Ian Burrett

The uneducated probably said the same thing about the Dodo

Good news from Defra but I suspect this will receive much opposition from the French and the the Spanish Defra state in a letter to SOS Our clear preference is for no targeted porbeagle fishery, but for a small by-catch quota to cover porbeagle that are caught incidentally but are already dead. We would support measures to encourage or require the release of live by-catch wherever it is possible to do so. We are also concerned about the state of other large bodied shark stocks such as the blue shark and will urge the Commission to consider management measures for them also. With the proposals for a 5% bycatch on Spurdog and hopefully a good conclusion to the tope consultation which is expected within the next few weeks, things really have moved on in the last few years for shark management.

Hi Was you fishing off the end. I was coming back through the tide raise on the Ebb and for safety reasons had to keep tight to the rocks and unfortunately took an anglers line with me. There was a fair run on and i couldn't stop to apologise. The fishing has been dire the last few days. Even flappers fishing for tope were totally ignored by the dogs. I suspect it was down to the smallest tides of the year. Next weekends are the biggest so that will create more problems.

Hi Elton My pal just bought a pair of second hand yanmar 27's They probably weight four times an equivalent petrol outboard and cost £18,000 each when new. The cowel on them is twice the size of my 70 HP The amazing thing is the fuel economy. They burn just 3 litres (not gallons) an hour. Because of the weight and price they are not practical on anything but heavy workboats

I am not sure chappers. I asked Ken Collins if he would collate the data for the new programme and he kindly agreed.

And I think you are right :thumbs: H Toerag Thanks for the info. I will certainly give it a go

Hi Toerag Thanks for that. We are total novices when it comes to the Bass We are fishing in a 100 ft of water. Are the Bass likely to be feeding on the bottom are chasing the joey mackerel about

It took a bait intended for tope. What a fantastic fish and well done to the lad for returning it; mind you if he wanted to keep it, he would have had a long swim for shore. That's the second double figure Bass we have caught this year on tope baits and a further 4 fish over 7 pounds. All flukes because when we fish the same areas with live sandeel we get nothing but doggies.

Riptides Bass

Spurdog protection – Will Etive and Sunnart finally be safe from commercial exploitation The Scottish Sea Anglers conservation Network (SSACN See www.ssacn.org ) has just received a long awaited letter from the Scottish government confirming some great news that was first discussed at our meeting a few weeks ago, As a result of a three year campaign by SOS and now adopted by SSACN, the officers within the Scottish governments fisheries dept (SEERAD) are campaigning for Spurdog protection. at the Eu fisheries talks later this year. They believe that Spurdog are a migratory fish and that an overall protection for the Spurdog would be far more suitable than closing of small areas like Etive and Sunnart. Paul McCarthy (Fish Stock Conservation Team) states in his letter Starting with spurdog, as I said at the meeting, we are taking steps towards better conservation of the species. We will seek an extension of the 5% by-catch rule, that applies in the North Sea, to EC and international waters of ICES zones I, IIIa, V, VI, VII, VIII, XII and XIV (effectively all waters of the western Atlantic) as part of this year's autumn fisheries negotiations This would prevent a targeted fishery for spurdog anywhere in the western Atlantic by EU vessels. I appreciate that your preferred solution would be more localised closures of Lochs Sunnart and Etive. However, given that spurdog are a widely migratory species we feel the more general 5% by-catch rule would be of greater benefit to the stock overall. Perhaps we can review the position after this year's December Council. If successful this will stop the Apollo or any other vessel from targeting the spurdog and will also help stop the bycatch of common skate. It is likely that the proposals will receive opposition from other Eu member states but Paul’s offer to review the situation after the Eu talks suggests the Scottish government will act unilaterally if the proposals fail. If you sent an email/letter to your MSP then give yourself a pat on the back. Thanks to you all. Whether this proposal is successful or not it demonstrates that recreational sea anglers can make a difference, and shows the need for all Scottish anglers and visitors to get behind SSACN and support them with their campaigns. Together we can make a difference. There could also be protection for the Porbeagle on the way From Paul McCarthy’s letter Finally, I note your point on shark finning and we share your general concerns about the practice. I am aware of wider concern that the ratio of fin weight to shark weight is set too high. However, at most only nine Scottish boats carry a shark finning permit and I am unconvinced that taking action at a Scottish level would do much to protect shark stocks generally and may negatively impact on the UK's ability to participate in any review of the Shark permit regulations and therefore influence effective action at the EU level. You may be interested to note that the Commission has suggested a number of ways to manage porbeagle catches, one of which is a bycatch provision similar to spurdog. I believe the UK would be supportive of this measure. In a separate email received by SSACN, confirming our growing status within the exec. the Head of inshore fisheries confirmed that plans for the economic survey are underway and that a Scottish government Steering Group will include SSACN as well as VisitScotland and Fisheries and Tourism officials. We have a long long way to go but there is no doubt we are heading in the right direction. 'If Just a small group of anglers can achieve recognition and pressure the Scottish Government into taking action on the issues mentioned above then what could we achieve with your support? Join SSACN and share in the successes possible by becoming a single voice for thousands of Scottish anglers. On behalf of the SSACN COMMITTEE Davy Holt DavidMcNair steve Bastiman Ian Burrett Denis Kelly John Crowther Davie Murray Lenny Simpson Guy Stewart Neal Clamp Fiona Trevor Springford

