but protecting them will be the key and that will cost a lot of money and man-hours... It can be a reality if the powers that be really see it though...

Jeff

Ergo · Dec 9, 2004

Sounds like a good idea to me Ron, just a question if I may.

"I would love a nice cod and chip supper", all they have to do is buy some tackle and go and catch it themselves.

What bait would you use to catch the chips?

Jeff · Dec 9, 2004

Garden fork flavoured worms mate, they'll be best in these conditions ;0)

Wolfman Woody · Dec 9, 2004

This is about 25 years too late. Back in the 70s we were arguing that places like Bridlington bay should be protected from trawling. The booms and chains they were using were ripping up and destroying the feeding grounds, with nothing to attract fish they stayed offshore. The feeding grounds were also breeding grounds, hence the decline of cod.

Jim's point - how do we enforce it? Yes, how much money is the Government going to put into fisheries inspection vessels? Not much I'll wager and both parties have been in government an almost equal length of time whilst this has been going on. It's no use paying lip service to these policies, they want some teeth behind them.

Jim Gibbinson · Dec 9, 2004

While bass fishing from the shore at Dungeness and Galloways I saw trawlers (probably from Folkestone) so close to shore that they were within casting range (literally so - indeed, a couple of anglers actually cast at their wheelhouses - a lunatic act but, in some ways, understandable). The boats had sacks hung over their numbers so they couldn't be definitively identified.

Likewise, trawlers have been seen upriver of the M2 Medway Bridge in the River Medway - as far upriver as Wouldham, I'm told (those who know the area will realise just how far up the tidal water that is).

Rules are all very well, but without rigorous, even draconian enforcement such rules are virtually valueless.

Artificial reefs (as per the USA) in no-fishing areas would solve the problem in some locations - not where they would be a danger to legitimate boat traffic, though.

Jim Gibbinson · Dec 10, 2004

Just a thought... why don't we campaign to have the whole of our coastline ring-fenced with wind-farms? This would make a significant contribution to overall electricity supplies and, at the same time, render the whole of our coastline inaccessible to trawlers.

I've searched for a flaw in the foregoing suggestion, and can't find one - I reckon it's a belter of an idea!

On the other hand... a National Sea Anglers' Licence to finance patrol boats that would police our waters against illegal trawling might be an alternative?

The Norwegians restored their herring fishing industry by introducing and enforcing draconian restrictions. So it can be done. But will it here in the UK? Will it hell. Mind you, pulling out of the EEC might help.

A very good idea

Ron Troversial Clay

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