NFSA Conservation Group

[thedogs]

Even in the so call good old days regularly catching quality fish from the shore took a certain amount of dedication. My Dad and his mate Mick Chalk would average one bass each over five pounds every other trip. Not bad by today’s shore standards, but not exactly loads.

 

As with any sport to keep on top of your game you need be doing it on a regular basis, preferably every day if possible.

 

Before my partner and I had our daughter Willow in 2002 I would fish most evenings from April through to mid November. This was made possible as my partner worked at a care home until 21.30. I would also fish both days at a weekend although not always all day.

 

Having the luxury of time was great as it allowed me to learn the movement of bass in my two local estuaries the Blackwater and Crouch.

 

I would be able to follow the fish from mark to mark as they moved with the tides and be able to pick and chose what river I wanted to fish.

Often I would be fishing with my partner’s brother Simon who I grew up fishing with. We would often end up with 4 or five fish each from 3 to 5lb, and only in a fairly short session of maybe three to four hours.

 

Sinse then my fishing time has been cut to maybe one or two short evening sessions and one day at a weekend. Also my catch rate has dramatically declined, I’m still targeting the same places we used to catch at, but the fish just aint there in the numbers they were. If I had more time I would be able to work out where they were now frequenting.

One thing I do now have that will increase my catch rate without the luxury of time is my 17-foot dell Quay dory. This will allow me access to marks that take time to reach by foot.

 

The bottom line is that commercial pressure has made stocks decline, but this pressure has decreased in many ways. The fleets local to me have decreased and changed shape over the past fifteen years. There are less large trawlers working the Thames Estuary, this has allowed species like thornback rays to make a remarkable recovery. But there are more small inshore gill-netters now targeting bass and soles.

Due to a succession of mild winters since 1989 more juvenile bass are surviving the winter. But due to the 36cm minimum landing size they are being filtered at this size. This has lead to an explosion of very small bass throughout the Thames Estuary. As with most fish many small bass can come from just a few breading fish. The gill-netters do not catch all the fish though, and we are left with a few fish to catch. Last November my mate and I went live baiting only a few yards from my mooring, we didn’t catch any large bass but we had over forty from two and a half to just over four and lost a few better fish at the net. These were fish that the inshore netters had missed, and this session they will be that much bigger.

 

Like it or not sea angling does now have a voice, the only problem being is that voice knows very little about our sport and is influencing government policy that could see us bogged down with red tape and restrictions.

If you can be bothered I would suggest you do as I have and write to your local MP warning that not all sea angling reps speech for all anglers and in fact some hardly ever go fishing!

I think our sport is in more danger from these reps than it is from commercial fishermen.

I have never had a rep like Tom Pinbough or Leon Roskilly ask me what I want and what I would except, have you?

__________________

[H.A.]

.... and in fact some hardly ever go fishing!

 

I have never had a rep like Tom Pinbough or Leon Roskilly ask me what I want and what I would except, have you?

 

Well, you sure as hell picked the wrong two there!!

 

Anyway, you have opinions; so what's stopping you contacting your SFC/Defra/NFSA/SACN/local club and offering your services to sea angling.

 

You just need a few evenings a month, an hour or two a night and a reasonable command of the spoken and written word.

Give it a go.

We have too few prepared to speak on our behalf and anyone can join in at all kinds of levels.

 

Mind you, with statements like this one, we don't need many enemies, do we?

 

I would suggest you do as I have and write to your local MP warning that not all sea angling reps speech for all anglers and in fact some hardly ever go fishing!

- Dogs

 

You sure you're not from the dark side?

 

[thedogs]

Well, you sure as hell picked the wrong two there!!

 

Anyway, you have opinions; so what's stopping you contacting your SFC/Defra/NFSA/SACN/local club and offering your services to sea angling.

 

You just need a few evenings a month, an hour or two a night and a reasonable command of the spoken and written word.

Give it a go.

We have too few prepared to speak on our behalf and anyone can join in at all kinds of levels.

 

Mind you, with statements like this one, we don't need many enemies, do we?

 

- Dogs

 

You sure you're not from the dark side?

