golden mile

[hastfish]

what if any does rsa think the gains would be to have this.remembering that we have got to start talking and working together ,and not blaming every thing on commercials.a lot of small boats work in this area and already have local bylaws concerning this.the goverment are already talking about shutting an area like this, in our area to beamtrawlers and trawling will probably follow.

[glennk]

Judging by the Notes from the Devon RSA - DEFRA Meeting the "Golden Mile" is a no starter. DEFRA apparently have said it will not be happening.

[H.A.]

Don’t write off inshore restrictions being introduced very soon by Defra.

 

CEFAS/MFA are setting up a new project which seeks to:

 

Identify two inshore areas (and two similar, nearby “control” areas) in contrasting coastal areas of England, in which catch restrictions will be implemented to limit fishing for bass and encourage RSA

 

Close certain coastal areas to extractive fishing to enhance survival and enable more bass within local populations to grow bigger. Such areas might prove attractive to anglers and benefit RSA

 

Examine areas in which extractive fishing for bass is restricted (e.g. by bag limits, slot sizes and catch and release) to see if they provide more and larger bass than similar areas without such controls?

 

Examine whether participation and activity levels by anglers change in the restricted areas, where extractive fishing is curtailed and where more and bigger bass may be available to catch.

 

Assess how the implementation of such areas impact commercial fisheries and whether commercial fishermen adapt to dissipate the potential benefits.

 

Carry out an intensive tagging exercise during summer 2008 in test and control areas to evaluate the fate of bass caught and released.

 

Evaluate the commercial fishery’s reaction to restricted catch areas designed to benefit RSA, and whether extractive fishing (by both RSA and commercial fishermen) outside the closed areas serves to dissipate the potential benefits.

 

Examine the potential utility and practicality of a management option using restricted-catch areas to promote RSA.

 

If the project is successful, we will have shown that the propensity of some species of marine fish to return to particular areas in which they have a high probability of being caught can be utilised in fisheries management.

 

If RSA activity is increased in the test areas, it will also provide strong evidence that allowing angling in Marine Protected Areas (with suitable restrictions) may have real benefits - CEFAS

 

[glennk]

They might give you an area the size of a tea bag in a place where no commercials fish.

 

Obviously any scheme for bass anglers wouldn't be of any great benefit to UK sea anglers who target : Cod, wrasse, pollock, smoothound,rays, coalfish, whiting, flounders, plaice, soles, mackerel and all the other UK species.

 

But hey why worry about those people - They only form the majority of British sea anglers.

[barry luxton]

Don’t write off inshore restrictions being introduced very soon by Defra.

 

CEFAS/MFA are setting up a new project which seeks to:

 

Won't come to sod all H A, the main defra man said today that bass are being fished sustainably, 2004 figures, he believes them and expects everyone else to do the same. Ok if you like tiddlers.

[Ian Burrett]

The extract below is part of the presentation made to the Scottish parliament yesterday and i must say was well recieved by all parties

 

Unless fisheries management changes, fishing down the food chain will ensure there is no real future for either recreational or commercial fin fishermen in Scotland’s inshore waters.

 

SSACN would like to propose the introduction of Angling Centres which will provide local solutions for local issues and help ensure the survival of sea angling communities.

 

 

The No. 1 aim of “Angling centres” is to REGENERATE FISH STOCKS and HABITATS by banning destructive commercial practises. These could be within a greater Marine Protected Area. MPA’s often affect a 2-3 fold increase in stocks within 5 years.

 

An Angling centre will benefit all species and habitats within its borders and will prevent the need for costly and SLOW species by species legislation.

 

The theme of conserving the marine habitat will run right through the centre.

 

Angling Centres will also be used as an, Educational Outreach and for Coaching and development.

 

They would require a building with classrooms to cater for activities (perhaps a village hall for trial periods)

 

We envisage

 

• Open days with guest speakers offering tips and advice

• tackle making sessions, best Practise in fish handling

• Safety awareness RYA and VHF radio courses

• Casting lessons

• Educational marine conservation packages

 

Successful centres could contain

• Disabled access to angling hotspots

• Bait freezers and drying rooms

• Hire equipment

• Web presence, Information boards

• Artificial reefs

• slipways and tractor launches and most important

• A place for young “uns” to come and have a go

 

A Weekly/Monthly magazines or web page could advise of best catches, anecdotes, Tales of the one that got away

 

In fact a successful Angling centre will contain all the elements needed to create the full angling experience. It is important that the visitors to the Centre, whether local or tourist, feel they are part of the centre ie It’s their centre

 

A successful centre will increase stock levels, participation & activity & therefore increase tourism leading to more jobs

 

None of this is going to be easy. To succeed we need politicians who understand 'Best Value' share our vision and have the will to help make this happen.

