Boating during closed season

[Jeff S]

Can anyone tell me if boating is prohibited during the close season on rivers?

 

I didn't go near the river during this time although I did see a few boats on the canal.

 

Cheers

[phil hackett]

Dvarcet:

Can anyone tell me if boating is prohibited during the close season on rivers?

 

I didn't go near the river during this time although I did see a few boats on the canal.

 

Cheers

The answers is no!

[Paul_D]

quote:

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Can anyone tell me if boating is prohibited during the close season on rivers?

 

I didn't go near the river during this time although I did see a few boats on the canal.

 

Cheers

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The answers is no!

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But it should be if all the arguments put forward by the pro-closed season supporters were valid.

[Floater]

Boating is all year round, and if you paid as much for the priveledge as boat owners do you would certainly want to be able to use it all year too! Also remember if it wasn't for boats there would be no canals. Then again a lot of boat owners like sportsbike riders are fairweather sailors, summer weekends only, with the hire boat holiday trade being the bulk users. Boat owners already have a self inflicted close season between October and April anyway 'cos its too cold for boating to be much fun!

 

[ 31. July 2003, 02:01 PM: Message edited by: Floater ]

[Apache]

We had a few boats on thre Thames during the closed seson with some interesting (IE: semi-naked) women on top!

[Peter Waller]

I can understand the grief that dog owners can walk the bank during the close season, and anglers can't. When the owners let their beloved turd factories off the leash, and the wee doggies start routing around in obvious nesting sites, it does rather obviate any gain in keeping anglers away from such sites. But then two wrongs don't make a right !!

[Paul_D]

quote:

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I can understand the grief that dog owners can walk the bank during the close season, and anglers can't. When the owners let their beloved turd factories off the leash, and the wee doggies start routing around in obvious nesting sites, it does rather obviate any gain in keeping anglers away from such sites. But then two wrongs don't make a right !!

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True Peter, it's one of the reasons we never walk our wee Doggies on the canal. Another being the ignorant pole fishing clan who think they alone have the right to be there and subsequently can block the towpath with their elongated equipment. We much prefer unleashing our charges amongst the heather up on the moors, hopefully not weaving too much destruction amongst the semi-tame avine population prior to them and their offspring being obliterated by the shooting fraternity.

[Jeff S]

Cheers for the replies. The reason for inquiring was that I am starting to build a kayak. I'm sure I'll have to license it as well. This will be down the road a bit though.

 

One more question Peter. Why is it alright for a horse to crap in my driveway but not alright for dogs?

 

There are signs everywhere saying "NO FOULING"

[phil hackett]

Somewhat misleading this statement “ .........if it wasn't for boats there would be no canals.”

 

We had a very good disused canal rich in Biodiversity on my doorstep, Rochdale Canal. It was maintained without the locks working to supply water for what is left of the industry on the outskirts of Manchester City Centre and as an overspill for the upland reservoirs when they are full.

 

Last year it was opened up at a cost of 26 M from lottery funds for boating. 6 months previously 20 miles of it was scheduled as a SSSI site because of its biodiversity which included rare water plants, native crayfish, water voles and many other insects and invertebrates. The first thing BW did was dredge it from bank to bank, ergo loss of rare weed, foraging habitat for voles, etc. The one stretch that had the crayfish in it no longer holds them. Away on the back of a lorry to a landfill site somewhere to perish.

 

This year, and we’ve had a good summer, I’ve assessed it along a 5 miles stretch and the weed has gone. I’ve seen no voles at all. The water is always turbid where it was very clear before. The rare plants it had need clear water to photosynthesise and they are not getting it.

And that is on less than a dozen boats a week!!!!

 

The fish stocks thanks to BW are now all resident in the Mersey because BW cannot come up with a locking system to stop the vandals opening the locks and dewatering each stretch. And yes there has been a concerted effort by the vandals to dewater each stretch in turn.

 

From the dozen boats a week that use it, the canal now has a thin oily film to it where it never had before.

 

The environmental destruction boating has caused on this canal is scandalous, so much so that I’m requesting EN to prosecute BW for wantonly damaging a SSSI under their Management Agreement.

The project in real terms has been a big white elephant and an unmitigated environmental disaster.

 

Boating and potential opening up of disused canals for boating is in my opinion a licence for BW and the weekend Admirals to commit environmental vandalism.

 

You say if anglers paid as much as boaters do for the privilege we’d want it all year round. For the environmental damage BW and boaters do to the biodiversity of those canals you are getting away with it far to cheaply IMO. You are not paying the full cost of you destruction in environmental terms and BW, EN and the EA are not adhering to the Polluter Pays Principle.

 

As to the self-imposed close season by boaters, that is their choice but unlike anglers on river you do have a choice, and you choose not to boat during the colder months. Boaters under this choice, choose to boat when nature is at its most sensitive, thereby inflicting probably unacceptable damage on the ecosystem.

[Jeff S]

Phil,

I sympathize with your view about your canal. It's a shame what has happened to it. Maybe with time your canal will return to what it was before. Sounds like it is going to take lots of time from what you describe.

 

There has to be other reasons behind the destruction of such a nice place. A lot of money was involved. Surely it had nothing to do with jobs??

 

I once witnessed the attempted erradication of common carp from a refuge in the US. I won't say where but the carp weren't native and after dynamite and then poisoning carp were still present at the cost of which I never found out. Many birds and other animals didn't benefit as well as they would have liked.

 

Sometimes we ought to stand back and let nature find it's own balance IMO.

 

Kayaks don't need motors... Very quiet too.