 

 

What is the dark side? What would one find there? Could it just be men trying to work against the bad management that was MAFF and the same bad management that is now DEFRA? Could it be men working against the bureaucratic ball **** that comes from being in the CFP and being joined to the EU?

 

As I have said before yes the commercial fleet have over fished through being to efficient, but who can blame a guy for trying to better him self, what we can blame is the governmental organisation that was meant to govern the fleet.

 

Anglers now have a voice, and they ruddy need one as its not just the commercial sector that threatens our sport now, oh no now we to face a load of changes and a book full of dos and don’ts to abide by. Anglers need to make themselves heard by the powers that be so we do not get left out of the discussions. We need all anglers that give a toss about their sport to reply to the marine bill proposals.

If sea anglers do not make them selves heard and head loudly it will left down to the sea-angling representatives. Some of these so called well meaning guys who generously give up their valuable time vary rarely go fishing, they have very little sea angling knowledge, and more to the point they don’t know the sea angling needs of your local area, un yet they will be the only ones that the government will listen to if sea anglers do not make them selves heard!

 

Not all sea angling reps lack the necessary skills, but more of the good guys are dropping out year by year.

 

I would love to be a sea angling rep and maybe one day I will try, however un like many existing sea angling reps I know my limitations and at my present time of life feel I have little to offer that will improve things.

 

But I will make myself heard by writing all the necessary letters to the organisations that matter regarding sea angling. I will also make myself heard by responding to all the relevant consultation papers.

Sea anglers really need to start responding in mass or it will be left to the representatives of BASS, SACN, and the DREADED NFSA to defend our side, if this carries on happening then GOD HELP US!

Edited April 6, 2008 by thedogs

[wurzel]

Well, you sure as hell picked the wrong two there!!

 

Anyway, you have opinions; so what's stopping you contacting your SFC/Defra/NFSA/SACN/local club and offering your services to sea angling.

 

You just need a few evenings a month, an hour or two a night and a reasonable command of the spoken and written word.

Give it a go.

We have too few prepared to speak on our behalf and anyone can join in at all kinds of levels.

 

Mind you, with statements like this one, we don't need many enemies, do we?

 

- Dogs

 

You sure you're not from the dark side?

 

 

I think what Sam in his usual bull in a china shop way is trying to say is the same as Glenn with this post I copied from another thread.

 

Quote

Not about marine parks HA, although no doubt that will be another problem. This is SACN's contribution to a propaganda video about the state of our seas. In the video you see an expert north east boat angler (not) demanding that something must be done. The video portrays a barren sea off the north east coast with nothing but "tiny tiny" fish.

 

Obviously this isn't the case I have many many pictures of big fish caught off our coast and lots of them.

 

What harm done you might say, its only a video. However when you do a little analysis of the page you find out :

 

123 .edu websites link here. (Colleges and universities)

 

37 .gov websites link here. (Government websites)

 

and a google page rank of 5 which is higher than the busiest angling forums.

 

Then you can start to see just how much damage a propaganda video like this can do when you get anglers on their saying something must be done, and government bodies watching that and then linking to it from their websites.

 

The next thing that must be done is compensation for our local charter fleet.

 

 

 

The same goes for the constant spiel from angling reps of the same, empty sea, nothing but tiddlers left , like your reference to barren lifeless deserts, and miles of gill nets killing every thing that moves or trawlers towing up to the beaches the list goes on all claiming that something drastic needs to be done, It's spewed out at every opportunity like a stuck record and as Glen and Sam in his way are rightly saying it's back firing on the anglers the reps say they represent.

[H.A.]

The same goes for the constant spiel from angling reps of the same, empty sea, nothing but tiddlers left , like your reference to barren lifeless deserts, and miles of gill nets killing every thing that moves or trawlers towing up to the beaches the list goes on all claiming that something drastic needs to be done, It's spewed out at every opportunity like a stuck record and as Glen and Sam in his way are rightly saying it's back firing on the anglers the reps say they represent.

- Wurzel the netter.

 

Well, a commercial would say that wouldn't he?

 

Why are we listening?

Why the hell you keep muttering away on an angling forum is actually not too difficult to work out.

