Whitby's Law Breaking Fishermen Are Not Dishonest

[JB]

How come you stopped trawling John ??? I thought you would have been able to make a decent living from it in them days?

 

How long have you got?

Briefly, I had two other boats at the time, so finances were spread relatively thinly. After the “Mary Allison” was re-engined, there were so many mechanical problems caused by the company that fitted the engine that it was almost six months before we got back fishing properly. I have never worked out how much money was lost. The company that fitted the engine should have been sued for negligence, but the money was not available. When you are in a hole, the only thing to do is to stop digging, so the trawler was sold. I went back lining in the winter, and taking anglers in the summer.

 

C’est la vie!

 

JB

[Guest binatone]

Big cods theory that boats being re engine and working rock hoppers was the beginning of the end for fishing of Whitby is one that will always be debated for years to come.

As JB said modernising your boats when being encouraged financially was something that could only be expected.

There have been so many changes to fishing methods over the years that changing over to rock hoppers was to be expected.

What big cod forgets is that more large spawney cod where caught off Whitby by under powered boats working ropes then any high powered boat could ever whish to catch trawling.

As for having a three mile limit all along the coast, is again a very debateable subject.

If there where no trawlers allowed inside then how long would it be before these area where inaccessible for nets? If where to have a three mile limit then why not for all.

Would you big cod be prepared to stay aback of three miles in summer when you have an off land breeze for days at a time?

One of the big problems that trawlers have today is locating where the best fishing is.

Because the fleet is so small there is not the ground or areas covered anymore.

When there were plenty of boats about, there was always someone who had hauled somewhere when you came up from below to haul. Skippers told each other lies we all know but at the end of the day you could work out where the best of the fishing was and try your best to capitalise on the information that was at hand.

We will have to Waite and see if there are to be any big changes within the CAP and the CFP now that we have reduced our rebate in Brussels this week.

Don’t hold your breath.

As for the pubs ever buzzing again wurzel? I am glad to here that you enjoyed your time in Whitby, hope that you don’t have to become an industrial gypsy again as I hope that you manage your home fishery well.

But if you do am sure you would be made more than welcome in the fisherman’s club as always.

[Guest binatone]

Big cod.

You say that the only place that gets hammered now at this time of year by local boats is the back of the rock. Why do you think this is? Where do you think they go when they are not there? Why do you think that you no longer get boats fishing as far up as the dowsing (south of Humber) or as far down as the north side of shields?

Do you think that it’s because there’s only fish to be caught at the back of the rock?

Or is it that you can only see boats fishing at the back of the rock from the tea stall?

[Simon Everett]

Sitting back and soaking all this up it sounds to me like a very similar situation to farming. After the war farmers were encouraged to grow as much as they could and breed as many cows as possible so as to feed this nation of ours - we got good at it and became self sufficient in food production. The rest of Europe didn't like the fact that we could not only feed ourselves but also have some left over to sell to them (export) - so they slapped quotas on our farmers to slow down their success.

 

The Gvt then changed the rules for rendering plants - suddenly the cookers that produced the meat and bone meal didn't have to run so hot (the new rules) and the result was that one of the sterilising agents which only broke down at the higher temperature had to be withdrawn - the result was BSE spread through the feed which was now not as sterile as it had been for the previous 90 years!! (Farm food manufacturers had been using meat and bone meal in rations for nearly 100 years without any trouble at all until this rule change.) FARMERS were blamed for the BSE outbreak - it was them that was feeding their cows with the stuff so it was their fault. NO, the farmers fed what the manufacturers told them was good to feed and that the ration had been scientifically created to produce either - best growth rate for beef, or milk production for dairy.

 

NOW, we'll get to the bit where the fishing industry comes on the parrallel. The GVT gets fishermen to fish for all they are worth - scientists give out information on the health of the stocks. Boats are encouraged, engines upgraded etc on the back of hand outs. Licenses are GIVEN to fishermen (which when they took the decommission money they sold on for the current value, despite the fact that they paid nothing for it in the first plaace!) Now the rules have changed again...

 

The farming industry cannot change at the rate that is demanded of them - it takes 3 years minimum to produce a new milker (from date of inseminating the cow, to the day the resulting calf can then give birth herself and become a milker) - but government wants change NOW, TODAY.

 

The fishing industry has been hit in a similar way - they have been encouraged to fish the stocks to the Nth egree - but the fishermen that did this KNEW they were overfishing the stocks, but they did it anyway, because if they didn't someone else would. NOW, the charter skipper at the start of this thread quotes about 50 or 60 fish in a day best about 8lbs...dida dida. The thing is, years ago those 50 or 60 fish would have yielded a few cod of over 20lbs. YES, there are numbers of fish about, but they have progressively been chased down to smaller and smaller sizes.

 

The boats that are left are being forced to fish harder and harder becuase of rising prices - but the result is that the fish are still being hammerd harder than they can stand. I am not offering any solutions - I am simply giving a round up of the thread and recognising from all the input that the commercial fishermen are being hemmed in by rules in a similar way to the farmers.

 

I like angling - I am not against commercial fishing, BUT I do wish things were a bit more restrained and there could be a system that allowed enough fish for anglers to enjoy their pastime with GOOD catches of decent fish (not greedy catches like the initial wreck success off the south coast of 2 tons per day per boat (Boa Pescador in the early 70s) - that was just as irresponsible and it was due to greed on the charter boat, but was reported as success.) A limit for number of fish caught should apply to rod and line anglers too - when you have had a good day, STOP. OR spread your day out a bit and catch a bit more slowly. Commercials should also show restraint, not try and get an extra few boxes ashore for some bunce. THEN we would ALL see fish all the time. The current "grab it while you can" mentality will be the death of fish for everyone.

[Guest binatone]

I think that you can only admire the restraint of someone who is told that he can only go out and produce food for 12 days a month without any compensation from anybody for doing so, unlike a farmer who is compensated by us to do nothing for 365days a year in an industry that is also there to produce food.

Take away our subsidies and we would and do survive. Show me a farmer who would?

[big_cod]

Big cod.

You say that the only place that gets hammered now at this time of year by local boats is the back of the rock. Why do you think this is? Where do you think they go when they are not there? Why do you think that you no longer get boats fishing as far up as the dowsing (south of Humber) or as far down as the north side of shields?

Do you think that it’s because there’s only fish to be caught at the back of the rock?

Or is it that you can only see boats fishing at the back of the rock from the tea stall?

 

Binitone i wish i had a pound for every codling that has been caught from the back of the rock and so would you millions of pounds have been earned from that small erea and from the waddy, you been in there lately mate.

[Guest Feels like Winter to me]

What is the waddy ???? Like shawadywaddy??

[big_cod]

Its prohibated area a 3 mile limit which by law is ellegal to trawl in there .

[Jaffa]

Its prohibated area a 3 mile limit which by law is ellegal to trawl in there .

 

How big an area is it? and is there any real enforcement?

[big_cod]

Hi jaffa there is a 3 mile limit to the north of whitby which runs from sandsend to staithes .

 

The distance between sandsend and staithes at a guess is approx 5 miles long and the closed zone goes out to 3 mile a closed area for all trawling.

Now small vessels longlining through the winter once use to get a good living there but guess what shafted the place( ONLY ONE GUESS NOW)

yes you guessed right.

Somebody not mention any names got fined £350 plus costs approx £450 for fishing in broad daylight at 1.2 mile the man in question is a very wealthy person now is that taking the **** or what ,you get more for not having no insurance on your car.