Richard Seager/ Sea Angler Magazine

[Toerag]

It helps keep the bait fresher?

 

Not when they use live eels or feather up fresh mackerel it doesn't. Although the skippers aren't selling the fish direct (as far as I know) I'm pretty sure their punters are taking it back to their local pub/restaurant and selling it there. Virtually impossible to police unfortunately.

[sam-cox]

very bad news!

[sam-cox]

Any one know anything new on this matter?

I seem to remember this topic last year when these fish were being hamarded, then it was droped.

I would like the question answered if possable, were these bass sold?

[Toerag]

Any one know anything new on this matter?

I seem to remember this topic last year when these fish were being hamarded, then it was droped.

I would like the question answered if possable, were these bass sold?

 

 

 

99% certain, yes. I did mention this earlier in the thread actually, if ou want ot know for sure then phone Mr. Seager up.

 

Due to poor weather / spawning not many bass have been taken on these tides. The fish are still there allegedly, but not really feeding.

[chappers]

Course they were sold he is a registered MFV and you wouldn't expect anything less.

When i first started charter fishing most skippers held MFV licenses and selling the catch was part of the game. When some of you started there wasn't such a thing as a charter fleet and it was all about hitching a ride on a fishing boat on his day off.I'm not sure what it was that persuaded them to sell/ give up their licenses during the recession (as it curtailed my fishing too)but now it is a rare occurence to see a charter boat with an MFV license..............Discuss

[Toerag]

I'm not sure what it was that persuaded them to sell/ give up their licenses during the recession (as it curtailed my fishing too)but now it is a rare occurence to see a charter boat with an MFV license..............Discuss

 

 

 

Money, pure and simple. Fishing Licenses or Entitlements are worth a fair bit of money these days. What happened was this:-

 

In the old days you had to be a registered fishing boat to sell fish, so all the charterboats were commercially registered. MAFF then intrdouced the licensing scheme whereby anyone wishing to start fishing had to obtain a licence. The number of licenses available and their 'size' was restricted by the size of the fleet at the time, with no additional licenses allowed, so consequently they became worth something. As the charterboats had passed the golden age of 'industrial wrecking' they didn't really need to be commercially licensed anymore, so they sold their licenses to make a quick buck. Currently a license for a charterboat would be worth about £30k.

[sam-cox]

Although I object strongly to these swaning fish being targeted by anyone, the issue that the angling press printed fish that may have been sold to me is verry bad P/R for conservation.

[AnglerTom]

Although I object strongly to these swaning fish being targeted by anyone, the issue that the angling press printed fish that may have been sold to me is verry bad P/R for conservation.

 

I agree with what you're saying, but most of the readers of the magazine probably don't realise he has a commercial license! It was probably wrong of them to print the photo - but the editor might not have realised himself - they probably don't find out everything about the origins or final destinations of the fish in each photo. On the 'dead fish in a magazine' issue - I'm personally more concerned about seeing dead conger and ray in there - killed for a photo and then most probably chucked.

 

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

 

On the 'spawning bass' issue - I've been out fishing with Seager a couple of times, in competitions and other general days, and he's a really hard working skipper, finds the fish (most of the time!), and has a commercial license because it would be silly not to! He takes the anglers out - they want to catch fish - so he takes them to a place he knows they'll catch. When all the other commercial boys are drifting around 'the mark', he'd be silly not to 'cash in' on the situation. I know what they're effectively doing is shooting themselves in the feet, (and not just them, but the islands' future fishing tourism efforts) - but what they're doing is perfectly legal.

 

I will continue - but is there a thread devoted to this issue? If there is, feel free to move these comments to it!