 

But, none of the people I fish with, meet with or discuss angling issues with takes a blind bit of notice of what you and the other poor, subjugated commercials think or do.

 

The seas are not filled with fish.

In fact oceans, not just our own inshore coastal waters have been grossly over-fished and yes, it has been bad management (or in the decades preceding dogfish-day-afternoon, no management at all) and now the commercials, 'hybrids' and those who know no better are squirming at the thought of an ever-diminishing fishing industry and increased regulation.

 

It's you and your industry which has so boogered up the UK fish populations and habitats that the politicians have realised some 20 years too late that something has to be done.

 

I for one, welcome the increased regulation for all in the hope that the marine environment will be restored to something like it was before the advent of disposable nets, purse seines, pair trawling and intensive industrial fishing of intolerable let alone unsustainable levels.

 

I'm afraid even bona fide anglers fear the worst from political intervention, but thank the Lord that there are a few level-headed anglers and conservationists prepared to put up rather than bleat weakly from the comfort zone of an internet forum.

 

I'm glad the forums detract from the real debate and keep some of you lot out of the mainstream.

 

Carry on barking!

 

[wurzel]

- Wurzel the netter.

 

Well, a commercial would say that wouldn't he?

 

Why are we listening?

Why the hell you keep muttering away on an angling forum is actually not too difficult to work out.

 

But, none of the people I fish with, meet with or discuss angling issues with takes a blind bit of notice of what you and the other poor, subjugated commercials think or do.

 

The seas are not filled with fish.

In fact oceans, not just our own inshore coastal waters have been grossly over-fished and yes, it has been bad management (or in the decades preceding dogfish-day-afternoon, no management at all) and now the commercials, 'hybrids' and those who know no better are squirming at the thought of an ever-diminishing fishing industry and increased regulation.

 

It's you and your industry which has so boogered up the UK fish populations and habitats that the politicians have realised some 20 years too late that something has to be done.

 

I for one, welcome the increased regulation for all in the hope that the marine environment will be restored to something like it was before the advent of disposable nets, purse seines, pair trawling and intensive industrial fishing of intolerable let alone unsustainable levels.

 

I'm afraid even bona fide anglers fear the worst from political intervention, but thank the Lord that there are a few level-headed anglers and conservationists prepared to put up rather than bleat weakly from the comfort zone of an internet forum.

 

I'm glad the forums detract from the real debate and keep some of you lot out of the mainstream.

 

Carry on barking!

 

 

There you go again Ha, you have just emphasised the point I was making as an angler not as a commercial.

[steve good]

- Wurzel the netter.

 

Well, a commercial would say that wouldn't he?

 

Why are we listening?

Why the hell you keep muttering away on an angling forum is actually not too difficult to work out.

 

But, none of the people I fish with, meet with or discuss angling issues with takes a blind bit of notice of what you and the other poor, subjugated commercials think or do.

 

The seas are not filled with fish.

In fact oceans, not just our own inshore coastal waters have been grossly over-fished and yes, it has been bad management (or in the decades preceding dogfish-day-afternoon, no management at all) and now the commercials, 'hybrids' and those who know no better are squirming at the thought of an ever-diminishing fishing industry and increased regulation.

 

It's you and your industry which has so boogered up the UK fish populations and habitats that the politicians have realised some 20 years too late that something has to be done.

 

I for one, welcome the increased regulation for all in the hope that the marine environment will be restored to something like it was before the advent of disposable nets, purse seines, pair trawling and intensive industrial fishing of intolerable let alone unsustainable levels.

 

I'm afraid even bona fide anglers fear the worst from political intervention, but thank the Lord that there are a few level-headed anglers and conservationists prepared to put up rather than bleat weakly from the comfort zone of an internet forum.

 

I'm glad the forums detract from the real debate and keep some of you lot out of the mainstream.

 

Carry on barking!

 

 

Hi H

 

QUOTE/ keep some of you lot out of the mainstream.

 

Nah, I am a mainstream sought of chappie

 

Wolf, wolf LOL LOL

 

Toddle pip

 

steve

Edited April 6, 2008 by steve good