Well done Tesco

[wurzel]

I'll verify that, in fact I'll go further and say that most of the bass he catches are over 45cm. If every commercial bass fisherman followed wurzels lead I'd be a happy bunny.

 

 

 

Hello Steve

 

The problem is, as is with all fishery management, one size does not fit all, what suits a gill-netter won't a trawler or a long liner, including anglers we all fish in different niches , it is impossible to please all the people all the time.

No one can afford to earn less, in some cases a lot less. Would you except half wages for a couple of years so as the fire brigade could buy more and bigger fire engines?

[ColinW]

Hello Steve

 

The problem is, as is with all fishery management, one size does not fit all, what suits a gill-netter won't a trawler or a long liner, including anglers we all fish in different niches , it is impossible to please all the people all the time.

No one can afford to earn less, in some cases a lot less. Would you except half wages for a couple of years so as the fire brigade could buy more and bigger fire engines?

 

I might accept reduced wages for a couple of years if it meant my kids having the chance of a decent living for life. The attitude of most trawlermen I've seen on TV seems to be "This job is f****d, my lad's aren't interested (so why should I care about future stocks)"

 

I've always been told that fishermen know what they are doing and generally catch what they set out to catch. If they are landing 36cm bass then, I believe, that is what they set out to do. There is no need for there to be a market for such small bass, especially in this country where most people prefer their fish filleted before it's put on their plate, my missus certainly wouldn't touch anything with its head still on!

Thankfully, I've noticed that when you see bass cooked on TV now it's generally sections of fillet not whole small fish, so hopefully the market will force the fishermen to target bigger fish.

[Leon Roskilly]

Hello Steve

 

The problem is, as is with all fishery management, one size does not fit all, what suits a gill-netter won't a trawler or a long liner, including anglers we all fish in different niches , it is impossible to please all the people all the time.

No one can afford to earn less, in some cases a lot less. Would you except half wages for a couple of years so as the fire brigade could buy more and bigger fire engines?

 

 

I was pretty sad to see the smithy close down, hard working chap and knew his stuff, the work he produced was more art than product.

 

Much like the farriers across the road.

 

But the car economy was worth more, employed more people, and so it was the garage owner and his apprentices that prospered while the blacksmith and farrier struggled to make a living doing what they had always done, the only thing they knew.

 

Stretching it a bit, the UK landings of bass are worth £7.5million (double the official landings of £3.2 million).

 

The value of the Recreational Bass fishery in England and Wales is estimated to be worth £100 million, and is thought to be capable of significant growth when anglers are presented with a better 'product' (more and bigger fish!).

 

(ie Following the recovery of the USA Recreational Striped Bass Fishery between 1981 and 1996 the consequential expenditure increased from $85 million to $560 million over the same period by anglers fishing for striped bass).

 

 

 

In all walks of life, livelihoods are at stake from the emergence of more effective competitors.

 

And whilst the catching sector is seen to be but a declining remnant of the industry it once was, unpopular with eco groups, and with consumers becoming wary of the ethics of consuming many of its products, and seemingly inevitably declining fish stocks of many species (for whatever reason), RSA is being seen as a sector of minimal environmental impact, already supporting many livleihoods and capable of significant growth, particualarly in rural and coastal areas where there are few alternative prospects for creating wealth and employment opportunities.

 

It's right that people in the catching sector are feaful for changes that may reduce their income from doing what they have done before (I wont say 'from what they have always done', because until the 1980's bass was held in little regard by the catching sector and was considered principally a recreational fish).

 

The argument isn't so much about how much fishermen may suffer, but given that there may be a temporary reduction in some fishermen's income whilst bass grow another 9cm, and some fishermen adapt to the new regime to most likely emerge with increased income at the end of it, how many livelihoods and businesses that depend on servicing the Recreational Sea Angling Sector will be created and made more secure by aligning the management objectives of the stock with their particular needs.

 

I miss the sparks that flew from the anvil, as I miss the sight of the sails of fishing smacks tacking to windward.

 

But things change.

 

And move forward.

 

 

(ps there is absolutely no reason why the catching sector cannot thrive alongside RSA, and RSA could be a tremendous ally to the cause of the catching sector, but so long as RSA as is seen as a threat, and not an inch being given, both sectors will suffer together because of that. The catching sector needs to recognise that it's not all about just them, and the rest can go and hang)

Edited June 17, 2006 by Leon Roskilly

[Steve Coppolo]

Would you except half wages for a couple of years so as the fire brigade could buy more and bigger fire engines?

 

No I wouldn't Peter, but it's a completely different scenario.

 

Your, and everyone elses, council tax goes towards paying for new fire engines. (More and bigger ones are as unlikey as a ban on gill netting from this government!) So you pay your council tax and you get something in return. Where as we all pay council tax that is supposed to go towards managing our fish stocks, but we get absolutely nothing in return. Instead of receiving something for our money, the whole lot is spent on just a small fraction of society, ie, commercial fishermen.

 

I agree that commercial fishermen do fill different niches, but that doesn't mean that they can't all fish sustainably. For some reason most seem unwilling to look further than next week. I suppose it's understandable really, in a twisted sort of way, because it isn't their property that they are running into the ground.

