Anglers Blamed for Endangered Fish Stocks

[maverick of Poole]

Bill - you say that the charter skippers look after their marks, if that's the case why do they bother steaming all the way over here? Could it be that they've fished out the marks on their side of the channel?

 

Toerag

 

Definately not! I think you and some of the other channel islanders are looking for something that isn't there or at least not as bad as some would have us believe. You are definately reading the reasons anglers come to your island wrongly.

 

Our group comes over to Alderney regularly for the whole experience not just the fishing. It’s the camaraderie, the beer and the food that make up the whole package, it’s a holiday not a cash generating exercise. I have been to your island for three years running and have never had what I would call a bonanza in fact we have on some/most days really struggled but then we are fully satisfied when we catch the target species. The first year we visited we were island bound (due to weather) for 2 days out of four. That in effect gave us less than a days bank fishing with just a few small fish caught but still returned the following year. If we did it for the cash I for one along with a lot of other anglers would certainly go hungry. The fishing really isn’t as good as a lot would have us believe, the fish are there but certainly not easy to catch. We can catch Bass, tope, Bream, Flounder, Conger, Plaice all the rays and more besides at home in good numbers. We cannot however catch Brill or Turbot regularly. Part of the draw to the island for us is the chance to get away from the missus, the pressures of work and the chance to catch a Brill or Turbot. Our group doesn't bother to target any other species when fishing around your beautiful island and to be honest if we failed to catch a Brill or Turbot yes we would be disappointed but not devastated. We would still return the following year full of anticipation. You see we are anglers not fishermen as are most of the visiting crews aboard the charter boats. I know a lot of the charter skippers from Weymouth and Poole most of whom are responsible people trying to earn a living from taking anglers out to catch fish and would not knowingly allow an angler to sell their catch. In fact one skipper we use stated if he found out a party was selling their catch he would refuse to take them out again. I would class the skippers as dream makers, that’s what they try to do for us and that’s what we pay them for. However if you took away the chance for us to fulfil our dreams then I am afraid your island however beautiful would loose its appeal to most of us and your islands would lose our custom.

 

I would put our trips to the CI in the same category as someone who goes off to sunnier climes to catch their billfish or whatever else takes their fancy, our fancy is your beautiful islands and it’s flatfish.

 

Martin

[Sharkbyte]

Some good points being made here by folk who make good ambassadors for our sport. There seems to be little disagreement other than in the fine detail.

 

However one thing that seriously gets on my tits as a visiting rod are the number of local anglers, some 'high profile' who see absolutely nothing wrong with the activities of the local 'Pirates of the Boue Blondel' yet castigate holidaying anglers (foreigners) for taking a few fish. This stinks of 'We'll fill our own boots thanks'. Lets not forget the significant amount of local anglers selling fish around the Islands hotels and eateries and the p1ss poor conservation ethic displayed in every competition I have been witness to. I can tell you these subjects are of no interest to some of the biggest screamers.

 

Rant over.

 

I believe the best course of action is to offer up bag limits, an increase in mls and a possible local sea license in exchange for widespread changes across the board, both commercial and recreational.

[FishingGuernsey]

I think what maverick and Stoaty have said hits the nail on the head. The people come here for a fishing holiday where they have the chance to catch something that they might not at home (Brill, Turbot) and to fish a completely different area. We have some great scenery to fish with, long sweeping bays and rock outcrops to plug from but so do a lot of places in the UK.

 

 

 

I don't think that all these guys are selling their catch, I think the main cause of all the fuss is a bit of scaremongering by some of the local commercials who seem to enjoy it all greatly. I have no idea as to their agenda in doing this but for some reason Sea Fisheries has got involved, is only listening to the commercial argument (as usual) and is going completely over the top.

 

 

 

I do agree with a bag limit, but only if it is sensible and is used with other measures also (e.g. up the MLS and possibly restrict commercials to some extent).

 

 

 

The tourism aspect of fishing in Guernsey is really being looked at carefully at the moment as there has been considerable damage done. It is a very important business to Guernsey (plus Alderney etc) and should be looked after. Just because SFC doesn't deal with tourism, doesn't mean it should ignore it completely.

[Leon Roskilly]

Anglers on charterboats which are licensed to fish commercially may sell their fish.

 

I recently recieved this advice from a UK angling charter boat skipper

 

One further point, you will find that there has been a change in the regulations governing anglers fishing from licensed fishing vessels (as mentioned in your email) and that is they must hold a "Seafish" certificate, such certificates are only presented to persons that have passed the relevant courses on first aid, safety awareness, fire fighting and sea survival.

 

I know its been a long time coming but at least they have started tightening up (and enforcing) the rules,

Some charter boats are also licensed fishing vessels but that does not allow them to sell fish caught by non Seafish registered fishermen.

and when I asked for more clarification I got this:

 

http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga-safety_i...05.htm#training

 

There seems to be some confusion about "Jobs".

 

The fishermen requires to hold a Seafish certificate even if he is not an

employee of the boat operator.

 

This is particularly true of "Share Fishermen" who are self employed and

freelance operators.

 

Anyone who is "fishing for the boat" is commercial fishing because those

fish will be sold and as such that person must hold a Seafish certificate.

 

The fact that he receives no apparent payment is irrelevant because he has

in effect been paid in kind.

[Toerag]

Leon - interesting, althouhg the UK rules are stricter than ours over here.

Stoaty/Maverick - yes I do agree, the 'lads trip away' side of things is a big factor. I was a bit rushed when I posted my last post, I do apologise. I did have a conversation with Lloyd Saunders once and he was complaining that his charter were completely rubbish at fishing and had wasted a really good set of tides!

I think the trips are popular with the UK skippers because they save a load of money on fuel once they're over, never having to fish more than 9 miles from port, and paying less for the diesel than they do at home. Did you still have to pay fro the days that you were weatherbound?

[maverick of Poole]

Toerag

 

All understood.

 

Yes we unfortunately did have to pay for our shore bound days but we were aware prior to the trip that the weather was iffy and we may not get out every day. We actually formed the PBSBAC alderney ramblers association We are all small boat owners so are aware of the pitfalls of boat fishing and some of us are even good anglers

 

Martin

[Stoaty]

the 'lads trip away'

The wife comes as well she also enjoys the fishing. We book the boat And rent a house for the seven days and have a fixed price for them. It's just like a hire car, if you hire it and don't use it you still pay for it. It's a chance you take.

 

We think that for 12, 7 day trips we have had one completely cancelled, one where we lost 2 days and one where we lost 1 day.

 

Anyway there's always plenty to see and do if your not fishing.

 

No offence to the Guernsey people but after trying Guernsey and getting some annoying experiences, like always having a two hour wait for a taxi. We stick to Alderney.

[Toerag]

No offence to the Guernsey people but after trying Guernsey and getting some annoying experiences, like always having a two hour wait for a taxi. We stick to Alderney.

 

I can't say I blame you, Guern taxis are a bit hit & miss sometimes. Guernsey has the advantage of more nightlife, shopping and women for those that like that kind of thing, but Alderney is just a completely different world. I like Alderney.

[AlderneyBassman]

I like it so much I moved here!

 

In fact there are quite a few ex UK anglers here who have taken the step over the channel and have not regetted it.

Edited May 18, 2006 by AlderneyBassman