Someone Is Listening

[Ian Burrett]

QUOTE

The ironic thing is, in Canada they also blamed temperature change. In their case it was falling temperatures

 

Everdently cod don't like it too cold either, 2 degrees, below that they head south.

 

That will be why there's no cod in iceland and Norway then

[Leon Roskilly]

they certainly like to dramatise it . they like you to believe that there is not a single cod left on the grand banks, I know this to be totaly untrue and infact there are guite large numbers of cod in places on the banks, or there was 5 years ago when a mate was fishing there. so I do take what they say with a pinch of salt, I am also sure they cherry pick the information to suit themselves.

 

 

Bonavista Bay and Trinity Bay are stuffed with cod.

 

The local fishermen can't understand why they aren't allowed to fish for them.

 

But according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans those fish are all that remains of what was once the largest population of cod in the world. (There are actually ten separate spawning populations of cod along the coast of Canada).

 

The problem is that as the numbers decline, cod are one of the species that huddle tighter and tighter together, so when you look at areas like that, there seems to be fish a plenty, but overall there are very few, and that population is all that's left that one day, if left alone, may spread to re-populate the banks.

 

I read an article a while back that explained that polar cod (a small brown gadoid of no commercial value) eats the egg and fry of Atlantic cod, but in turn are eaten by adult Atlantic cod.

 

When there were millions of Atlantic cod on the banks, there were few polar cod, so their predation on the fry and eggs of the Atlantic cod was negligible.

 

But when the Atlantic Cod population crashed, the polar cod population was able to expand considerably, using the food supply now available that the Atlantic cod was no longer eating, and not being predated upon by the bigger Atlantic cod.

 

And so when the few remaining Atlantic cod attempt to spawn, their eggs and fry are eliminated by the polar cod.

 

Because their numbers were so drastically reduced, the Atlantic cod have now lost control of their environmental niche and are out-competed by the little brown cod, eating their food, their eggs and their young.

 

So, it's not simply a question of waiting for better climatic conditions. That will also favour the polar cod.

 

Unless something happens to the polar cod, the Atlantic cod may never be able to reclaim the banks now.

 

And that is the fear of what might be the fate of North Sea cod, as other species take over their weakened position, eating the available food, their eggs and their young.

 

Tight Lines - leon

[wurzel]

quote

It must be tough going through life believing the whole world is conspiring against you, all these scientsist who don't know how to fish properly or who just have hidden agenda's to keep their own job going....

 

you forgot to mention the policticions, It is tough but some body has to do it.

 

QUOTE

when it collapses totally and even you have no fish to catch

 

Its remarks like this that spur me on. you've only got to look at the increaseing amounts of bass to realise this is not possible.

[JB]

QUOTE

Hello John,

I found that anchoring to the wrecks and useing large baits prodused a much better class of fish, I was wondering if you had tried it.

You say that the size of the cod you catch have been smaller, I wonder if this is also true of the cod around the many oil rigs, where there is no fishing and a mile exclusion zone, pahaps one of the stand by vessels would know.

Hello Wurzel,

I tried anchoring on wrecks about eight years ago, when I had the Achates. We did not get any significant increase in cod catches, but a great increase in lings, most of them small. Small lings are hard to return, particularly at anchor when they wash away from the boat and the seagulls generally get at them. We temporarily shelved the job and have not yet got back to it. It may be a future possibility, as there seem to be far fewer lings in the shallower water we are working in these days.

 

I am not complaining about our offshore catches. They were good when we first started fishing off and are still good. But the inshore ground and wrecks you used to work when you fished in this area are considerably depleted. In the case of the wrecks, it can only be angling activity, as there has been very little wreck netting in the last six years.

 

As for the rigs that we can get away with fishing, and the spiders, the catches are nothing special. However, the sub sea pumps, risers, diffusers and some wellheads fish very well.

 

The amount of fishing effort on the offshore wrecks is negligible; in fact the amount of commercial fishing outside 12 miles is negligible in my working area. How so with you?

 

Good fishing to you.

JB

Edited November 3, 2005 by John and Michele

[M.P]

I doubt if anyone will ever get the commercial fisherman to admit that they are ONE of the biggest problems to the fishing disasters we are now faced with.

To them it's a business to earn money, that's all they are interested in, money and profit.

 

It's not just the commercial fisherman that start to hop and shout if there is a threat to losing their income. Just about every business will start to shout out all the hardship stories of losing money, loss of profits etc, they will be faced with, if a certain product has to be withdrawn or banned from the market. loads of traders will suddenly start yelling out they can't or won't be able to make a living etc. However, most manage to survive by finding alternative methods to keep their banks flourishing and pockets lined with money, and so they should, they are self motivated, hard working and determined to carry on earning money one way or another.

 

The commercial fisherman is going to be the last person to admit to the fish crises and he will continue to add to the problem right to the very end. Of course they won't admit to it, they will always keep saying there's plenty of fish for them to catch, it's their method of an income, they will try to hang on to it as long as possible, they won't give in or admit to the destruction they are causing, at least not until such a time it will be too late, even for them to make a living or to find any alternative way of earning a crust such as turning to charter fishing. In the meantime they will search out every nook and cranny, taking/ maiming or killing every fish and everything else left on the seabed to carry on earning their profits. In the end, when it does come, they will blame everything and everyone else other then themselves.