[Mikec]

No I wouldn't Peter, but it's a completely different scenario.

 

Your, and everyone elses, council tax goes towards paying for new fire engines. (More and bigger ones are as unlikey as a ban on gill netting from this government!) So you pay your council tax and you get something in return. Where as we all pay council tax that is supposed to go towards managing our fish stocks, but we get absolutely nothing in return. Instead of receiving something for our money, the whole lot is spent on just a small fraction of society, ie, commercial fishermen.

 

I agree that commercial fishermen do fill different niches, but that doesn't mean that they can't all fish sustainably. For some reason most seem unwilling to look further than next week. I suppose it's understandable really, in a twisted sort of way, because it isn't their property that they are running into the ground.

 

Thats rich coming from someone who when they can't get a huge unjustified pay rise go on strike and put everyones children at risk. And you have the audacity to talk about fishermens greed!

[glennk]

That is way below the belt pal and I think you should retract it pretty quick as you look a complete idiot. What will you attack next ambulance drivers ? heart surgeons? They all deserve every penney they get m8.

Edited June 18, 2006 by glennk

[Mikec]

I just find it strange that some Gov and agency people seem to find it a fair deal that the angling sector's influence or non-influence should be closely linked to a sea license. The reality is quite different re the commercial sector. Their political clout is linked with another kind of logic, which only few outside the sector could agree with if they knew it all. Lots of the commercials' influence is due to some 'traditional' but outdated reasons and emotional claims. The commercial sector is so heavily subsidised by public money that a report not long ago could argue that globally the commercial fishing sector might produce a minus at the bottom line if all is included meaning that society in economic terms would be better of closing down the whole sector. In some parts of the world the commercials pay for or contribute to the management regime in place. What about UK and Europe? Nothing like it. On the contrary EU helps paying for fishing rights in third countries just to mention one of many peculiarities.

 

The Marine Agency or whatever its called today has 20 offices, thats not including the Defra offices! The money is spent on the mismagement of the resources, not on the people who go to sea each day to feed people.

 

You name an industry and you'll find public money and a management structure to control the abuses within in. You name anything managed by the public sector and you'll find waste.

 

So stop the holier-than-thou attitude that pervades this forum when it comes to the commercial fishing industry.

 

I have never killed an albertros or a dolphin and am not responsible for the destruction of the oceans. Bass are plentiful and are increaing in numbers and size. I can prove that look at my bank balance and my car.

[Leon Roskilly]

It's interesting that Tescos are just about to start selling fishing tackle.

 

(See http://www.anglers-net.co.uk/sacn/latest/index.php?view=597 )

 

Following in the footsteps of some supermarkets that already are.

 

Whilst the intial understandable reaction of those whose livelihoods already depend upon retailing tackle to the Recreational Angling Sector, is one of dread, that may be a good thing overall.

 

Most tackle shops are buried away somewhere in the town where rates are cheap, and their whereabouts only known to people who have reason to pass by, and already dedicated anglers.

 

Now families out shopping will see a whole range of relatively cheap tackle on their frequent visits to the supermarkets to buy groceries, and perhaps the idea will be planted.

 

"Hmmm! Fishing! That might be something to keep Johnny/Mary (or whatever kids are named these days!)amused whilst on holiday/during the school holidays/when grandad comes to visit"

 

And so another kid goes down to the water with rod and line, and is hooked for life, needing more and more tackle to target different species, moving on from catching gudgeon, to mackerel to cod.

 

And as supermarkets and tackle shops compete by increasing the marketing of their angling products, so more people are presented with the idea that angling is worth taking up, and as a result the livelihoods of tackle shop owners, employees, charter skippers, angling guides, bait suppliers and the myriads of others making a living from servicing the sector become more secure as the business opportunities become apparent, even to the authorities that grapple with how to boost local economies, especially in rural and coastal locations where there is little else to work with.

 

Yes, Well Done Tescos!

Edited June 18, 2006 by Leon Roskilly

[coelacanth]

I have never killed an albertros or a dolphin and am not responsible for the destruction of the oceans. Bass are plentiful and are increaing in numbers and size. I can prove that look at my bank balance and my car.

 

 

If you are that well off, why resort to this?

 

 

 

You posted this pic last year on another forum, to wind anglers up?..I guess

[Steve Coppolo]

Thats rich coming from someone who when they can't get a huge unjustified pay rise go on strike and put everyones children at risk. And you have the audacity to talk about fishermens greed!

 

I'm not going to go into too many details as it isn't what this thread is about, but I'll say enough to put the record straight.

 

Glenn is right, you have made yourself look stupid. I suppose you believed all the new labour spin and the Sun? Like the picture of the baby being carried out of a block of flats by a navy wren that was splashed all across the newspapers. For your information Mike, that baby was rescued by striking firemen and handed to the wren when they got outside the burning flat. There are many, many, many more examples of things like that that actually happened. That's why we got beaten by this scum government. If we did what you suggest we did and let people die, maybe we would have come out of it better off.

 

You're a wind up merchant and a waste of time.