Hi Steve It usually happens 2 or 3 times a day on the inshore Pollack. Bering in mind the anglers are fishing with carp or spinning rods in just 30 ft of water The clutch has to be set perfect for the double figure fish. To slack and the Pollack is straight into the kelp, to tight and a 10 lb Pollack will smash 30 pound amnesia like cotton.

Was it a pint or three that caused him to fall. :rolleyes: : Sorry to hear your news Snatcher. I hope it doesn't stop you casting for to long.

Thanks Barry We are just a bunch of individuals putting a team together to take on the RSA challenges ahead in Scotland. We can't promise any miracles; we can only try our best in the time left after other committments

Hi Tiggs I guess it depends on the individual species. I have a pal who catches fish for the aquariums. They insist on rod and line caught fish as the majority survive. As you are probably aware common skate have been caught within half an hour of being released. If they were stressed they wouldn't be feeding. We regularly catch the same Pollack time and time again. Tagged Tope are recaptured usually by commercials in the Bay of Biscay and the Azores Defra have run a cod tagging programme and have recaptured many fish. My pal reckons Haddock die if they are released but survive if the gases are released with a needle

I haven't a clue Davy I was emailed the picture and text from a mate. I have no idea where it cane from but will ask

just out of interest The tope in this picture was caught by a Mr Flowers in January 1982 It was caught in a gillnet and weighed on commercial scales 118 pounds Unless the holder of the fish is 7 ft tall then the fish we caught on Sunday was at least 6 inches longer than this one

Here's the first picture back for Norman Tweddle's tope. I am till waiting for those taken in the boat. The formula just doesn't work on the bigger tope. I checked out my scales today measuring a bucket of water on dry land and then on a rocky boat and the hold feature isn't worth a damn and was often 20 % out. There is no way the tope goes over a hundred. Looking through past pictures, my records and the UK Shark tagging data I would say my original estimate was slightly high. At the time the adrenaline is running and you want the fish back ASAP. We will never now the true size but either way it was a hell of a fish. The Huss picture is the one measured a few weeks ago by Andy Wainwright on Riptide at 23 pounds

A worried skipper from the Thames has said the tope are that scarce this year, he has stopped fishing for them. Also many of the larger hounds also seem to be missing

Hi Snatcher I recon a big fast sinking rapala would be worth a try of the flat rock. I have been playing with float fishing for a few years and have had them at twenty foot in a 120 ft of water with a line intended for bigger shark. They are certainly not the bottom dwellers we imagine as they come of the bottom to feed of the mackerel shoals. We also seem to get a period of a couple of weeks when we pick them up on baited feathers; usually when there is a lot of fry about. I have also seen them breech chasing Launce about

A yellow trace certainly puts pollack of in shallow water

If you order straight from the states be prepared for a knock on the door from the postman demanding unpaid taxes. It happens reguarly. You would be better waiting unrtil somenone you know is going over there and get them to bring it back or repack the item without the box, receipts, instructions etc. There is no import duty on second hand goods

Hi Glen Just out of interest when was the last time the festivals were won with a cod.

Nick Seems like you have just wasted two minutes writing the above post There are lots of things happening, this is just another avenue, but as you have dropped out of every RSA conservation group you have ever joined without any notification you wouldn't be aware of what is going on. SOS is mounting pressure on the exec as shown by the statement at http://www.save-our-sharks.org/e107_plugin...wtopic.php?1449 Also look at http://www.save-our-sharks.org/e107_plugin...wtopic.php?1286 There is no doubt that a petition alone will achieve nothing but it all helps to keep the pressure on

Please have a look at the petition raised by SOS vice chairman Ray Davies http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Spurs-Porbeagle/ It takes just two minutes to fill in