stevieg

Hello Paul How old was the very impressive cod catch piccy which you posted on WSF recently, and very quickly had removed. It didn't strike me as fitting in too well with the doomsday scenario which you regularly seem to portray........

Thanks Clive, a very interesting and informative post as usual. Pretty much as I suspected, they still have the age old problem of not really having a clue what they have caught, right up until it is too late in some respects anyway........ I know these guys always get hammered in certain quarters, but I always have a bit of sympathy for someone who spends 5 or 6 hours of valuable time and effort, at say £100 an hour for a boat of that class, only to have to dump much/most of the very sellable product of their efforts, because research and politics say that the fish they have caught should not even exist........

Hi Clive An interesting question indeed. I am curious, were you ever involved at some career point in top secret research which could tell you almost exactly what was entering the cod end as you went along in a mixed fishery? I know that there is selectivity to an extent, but precise species selectivity in a mixed whitefish fishery must be the ultimate holy grail in UK fisheries research, unfortunately one which as far as I am aware has not even nearly been achieved. To the best of my limited knowledge, they still have no real idea what is coming until the bag breaks the surface, as imho would have been the case here.........but as always I am all ears....... I was having a chuckle and a half at your post on Glenns forum regarding this thread........

Pmsl....you sound like my kinda guy....

Hi Clive I must have picked things up wrong somewhere along the line, I somehow assumed that you had been a public employee, either with DEFRA themselves or one of the Government research agencies or perhaps some other Government fish related agency. It was more did you make any noise to the leaders of these organizations I was meaning, but if you were not on the public payroll then the question is totally irrelevant. I have spoken to a few people who were on the "inside" over the Black Fish years, and the one thing many had in common was a greater desire to protect their salaries and pension rights rather than to protect any fish stocks. I found it rather amusing that apparently one of the main DEFENCE witnesses in the famous McBride Black Fish case was one of the local FOs at the time of the offences, an interesting scenario indeed. A strange thing the Black Fish time, you would hadly believe it could have gone on for so long without the complicity of those supposed to be stopping it. I too was knocking around at the time (not fishing for fish though), and I find it pretty incredible that the authorities could be either so gullible or be quite so blind......... I too used to be a fairly regular contributor to the letters page of FN a few years back, however due to far too frequent visits from certain people (usually on big grey boats) I became (with Tims agreement) Mr Name and Address witheld. I eventually gave up completely (for the time being), 5 or 6 hours of enforced down time every couple of weeks was becoming hazardous to my lack of wealth.

Hello Clive As someone who was not only on the inside of the "system" and obviously "knows the truth", but was also obviously pretty upset about all these naughty goings on, did you make much noise about it at the time, and if so did it make any difference, or were you completely ignored? PS.. Victor Meldrew you ain't, I always find your posts both here and in the other place very informative.......