 

Angling Centres can only be achieved through all interested parties like local and national government, sea angling clubs, voluntary bodies, coastal forums etc etc working and pulling together.

[H.A.]

The No. 1 aim of “Angling centres” is to REGENERATE FISH STOCKS and HABITATS by banning destructive commercial practises.

 

Ian, I wish you well. The biggest obstacle, no doubt, will be the bleatings of the commercial lobby regarding the phrase ' .. destructive commercial practices'.

 

They will not accept what we refer to as 'destructive commercial practices', whether it be tonnes and tonnes of discards, bottom dredging and habitat destruction, by-catch of endangered/protected species or anything which might slow down their own self-destruction in their tunnel-visioned world of financial reward for what constitutes methodical asset-stripping of the highest order.

 

[barry luxton]

The extract below is part of the presentation made to the Scottish parliament yesterday and i must say was well recieved by all parties

 

Unless fisheries management changes, fishing down the food chain will ensure there is no real future for either recreational or commercial fin fishermen in Scotland’s inshore waters.

 

SSACN would like to propose the introduction of Angling Centres which will provide local solutions for local issues and help ensure the survival of sea angling communities.

The No. 1 aim of “Angling centres” is to REGENERATE FISH STOCKS and HABITATS by banning destructive commercial practises. These could be within a greater Marine Protected Area. MPA’s often affect a 2-3 fold increase in stocks within 5 years.

 

An Angling centre will benefit all species and habitats within its borders and will prevent the need for costly and SLOW species by species legislation.

 

The theme of conserving the marine habitat will run right through the centre.

 

Angling Centres will also be used as an, Educational Outreach and for Coaching and development.

 

They would require a building with classrooms to cater for activities (perhaps a village hall for trial periods)

 

We envisage

 

• Open days with guest speakers offering tips and advice

• tackle making sessions, best Practise in fish handling

• Safety awareness RYA and VHF radio courses

• Casting lessons

• Educational marine conservation packages

 

Successful centres could contain

• Disabled access to angling hotspots

• Bait freezers and drying rooms

• Hire equipment

• Web presence, Information boards

• Artificial reefs

• slipways and tractor launches and most important

• A place for young “uns” to come and have a go

 

A Weekly/Monthly magazines or web page could advise of best catches, anecdotes, Tales of the one that got away

 

In fact a successful Angling centre will contain all the elements needed to create the full angling experience. It is important that the visitors to the Centre, whether local or tourist, feel they are part of the centre ie It’s their centre

 

A successful centre will increase stock levels, participation & activity & therefore increase tourism leading to more jobs

 

None of this is going to be easy. To succeed we need politicians who understand 'Best Value' share our vision and have the will to help make this happen.

 

Angling Centres can only be achieved through all interested parties like local and national government, sea angling clubs, voluntary bodies, coastal forums etc etc working and pulling together.

 

 

 

Very good, more reading for the over expensive, 2nd class outfit called defra. This is what engaging with anglers and parliament is about, not just looking at the sucess of the rsa and thinking how much dosh you can squeeze out of it, what do you recon Challenge.

 

They haven't suggested closing all areas H A, looking at mpa's that even the also rans (defra) have considered in their own blind, disfunctional way.

[hastfish]

what would you like then h.a areas shut down for good,that only anglers could use/reserves that could be used by non destuctive com fishing an anglers alike or total shut down an left to nature to take its course.how big do you want these areas and who else would you ban from them,wind surfers,ski boats,jet ski,s,swimmers.the trouble is a lot of people have got rights to use the sea an when an area is shut,how long before the gov stick a wind farm on it because no one uses it.

[H.A.]

No, Hasty, of course not .... I'm all for the coastal (nursery) habitats being turned into the Goby Desert like it is close in at Hayling Bay.

 

No kelp beds, no mussel beds, no small plaice, dabs or sole to grow on; just plenty of schoolies reared in the nearby protected nursery zones in the harbours. Not to mention the demise of the hermit crabs which used to be part of the food web and now have 'no homes to go to' because of the whelkers setting strings of pots 75m out.

 

Pagham, along the coast from me has fared better with protection of the Bognor rocks to the east and Selsey reefs to the west.

I keep losing gear in that awful rough-ground habitat that still exists there.

Bring on the 'beamers', clear the ground so that I can fish easily without losing tackle. There's even some indigenous fish there for all your trouble.

Oh yeh, I'm so glad your boys got those rock-hopppers now, so you can target the annual spawning migration of black bream around Selsey. Perhaps they could find ways to flatten those reefs out a bit .... dynamite springs to mind and what a by-catch of brown crab and lobsters that would bring about for a year or so.

 

Rape and pillage .... that's the way to go; saves you lot having to pay the whopping fuel bills if you fish right up to the beaches and groynes, eh?