[JB]

H John

I believe that there has been a forced negative evolution of fish stocks

 

with genetics if you breed a 40 pound cod with another 40 pound cod then the offspring will be likely to turn into 40 lb plus cod.

 

A 40 poud cod will produce 8-10 million eggs

 

Correct me if i am wrong but Cod used to breed at 4-5 pounds and now I have seen some full of Roe as small as 1.5 pounds. These fish will never grow into 40 pounders as there genetic make up has changed to allow it to breed earlier.

Also they will only produce 1-2 million eggs

 

The folowing goes someway to explaining the cod demise

 

Big Fish Important in the Gene Pool

 

June 23, 2005 — By Reuters

LONDON — Anglers chasing big fish and leaving the small fry might be doing far more harm than good according to marine scientists in the United States.

 

Charles Birkeland at the University of Hawaii and Paul Dayton at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California have discovered that big fish are vital to maintaining populations, and taking them does crucial damage.

 

Not only does the fertility of big females increase dramatically compared with small fish, but the offspring of big fish tend to grow bigger and faster than those of little ones, New Scientist magazine reported.

 

This means that taking the big fish weakens the gene pool by effectively favoring the fish that grow more slowly and stay small.

 

Source: Reuters

Hi Ian,

With human genetics 5-foot parents begat children that usually grow to be about the same size - although these days, as we’re getting better and more food, kids are generally growing bigger than their parents. But humans have an upwards growing period which usually ceases during their teens; and a maximum height limit. Whereas fish, in general – providing they are getting well fed – tend to grow all of their lives. Therefore if they breed all their lives, they obviously won’t begat fish which can only reach the size of the parent fish at the time of breeding. So what you say is difficult for me to get my fisherman’s head around.

 

The fact that American examples are given puts me off a little, as they are probably talking about different species in different seas. Do you have any scientific information appertaining to our local problem?

JB

[wurzel]

hello John,

Quote

The amount of fishing effort on the wrecks is negligible; in fact the amount of commercial fishing outside 12 miles is negligible in my working area. How so with you?

 

It's the same for us, we can spend a couple of days steaming around and see no commercial fishing boats, sometimes there are a beamer or two , or a french stern trawler working in the midle, we get a few smaller beamers working up to the 6 mile line. dont forget John it is only 70 to 100 miles across our bit of the pond.

It's been the same on the closer wrecks here, although last spring there was more sighn of life than has been for several years, I put that down to lower water temps than for several years. as for the anchoring thing, Others who have tried it here seem to prefer it , less fuel , more time fishing and more variety, but of cause only on the smaller tides, every area is different, as I said before you are 200 miles further north.

 

Still some cod left then, there are some on here that don't believe there is, and those that do, think I won't rest untill I have caught the very last one.

 

There still some here but nothing like what there was a few years ago, and the creep seems to be heading north , by that I mean the wrecks to the south are now barren of cod, and there has been no commercial or angling pressure to speak of on any of these wrecks, it seems that the wrecks on the otherside of the channel are repopulating with bass, and I hear reports of good catches further south on our side, being a bit of a home bird these days I wish they would hurry up and reach my patch .

I wonder how long it is before you see some.

Nice to talk John, I will see about that big set, then we can realy put the world to rights.

Now back to the affray

[wurzel]

QUOTE by M.P

I doubt if anyone will ever get the commercial fisherman to admit that they are ONE of the biggest problems to the fishing disasters we are now faced with.

 

 

You realy do sound like a MP.

so where are these fishing disasters you are faced with?

[M.P]

WURZEL.

Plenty of disasters along the coast from Norfolk down to St Osyth, hardly any fish being caught at venues, which just a few years ago were well known for producing some good beach fishing. Just about every match ends up with just a handful of fish, all small stuff. This weekend there will be in the region of 100 anglers fishing a match at Felixstowe, what do you think will be the top weight. I reckon from the way you describe the abundance of fish, top weight should be well in the excess of 30lb, but i reckon it will struggle to reach double figures, and we could safely bet, that there will not be a double figure cod caught. The last one i saw from the beach was 18lb, in 1979. I will let you know.

 

 

P.S. No I'm not an M.P, they normally get everything wrong, i think i am right.

[wurzel]

So M.P how do you account for this remark,

QUOTE

We do have now excelant fishing hear to offer thornback ray in large numbers, smoothounds in large numbers, a reasnable large tope fishery"

Sorry Sam I can't resist it, either the grounds are fished to distuction or they aren't which is it?

 

The same applies to the grand banks, of cause the fishing effort made a differents, I am not that niave. but the impact is nothing compared to the enviroment whether it's global warming or a shift in the oceon currents. and the cod stop at the grand banks proves it don't make much diffence to the recovery,The same will applies in the North sea.