what is the greatest threat to english angling

[Dales]

What are you on about?

 

When did I say i needed to catch a fish every few minutes? I resent that, my fishing is not like that at all.

 

ALL I SAID WAS THAT CORMORANTS AND OTTERS ARE A THREAT TO ANGLING

 

Predators are a natural part of the foodchain, but when an otter comes in and eats all the fish in a pond it's hard to fish there. You're completely twisting what i'm saying.

 

:angry: :angry:

 

 

Maybe I see things slightly different. I think there is a shortage of predators and more should be done to increase the amount of Otters. Maybe build more roosts for cormorants. I think we need more predation it should help thin out the amount of anglers. I think it would be great for wildlife to have lots of ponds with no or very few fish in them.

[Worms]

But that's just it, i'm not saying whether it's wrong or right or allowed or not i'm just saying they eat fish, and have become a threat. Cormorants have only been pushed inland due to human ignoranc through overfishing and general pillaging of the seas, i've got nothing wrong with cormorants or otters, i'm just saying they're a threat!

 

:lol:

 

I thought that that kind of thought was down to Human ignorance and why we have this ridiculous "fish are great and everything else is in my way" attitude. Read the facts and not the Angling Times!

[Phone]

davedave,

 

Not very well - - - (whatever it is you're just saying?). In two dimensions a definition for how you choose the word "threat" would be helpful.

 

Cory,

 

"and carpers"? - - - - maybe you missed the title of the thread. Or, you might define "English angling" differently? Maybe you mean [your kind of] angling - certainly not English angling.

 

Dales,

 

As soon as fish stocks reached a natural balance there wouldn't be "too many" anythings. Including anglers.

 

All,

 

I can't possibly see how this thread continues. Androo, in post 2 (TWO) succinctly in a terse and proper manner gave the only possible answer.

 

He did fail to mention in that two word response the "damage" caused by chemicals and encroachment of "non-angling" humans on angling at it's current level. But someone did mention it (I think). You can kill a lot of fish with poison that don't immediately damage the "food quality" of the carcass. More effecient than netting really.

 

Phone

[Dick Dastardly]

English anglers.

 

Ditto

[Dick Dastardly]

But that's just it, i'm not saying whether it's wrong or right or allowed or not i'm just saying they eat fish, and have become a threat. Cormorants have only been pushed inland due to human ignoranc through overfishing and general pillaging of the seas, i've got nothing wrong with cormorants or otters, i'm just saying they're a threat!

 

:lol:

 

 

Not true mate. There has allways been a natural head of "inland" cormorants.Addmitedly they have increased due to the easy availability of food (thanks to overstocked waters). Its ignorance like this that will be our down fall.

 

Dave dont follow like a sheep mate do some research and get the real facts before stating them as such!

[Dave H]

Not true mate. There has allways been a natural head of "inland" cormorants.Addmitedly they have increased due to the easy availability of food (thanks to overstocked waters). Its ignorance like this that will be our down fall.

 

Dave dont follow like a sheep mate do some research and get the real facts before stating them as such!

 

It’s not cormorants and never has been. In the 80’s it was even on the news that day ticket fisheries would be wiped out within 10 years. Well in the South East I am sure there is more DTW’s 20 years on. It is only man out of all the animals on this earth that is capable of destroying this Earth....And I read somewhere we are the most intelligent species I think it was in a fairy tale I read to my Niece before she went to bed once, she found it very funny

Edited February 21, 2012 by Hawk

[Dales]

Don't know if any one knows Walthamstow Reservoirs? It has around 300 cormorants on it and fish are still caught there and the surrounding area. I am regularly told while on the Lea that I am wasting my time as all the foreigners have eaten all the Pike but yet I am catching. I started a thread recently about newbies having unrealistic expectations. I should have realised that it is not just newbies it's anglers as a whole.

 

Walthamstow is certainly not a great silver fish venue but it still holds lots of good fish they even have lots of trout reservoirs and trout over winter on them. Those who bleat on about bird predation some how ignore this site because it does not give the answer they want.

[Renrag39]

@Cory- Went a bit overboard in your first post, but I get your point!

(couldn't resist having a poke )

 

Davedave, I know what you are getting at. What you say is true in the literal sense but apart from overstocked commercials, they merely redress the true balance of an ecosystem. Without artificially high stock levels and anglers introducing food, I'm sure you're aware that the stock levels would fall naturally (without management) through starvation without any predation from Cormorants and Otters. I'd rather catch fewer, healthier fish from a 'natural' water with a full, balanced ecosystem, that lots of stunted fish or fish that have no choice but to eat your bait, as there is a deficit of natural food to sustain them all.

 

With regards to EE anglers, I know many practice C&R, even in their home countries. But there will always be the minority who practice it for financial gain, EE or homegrown, who have an impact and usually use 'unsporting' methods such as netting and longlining.

I can respect the right to eat what you catch within reason. I eat sea fish but not river fish. Why? I just prefer the taste... But if you want to eat Pike, you're allowed 2 a day, providing they are under 60cm long. Forgot the bag and size limit for 'other' fish.

 

Just not allowed to eat Eels atm, until they recover a bit. They're the only fish I have noticed a real decline in.

[AddictedToScopex]

...there will always be the minority who practice it for financial gain, EE or homegrown, who have an impact and usually use 'unsporting' methods such as netting and longlining.

 

Renrag

 

I think the reason for this is simple. It is our woeful grip on the situation. As Captain Cojones mentioned on another post the other day the spanish enforcement officers carry 9mm pistols. Would you steal a fish or two knowing it could wind up with you being chased by an armed officer? Our bailiffs our spread way too thinly, command zero respect as they have very little power to do anything and are told to target the places that earn the EA the most money such as carp puddles. As well as this if you report set lines etc very little happens and you end up pulling them out yourself putting yourself at risk should the gang return to collect their fish.

 

 

Dales

 

 

Spot on. As always people filter out what they want to use to boost their campaign and ignore anything to the contrary. There are countless examples of this all across politics of every kind.

[chesters1]

But that's just it, i'm not saying whether it's wrong or right or allowed or not i'm just saying they eat fish, and have become a threat. Cormorants have only been pushed inland due to human ignoranc through overfishing and general pillaging of the seas, i've got nothing wrong with cormorants or otters, i'm just saying they're a threat!

 

 

what nonsense a handful of otters ? go back over time and there were thousands ,probably tripping over each other and still there was fish ,if they were so destructive they would have starved to death millions of years ago.

 

the "problem" with natural predators came about when gentry "owned" fish ,predominately game fish and otters became foes and keepers killed them ,now we "own" course fish (which to replace unnaturally is extremely expensive) so the otters are foes country wide.

if left to nature not man everything balances out and we both can fish.

mink are no problem at all to fish the last thing they do is fish and corms have always fished inland around the coast (if they are so destructive why do ponds have fish in near the coast?) so the problem lies not in predation but man or mans influence

 

man himself used to eat course fish on an industrial scale that all but stopped in the Victorian age with the invention of the train ,why didn't fish disappear with both otters and humans eating them? the problem appears to have become worse since the 50's gradually getting worse if theres few humans eating fish ,hardly any otters eating fish then its not bloody otters

 

its extremely easy to stop otters on private land its called a fence ,its easy to stop cormorants its called a licence to shoot and mink are the easiest critter on earth to trap but doing all of that wont get to why fish stocks are dropping ,you cannot shoot EA members ,the water company members or farmers unfortunately

Edited February 21, 2012 by chesters1