Ban on scallop dredging

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgo...est/5120692.stm

[Davy Holt]

"There is no reason why both objectives of protecting the reefs while still allowing the sustainable harvesting of scallops cannot be met."

 

Bit of a contradiction there, dragging chain mail bags across the bottom smashing anything that is not caught in them is hardly sustainable.

[Snatcher]

They have done major damage to Luce Bay with their "seabed ploughing" Big Mally is still on the lookout for a cheap rocket launcher

[Norrie]

I used to deliver stainless to a company in Kircudbright (Sp) that made the dredges for their own fleet...geez they are horrible looking items of torture....Massive too..... Cant imagine the damage they do.....

[Jaffa]

I used to deliver stainless to a company in Kircudbright (Sp) that made the dredges for their own fleet...geez they are horrible looking items of torture....Massive too..... Cant imagine the damage they do.....

 

I often headed to a beach after a big storm and rembering all the huge numbers of reef inhabitants dumped on the beach I've seen , often thought how small were mans best efforts at destruction

 

Theres an article with more detail than the BBC here:

 

http://www.fishupdate.com/news/fullstory.p..._revealed_.html

 

It appears that

 

Research would assess the effects of scallop dredging on rocky reefs and in particular the possible impact of sedimentation and physical damage caused by dredges passing close to reefs.

 

may be the issue, rather than dredges being actually dragged across the reef? 1 -0 to the anti dredgers, even as they try and strike an own goal ?

 

One question though; how far does this "no fishing" get taken and will bouncing a lead across these colonies/hauling the odd inhabitant up, be taken as not on?

[Davy Holt]

They could however take up diving for the Scallops and make even more money than they do dredging, without the damaging side effects of a couple of ton of steel dragging across the sea bed.

 

Jaffa.. storms may well do lots of damage to the sea bed, but that's only happening a handful of times a year, the dredgers are doing that a handful of times a week.

 

I watched 2 boats working a bit of ground in the Sound roughly .5 mile square, they dredged that bit of solid for 48 hrs back and forth.. that was 5 years ago it's only now starting to produce seizable scallops for the divers now.

[Snatcher]

Ian Burrett used to catch wrasse at a mark in Luce Bay at some sort of ridge/shelf. Along came the scallop dredgers and no more wrasse at this mark

 

What is the answer then ?

[Jaffa]

They could however take up diving for the Scallops and make even more money than they do dredging, without the damaging side effects of a couple of ton of steel dragging across the sea bed.

 

Jaffa.. storms may well do lots of damage to the sea bed, but that's only happening a handful of times a year, the dredgers are doing that a handful of times a week.

 

I watched 2 boats working a bit of ground in the Sound roughly .5 mile square, they dredged that bit of solid for 48 hrs back and forth.. that was 5 years ago it's only now starting to produce seizable scallops for the divers now.

 

Davy, fwiw im no fan of scallop dredgers, and i made my living from scallop diving for a while (and loved it ).

but got out when the legislation started to go nuts. IMHO, however much sense in conservation terms it makes, It's not something that current legislation gives much of a future to The way it stands now, scallop divers are right on the end of what is legal

 

On the other hand, your arguement about storms may be true for where you live, but they are a bit more destructive here. On the west coast of the Scottish islands they are at another level again.....

 

Seeing boulders the size of houses was a bit of a shock to me; That was Eshness on the west of Shetland; vertigo is the only way i can describe the sensation of looking at them.

Edited June 27, 2006 by Jaffa

[Norrie]

"I often headed to a beach after a big storm and rembering all the huge numbers of reef inhabitants dumped on the beach I've seen , often thought how small were mans best efforts at destruction "

 

 

Hi Jaffa...Dont want to go down that road,.But, Storms didnt clear the Grand Banks of Cod, or bring to extinction, numerous species of life.....(cept dinos)....or kill hundreds of thousands of humans in one swift blow.....

 

We ARE destroying this planet !!!!! and its life.....

[Jaffa]

"I often headed to a beach after a big storm and rembering all the huge numbers of reef inhabitants dumped on the beach I've seen , often thought how small were mans best efforts at destruction "

Hi Jaffa...Dont want to go down that road,.But, Storms didnt clear the Grand Banks of Cod, or bring to extinction, numerous species of life.....(cept dinos)....or kill hundreds of thousands of humans in one swift blow.....

 

We ARE destroying this planet !!!!! and its life.....

 

 

Its the only one we have, and i worry about my children as much as anyone .....