WEST MERSEA BOAT NICKED FOR 20 UNDERSIZED BASS

[sam-cox]

Last week a commercial fisherman from West Mersea Essex was nicked for 20 undersized bass.

The fisherman is a part timer with a small lisenced boat.He had taked two week of his normal job to go fishing.The fish were found in his fish merchants chiller.

I have spoken to other local commercial fisherman and they hope he has the book throwen at him, they are talking of his boat being confiscated and a fine of at least 10,000 quid.The fisherman that I spoke to both said that this is all we need with current pressure from anglers, this will give them plenty of amo to nail our coffins.

Personally I think us anglers need to get our house in order, as I posted last week the fisheries officer I met on Southend pier was telling anglers to throw back the dead under sized bass they had in thier bags. These anglers should of been nicked to set a standard.

ANGLERS KILL FAR MORE UNDERSIZED BASS THAN GILLNETTERS NETTERS. We need to realy get to grips with anglers taking undersized bass and on anglers selling thier catches, the law needs testing.

[bigdunny]

hey sam m8...I thought commercial fishermen never done anything naughty lmao .....there was me thinking it was all us bad evil anglers that were to blame for the mass death's of undersized fish

 

[ 12. September 2005, 06:04 PM: Message edited by: bigdunny ]

[Guest conger tamer]

Hang em High

[Guest conger tamer]

probably a scoTTish skate angler collecting bait!

[macky]

ANGLERS KILL FAR MORE UNDERSIZED BASS THAN GILLNETTERS

 

 

i seriously doubt that!

[sam-cox]

commercial fisherman use 90 mil mest at the moment when using gill netts, small fish swim through, most large fish bounce off.I think 90 mil is to small but while the MLS is 36cm thats what they use.

Each weekend on piers and beaches around the country anglers are catching killing and taking home small bass, each time I fish Soputhend pier I see anglers keeping undersized bass. A few years ago i saw 5 anglers catching 8 inch bass then cutting them up for bait to catch more undersized bass. This is happening, the other day I was fishing a mark on the Crouch when an elderly angler wearing a dear stalker hat walked past me, he said caught much, i replied that i had only just cast out and asked what he had caught. He said half a dozen bass for the pot, I asked what size, he said all around half a pound.

A few weeks ago I saw a guy at Bradwell walking back from the sea wall he had 8 10 inch bass in his bucket, when i asked him about them he said sizelimits only aply to commercials.

Last year on the pier I challenged a Spanish man about the 3 Tesco bags of vey small bass that he had, he tried to reply in a broken spanish crossed with english claiming he didnt speek English. His luck had just ran out as walking past at the time were a pair of English Spanish teacher who translated for me, he then tipped the three bags of very small bass back.

 

The only commercial fisherman I can think of who may catch lots of undersized bass are prawn trawelers.Who fish shallow creeks with small mesh.

[***Simon***]

ANGLERS KILL FAR MORE UNDERSIZED BASS THAN GILLNETTERS NETTERS.

 

as soon as a layer of big fish is in the nets then how are small fish ment to get through the holes if they are blocked by bigger fish???????

 

dont think we kill more undersized bass than the commecials do

[sam-cox]

macky, you realy should get out more mate, Im out all the timefishing watching and lurning. Im on the phone talking to my contacts getting info.

From hear to Cornwall I have seen anglers taking undersized bass.

There is an farmer local to me, he owns lots of land that has miles of the sea wall on it, each year he has family BBQs on the sea wall. His favorite trick is to catch fresh small bass and bung them straight on the BBQ, whos policeing him?

If 10 undersized bass are caught from Southend pier each weekend then multiply that across the UK and thats lots of small bass.

[JRT]

sam-cox:

Last year on the pier I challenged a Spanish man about the 3 Tesco bags of vey small bass that he had, he tried to reply in a broken spanish crossed with english claiming he didnt speek English. His luck had just ran out as walking past at the time were a pair of English Spanish teacher who translated for me, he then tipped the three bags of very small bass back.

Should have thrown him in the tosser! I do agree that anglers and netters should be prosecuted for under sized fish. One rule for all.

[sam-cox]

thank you JRT, a man who sees sense, we have to practice what wee preach.