Fish are getting smaller, maturing earlier

[wurzel]

Hello Jim

 

Are you a scientist, have a degree or an oligy?

 

Quote

The decline seems to have taken place at the same time as rising sea temperatures!

 

and an increase in one year old bass.

 

The thing is that bass are slower growing than cod, bass at 6 years old are just comeing into the fishery at 36 cm and weigh about 1 1/4 LB

Cod would be around 60 cm and wieghing 10 lb and spawned at least twice at 6 years old.

[Jim Roper]

Hello Jim

 

Are you a scientist, have a degree or an oligy?

 

 

No! I don't know enough long words!

[steve good]

Hello Dan

Quote

The whole chain has to be in balance.

 

I agree, but how can it be for all species all the time. some times the chain is in balance for cod but the another time its in balance for bass.

I can't see how you can change that.

 

hi wurzel

 

the biggest fret to cod stocks has allways been the industory fishing of sandeels, there is a hugh bycatch of very small cod just 1 or 2 inches in lengh. if this type of fishing was stopped it would help to balance the cod stosks

 

steve

[steve good]

Hello Jim

 

Are you a scientist, have a degree or an oligy?

 

Quote

The decline seems to have taken place at the same time as rising sea temperatures!

 

and an increase in one year old bass.

 

The thing is that bass are slower growing than cod, bass at 6 years old are just comeing into the fishery at 36 cm and weigh about 1 1/4 LB

Cod would be around 60 cm and wieghing 10 lb and spawned at least twice at 6 years old.

 

hi wurzel

when we had that cod glut in the mid eights i noticed that they grow fast up to 4 to 5 pounds in three years also they spawned twice a year

 

steve

[wurzel]

Hello Steve

 

Quote

the biggest fret to cod stocks has allways been the industory fishing of sandeels, there is a hugh bycatch of very small cod just 1 or 2 inches in lengh. if this type of fishing was stopped it would help to balance the cod stosks

 

Of cause it could make a difference in some areas,JB says the same, he has fished amonst sand eel boats. but I have never seen a sandeel industrial fishing boat in our area, I was not awear of a sand eel fishery in your area,

 

Quote

when we had that cod glut in the mid eights i noticed that they grow fast up to 4 to 5 pounds in three years also they spawned twice a year

 

So why was there not a glut the next year?

[A Norfolk Boy]

I recently caught a codling just over 4lb and it was stuffed full of roe. I don't think they used to breed at this size. Am I wrong?

[spanner]

Quote

Big fish are fever today than at any other time we know of, and fish now mature faster/smaller than they used to.

 

I disagree.

 

Cod stocks are way down in some areas, but we are not seeing much diffrence in the size range, as for other fish there are just as many large soles, skate, even in some cases bass,

 

 

Wurzel,

In the words of the brat McEnro, "you cannot be serious"

 

Do you really think the size distribution is the same as it used to be? If your catches have the same percentage of large fish as they used to then you are doing something no other fisherman that I have heard of is managing.

 

As for other areas, well try places like Aberdeen and Peterhead and see many big old fish get landed, as a percentage of the catch. With limited quotas, but apparently no problem with stocks, I'm sure the skippers will target the biggest fish they can find for max return, so if anything they should be landing more big fish ........

 

If your cod are just as big as they ever were how do you assess their age? To disagree with the 'ologists', who actually age their catches before making these statements, you must of somehow decided how old your fish are. How do you know that the 10lb cod in your net is the same age as that 10lb cod you caught 10 or 20yrs ago?

 

By the way, how much do you know about genetics, natural selection, biodiversity, and evolution? You certainly seemed to have entirely missed the point, and all becasue you have no idea how old your fish are.

Edited February 3, 2006 by spanner

[Leon Roskilly]

I recently caught a codling just over 4lb and it was stuffed full of roe. I don't think they used to breed at this size. Am I wrong?

 

 

A fish that is mature enough to spawn isn't a codling , it's a cod.

 

I remember when anything under 10 - 12 lbs was a codling!

[wurzel]

Hello Spanner

 

Quote

 

 

By the way, how much do you know about genetics, natural selection, biodiversity, and evolution? You certainly seemed to have entirely missed the point, and all becasue you have no idea how old your fish are.

 

I do know roughly how old the fish we catch are especially cod.

We see each year class come in to the fishery, if you get a good year class you can watch it grow as the years go by they get bigger and yes they get fewer, thats fishing, I bet the 20 pounders we caught this year were the survivers of the last good year class which was about 12 years ago. I will make a point of getting some aged this spring and will let you know if I am wright or wrong.

[maidstonemike]

..

Edited February 3, 2006 by maidstonemike