 

The problem, in my opinion, is the stubbornness of the local Sea Fisheries' Committee. Until they are ready to listen to the economical (and conservationist) arguments aired by now hundreds of local and UK anglers, nothing will change. There is more pressure mounting, and those letters by Andy Marquis and Steve Coppolo in the local press this week will help - help not only put pressure on the Sea Fisheries' Committee but also get non-angling islanders involved, which it appears they are starting to do. 'Rapala9' set the ball rolling last year by writing the letter stating facts and figures surrounding the situation, and continued with a brilliant letter in the Guernsey Press a few weeks ago. Since then, more and more people (like myself) are coming out of the woodwork and sharing their opinions, which is healthy to say the least.

 

As Leon Roskilly said, all the local debate can be found by going to This is Guernsey Viewpoints - Bass - You should all read it - if nothing else but for the post by 'local commercial fisherman' A.M. Le Prevost. He says, amongst other things - "I need to confirm that Defra, the UK government body responsible for stock management and commercial fishing activity, does not classify sea bass as a species under any pressure whatsoever. "

 

What he hasn't mentioned is that Defra is a large government department run by politicians who might not always know what they're on about, sat behind their desks in London. He didn't mention the fact that Guernsey has it's own Sea Fisheries Department anyway! He didn't mention that 99.9% of people would call taking tonnes of spawning bass per week from a small reef area over a 3 month period pressure.

 

He goes on to say "there is no scientific evidence confirming claims of breeding in local waters" - so the bass are suddenly turning up on this small mark full of roe for a general get-together and chit chat!?

 

He's whinging about lack of scientific evidence - and yet his letter is filled with "the bass having travelled from areas far away " and "these huge shoals, the immensity of which would be difficult to describe" - Great, but where are the facts? And then he has the cheek to say Rapala9 gave 'pointless statistics'!

 

It is clear evidence of the problem we're up against as recreational anglers - mainly the short-sightedness of a large proportion of the commercial fishermen out there. So far, Guernsey Sea Fisheries are siding with them (which of course they would do - because they're out there to look after the commercial fleet!), but I might have to point out to Sea Fisheries that the number of anglers expressing their views about the issue now outnumbers the local commercial fishing population.

 

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

 

On the 'visiting charter boats' issue - I think the current situation is just about healthy, as long as a proportion of the visiting anglers practise catch-and-release. As Toerag said, there isn't a lot that can be done about anglers selling their catch to pubs when they get home. I was fishing one of the most popular banks the other day, and a Guernsey commercial had long-lined a 2 mile stretch of the top of the bank, making drifting difficult to say the least! I haven't personally seen a drop in flattie numbers or size, but it might be that I've become a better angler over the past few years and are therefore catching more! or that there is a slow 'knock-on' effect happening now. I believe that there is a good stock of flatfish in deeper water away from the banks (in the Channel Islands area), which is keeping the local fishing going - unfortunately I have no scientific evidence to back up these claims!

[Steve Coppolo]

So far, Guernsey Sea Fisheries are siding with them (which of course they would do - because they're out there to look after the commercial fleet!), but I might have to point out to Sea Fisheries that the number of anglers expressing their views about the issue now outnumbers the local commercial fishing population.

 

The Guernsey sea fisheries committee, or whatever it might be, most definately are looking after the commercial fleet as are SFC's all around the UK. However, that is not their remit. Their job is to look after the FISHERY. That means looking after the fish stocks, making sure that fishing is sustainable and that they are getting the best from the fishery. Allowing the current free for all to carry on is probably NOT sustainable and definately NOT getting the best from the fishery.

[AnglerTom]

From States of Guernsey Sea Fisheries

 

The Sea Fisheries Role:

 

- Administration of the fisheries licensing regime for all British registered fishing vessels

- Enforcing fisheries legislation on land and at sea

- Compiling catch and effort statistics on the fishing industry

- Administration of imports and exports of aquaculture products

- Day to Day liaison with industry members and other local Government Departments

 

Their main job is to enforce fisheries legislation. If that legislation provides sustainable management, then it's enforcement will produce sustainable fishing. It would be best if they made sure fishing was sustainable, but that's not their 'remit'. I agree with you that the current situation is not sustainable, but I've already implied that by my last post