an idea to stop fish being taken by eastern europeans

[gozzer]

It all seems to boil down to the same thing again,that neither the EA or the Police deem this as a big enough problem to warrent their attention........so is it? or are we as anglers (and there fore finding it a very emotive subject) just over reacting?

 

I think it's a bit of both Budgie. Large scale poaching of fish is a problem that I think should be tackled by the law. But taking a couple of fish for the pot should be the responsibility of the club, or who ever runs the fishery. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of hypocrisy within angling. Some will happily fish for specimens without knowing, or caring where they were sourced. Some will use live or dead baits caught from a water, but be up in arms if someone dares to take a fish for the pot from the same water. I have seen 'top' anglers, matchmen and 'specimen' hunters, as well as 'pleasure' anglers, mistreat fish and fisheries, and then complain if an angler who acts properly and handles fish correctly hasn't got a licence. As if their wrong doing is somehow less than the other blokes. "It' a funny old game" as Mr Greaves would say.

But I think it just boils down to human nature.

[Paul_D]

Exactly!

 

Im glad someone (Gozzer) still knows that having a licence automaticly entitles you to ask others to produce theirs.But why dosnt everyone else know this?

 

AT THE RISK OF BECOMING BORING-

 

Because the rules/bye laws are no longer printed on the back of your rod licence! So it doesnt really matter if you have one or not as you are still in the dark.Why tell me cant this simple thing be remedied?

 

It is printed on my licence.....reverse side, 3rd bullet point. I hadn't realised it was myself until it was pointed out on this forum.

[Guest long-trotter]

It all seems to boil down to the same thing again,that neither the EA or the Police deem this as a big enough problem to warrent their attention........so is it? or are we as anglers (and there fore finding it a very emotive subject) just over reacting?

 

Budgie, the problem is this issue seems to be regional rather than national.

As you point out the passion for our sport is not shared or understood by most people. A lot of the guys I work with say to me “do you eat what you catch” I get a strange look when I tell them it would be like eating one of my kids.

 

What needs to be done is the clubs in the areas where they have a genuine problem with fish being removed need to approach the E.A and the Police to try to and set up a strategy to deal with this problem.

 

My advice to those with a real problem is this. Most if not all Police forces have a Wildlife Crime unit or Officer who is assigned to this task. A formal meeting with such an officer should be arranged by clubs to start the ball rolling with view to setting up a small area working group to establish the extent of the problem and ways to tackle it with the E.A.

 

There are some very articulate and level headed people on this forum that would be Ideal for such a group but as you said on numerous occasions apathy will win out in the end.

 

One final thing that concerns me is the press have over blown it somewhat in some areas.

Also individuals are using angler’s emotions to stir up trouble, Yes there is a problem but how big?

 

http://www.met.police.uk/wildlife/

[Dick Dastardly]

It is printed on my licence.....reverse side, 3rd bullet point. I hadn't realised it was myself until it was pointed out on this forum.

 

Which goes to show that I am just as guilty as everyone else of not knowing exactly what is or isnt wrote on my current licence!

 

 

Longtrotter that is is really good piece of information.Yes I bet your average copper is far to busy dealing with other stuff to really "care" about a few fish but if a guys whole position/department is for wildlife issues then I bet he will be a lot more interested.Most likely be a bit more up on the current situation re laws etc.

 

Be really good then if all anglers carried a direct phone number for their local Wildlife cop? contacting him/his department directly when/if we come across such a problem? Can we get these numbers?Have we at last actually achieved something positive out of all of these killing/nicking of fish threads?

[Guest long-trotter]

Budgie I think this guy is the one to contact in your area, be worth droping him a e-mail to sound him out and get his take on things and find out where he stands as with all services some are better than others.

 

Anyone wanting to find out their local officer should check their local force website or contact the force by the non emergency number.

 

http://www.kmbrc.org.uk/crime.htm

Edited September 29, 2006 by long-trotter

[captain cojones]

ive been working with a young romanian chap all week, and the conversation came round to fishing.he said his brother liked to fish, and eat what he caught, which was carp.

i asked him about returning the fish and if he ever did, and was laughed at as if i was mad!

the eating of carp is so ingrained in their culture, that in my opinion there is no way to change it.

(he told me they like it fried, and fish of 2-3 kilos are prefered.)

the only thing that could be done, again in my opinion, is to get them to realise that they should ask permission before removing anything.

p.s he told me the romanian for carp is "crap"!.....i didnt belive him at first so i asked his mate when he came and he confirmed it!!!! cheers dave.

[Dick Dastardly]

Be carefull chaps! dont trust a word that Capt says! after all he is more or less a bloody foriegner himself now!

 

Reading some of these killing/eating/nicking threads is a bit like watching re runs of "Till death us do part"! Just substitute "wog/darkie" for Eastern European/assylum seeker! also sadly no where near as funny.

 

It is very difficult though to discuss this sort of thing,because after all it is mainly people from a European back ground who want to take coarse fish to eat! Im sure some people are motivated racially to have a go but I would like to think that the majority are only interested in any potential damage to our fisheries. And as such think its a shame that we do feel we have to tread so carefully to avoid being called racist.

 

Incidently this isnt just a problem common to the UK.Germany (allthough coarse fish eaters themselves!) have problems on their "commercial carp waters" with mainly Turkish anglers taking in excess of their bag limits of carp.Struggle to see why the fish eating Germans taking a few carp (within their legal limit) is different to the fish eating Turks taking many over the limit? Simple reallythe German anglers are fishing within a sporting ethic and regard the take home catch as just an added bonus (similar to our trout waters?) Whilst the Turkish guys arnt there for any sport but purely to obtain food (er maybe like some of the more unscruplous on our trout waters!?).

 

Getting a sportsman to understand the reasons behind the catch limit (kill wise) is always going to be easier than convincing a hunter (for food) that he doesnt need to kill/take all he can!Simply a case of different motivation to actually fish.

 

As has been said in the past its just a matter of "cultural aclimatisation"!

I personally cant see to much damage being done to the majority of waters during this period of change but I doubt that I would say the same if it was my waters that fish were being removed from or individual big fish.

 

On the subject of that,even though I know people prefer fish of a certain size for the table I doubt this would stop them killing and taking any 30lbr they caught would it?

 

Yes I agree that its a regional/localised problem that should be dealt with as such.Trying to make it a national disaster isnt going to help our brothers with the problem at all.

 

In a way its a shame a foriegn guy wasnt crucified for killing fish some years ago...Why do I say that? because then the PC brigade would have had to crucify that stupid old fool Collins as well rather than risking looking racist!

 

Wonder if the angling press would be so keen to give Boris Lazenko from Latvia a free reel if he was to write into the letters page bragging of his fish killing exploits?See what I mean? Some screwed up society we live in isnt it?

[captain cojones]

Be carefull chaps! dont trust a word that Capt says! after all he is more or less a bloody foriegner himself now!

 

cheers budgie

dave.

[Guest long-trotter]

Mr Peter Collins the Zander specialist shame he wasn't put through the courts he could have technically been nicked for profiting from a crime, accepting that reel are baitrunners man enough to haul long lines in

Edited September 29, 2006 by long-trotter

[Bob Bradford]

Long Trotter wrote;

 

"One final thing that concerns me is the press have over blown it somewhat in some areas. "

 

Really LT? do you have the facts and figures to support this?

Edited September 29, 2006 by Bob Bradford