tobasco

Please see attached article http://www.fishupdate.com/news/fullstory.php/aid/6648 The commercials currently exploiting the cod in this region will all more than likely turn to the bass (as a non quota species) once they have reached their cod quota limit. Are the local SFC for the region aware of this situation, and do they have any 'contingency plans' in the event that 'all' fishing effort from the local under 10m fleet gets directed towards bass?

Have you tried contacting Icom themselves? They are a good company and may be able to help.

MikeC, I am personally in agreement with your comments regarding the enemy being the EU and the CFP. However, your statement claiming that the under 10m fleet is 'insignificant' is absolute rubbish. The success of a boat is not based on its size. The success of todays fishing boats is based on its technology and engine capacity. DEFRA should consider changing the law concerning under 10m boats and in doing so make it compulsary for all registered commercial and recreational fishing boats to declare all catches - formally. This current law excluding boats under 10m from declaring their catch is an extremely old and outdated law that was based on ancient (and long gone) marine fishing technology, and is no longer applicable to the current fishery or fishermen. If the commercial fishermern are serious about conserving 'our' fish stocks then surely they would be willing to take such measures on board - no pun intended. Regards Steve

It sounds as though licensing has been firmly placed on their immediate agenda to me!!!

GlasgowDan, You have PM. Cheers Steve

Colin, the EAW are the SFC for the river Dee in North Wales. They have only recently obtained official training from the MFA which thereby allows them to officially be classed as warranted fishery officers and thge power of arrest. This has only happened in the last month or so. Prior to this there was a period of more than a year or so where they did not have even one single warranted fishery officer. The bass nursery area lies within an imaginary diagonal line from Mostyn dock area to Hilbre Island. The EAW have clearly stated (at various meetings) that the bass nursery area in the Dee is the sole responsibility of WAG and DEFRA. This statement was hopefully based on the fact that they were not in a position to enforce the regs at the time of making this statement as they were untrained to do so. The river Dee is heavily trawled (legally) for the likes of Fluke, etc for pot bait. Shrimping is another main activity, especially at this time of year. The EAW have within their rights as the SFC for the Dee the ability to introduce any byelaws that they wish. The problem with the introduction of new or amended byelaws is the fact that it requires only 1 relatively reasonable objection to be made to the proposal in order to bring the whole proces to a grinding halt and possible even induce a public enquiry, which do not come cheap. The EAW have also openly stated that the enforcement of the fishery in the Dee is not deemed a priority. The EAW have 7 fishery officers at their disposal. Their area of responsibilty for these 7 officers lies from the Borth area up to the Dee. One of the EAW's KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) is that 3500 rod licenses need to be checked each year. However they claim that 'part time officers' (of which there are also 7) are generally employed for this task. One loop hole on the EAWs byelaws is the fact that nets do not require to be marked/tagged, whereas it is illegal to employ a net that has no owner identification tag within the NW&NWSFC territory. Another loop hole is the fact that if a boat goes outside of the nursery area with its nets in the water and then returns back through the nursery area then the EA and/or DEFRA are powerles to do anything about it as it can not proven that the bass were in fact caught within the nursery area. The only way that any form of enforcement could be successfully implemented is via boardings. But there is one slight problem with this in that the netsmen would be well aware of the EA/DEFRA's presence and would not take the risk. Covert operations can not be succesful if the skippers are 'half intelligent'. There is just no sure fire method to success. There will always be this scenario even if the nursey area boundaries are extended to a headland to headland approach (as suggested and requested by SACN). Just because it is a bass nursery area and bass are protected within this rae for the most part of the year, the commercials are still allowed to net for other species within it!! Illegal fishing wise the EAW claim that the main areas targetted are the Saltney, Grenfield areas. I hope that this info is of use to you. Regards Steve

If after general fishing then I'd give Ty Croes area a go. I havn't really been rock fishing for the last few years more into the old SW fly fishing now, but when I used to that was the No.1 favourite, and always the 'old faithful'. A lot of small pollack, wrasse, mackerel, plaice, dogs, more dogs, and even more dogs, gurnardm and maybe even a decent ray or 2. I've even had Tope off there (June time and very small though). If the wind is blowing a hooley into your face (SouthWesters, etc) tyhgen go tto the other side of the Island (half hor drive) and try Llanbadrig (good conger spot) or similar. cheers Steve

Sharkbyte, I share the exact same thoughts and feelings as yourself. However, mine are directed at the WFSA and not the pro-active members of the other organisations that have struggled tirelessly to not only persuade the officials that some form of action is required, but also to try and encourage enthusiasm from regular unaffiliated sea anglers. I have to agree that BB may as well not have even bothered with his pathetic attempt to appease anglers with a 4 cm increase - this is no good to anyone least of all the bass stocks, and anglers should be relatively vocal (to the authorities) about this IMO . A 40cm MLS is only going to result in more discards without any benefits to the breeding stock. A possible increase in fishing effort may also be witnessed. Re angling bodies; I am a member of SACN and BASS.

To all those complaining and criticising. You have all spent a great deal of time typing away here about how frustrated you are feeling towards whatever it is that you are frustrated/angry about. Why don't you spend the next 5 minutes venting your anger/frustration through typing a letter to Ben Bradshaw and displaying the same passionate feelings to him? I know that I have, and probably the same people that you have been dismissing as incompetent have as well. Regards Steve

Will be getting down there Friday morning, staying until late Sunday (at the least). Weather looks as though it is boing to be a cracker. If any one is interested just look for the yaks and/or huge plumes of toxic smoke once I finally get the car going. Steve

Another thing to watch out for is a 'berried' lobster. These are also females and will have the eggs under the tail. The official size for lobster in Wales (North) is 87mm carapace length - you should check with the local SFC byelaws for size in your area. Regarding the traps: I use a string of three, all tied together with an anchor at both ends and enough rope between each pot to enable you to lift each individual pot out of the water without having the weight of the next pot causing you a problem when emptying. I hope this helps.