Can commercial fishermen and sea anglers work together?

[ColinW]

The trouble as I see it with modern fishing is that the only people making any money are the bank managers and the shipbuilders. THEY have a vested interest in fishermen having to venture further and further afield chasing fewer and fewer fish, because the worse the stocks get, the more expensive the boats become.

On TV, the crew of the Fruitful Bough seemed quite happy making £1300 each for ten days work on what they seemed to regard as a good trip. Now IF the coastal waters were full of 2kg bass, how many would a man have to catch to make the same amount of money, assuming that his boat cost closer to £2000 than two million? By my reckoning about fifteen fish a day would just about do it. That doesn't sound like a huge amount.

[Guest challenge]

Hi Steve

 

It would be nice if we could work together, but I can't imagine how it would happen. We seem to be worlds apart when it comes to ideas about how to fix things. Every single conservation proposal that I've been involved with has been met with nothing but resistance from commercial fishermen, even when the measures don't affect them directly.

 

Don't get me wrong, I know commercial fishermen aren't two headed monsters, but you all seem to have this in-built defence mechanism that kicks in as soon as people start talking about changing things.

 

If there was a proposal to stop gill netting for red gurnard within epping forest, commercial fishermen would object and/or seek compensation. If the proposal was for restrictions on longlining for conger eels on the M25, commercial fishermen would object and/or seek compensation.

 

RSA reps might not be perfect, and they may have a lot to learn, but all the while commercial fishermen refuse point blank to co-operate or compromise, we won't ever be able to work together. Fishermen want things to be left alone, while sea anglers want things to change. Where's the common ground?

Great points Steve.

But you talk about common ground as if commercial fishermen have done nothing in regards of conservation over the last ten years or so.

I know that restrictions on net size, quotas, what they are allowed to catch and what they are not. The implications of all these things have been heaped on the commercial fishermen (again most likely rightly so) in the last few years.

These have been compulsory changes that they have had to make.

If RSA where told that they had to use barb less hooks from now on and they did, they would be many who said it was a great leap forward for conservation etc.

A commercial fisherman has to increase his net size on a regular basis, but nothing is said in his favour.

I don’t know weather they ever will be an understanding between commercials and recreational fishermen, I just hope RSA realise that commercial fishermen have been under a hell of a lot of pressure these past years and therefore need to be not treated as non conformists when it comes to common ground.

I have been out of the commercial industry now for going on 17 years, I talk to commercial fishermen about there industry and I cannot believe the changes they have had to make since I left. I always try to bear that in mind when discussing RSA.

Regards John.

[Steve Coppolo]

Hi John

I know that commercial fishermen have been, and still are, under a lot of pressure. Mostly from incompetent managers and politicians. But what I can't understand is why they carried on for so many years without digging their heels in and saying enough is enough.

 

Instead they skirted around the issues by fiddling and breaking the rules. I understand what made them do it, but I don't understand why they did it. Does that make sense? There was always going to be a time where the sh*t hit the fan. All they have done is delayed it. Now they are in a much weaker position than they were years ago and it will be almost impossible for them to make themselves heard. On top of that, they have gained a bad reputation along the way.

 

Many of the problems they face now were caused by all the fiddling that went on years ago. For that reason alone they will find little sympathy outside the industry for what's happening now. It's very hard to apply any of the above to individual fishermen, but as an industry I think the above does apply to it as a whole.

 

Maybe things should have been brought to a head years ago?

[wurzel]

The trouble as I see it with modern fishing is that the only people making any money are the bank managers and the shipbuilders. THEY have a vested interest in fishermen having to venture further and further afield chasing fewer and fewer fish, because the worse the stocks get, the more expensive the boats become.

On TV, the crew of the Fruitful Bough seemed quite happy making £1300 each for ten days work on what they seemed to regard as a good trip. Now IF the coastal waters were full of 2kg bass, how many would a man have to catch to make the same amount of money, assuming that his boat cost closer to £2000 than two million? By my reckoning about fifteen fish a day would just about do it. That doesn't sound like a huge amount.

 

 

Please find me a boat that cost £2000, I suppose if you caught 15 fish per man pluss 15 for the boat every day of the year it might be enough, but it don't happen like that.

[steve good]

Please find me a boat that cost £2000, I suppose if you caught 15 fish per man pluss 15 for the boat every day of the year it might be enough, but it don't happen like that.

 

hi peter

 

alot of these anglers catch what you have said above and made ahandsome profit after all they have good jobs

 

regards steve

[newtoseafishing]

hi leon

point is we need to get our 12 mile limit back, and manage it ourselves then the commercials would be able to afford the luxerary of conservation

all my fish go's to europe not bothered about the supermarkets

 

commercials and anglers wont work together the opposing veiws will not allow it, in any event just read the small minded posts above they speak for themselves

 

regards steve

 

I totally agree. I am relatively new to the commercial fishing industry and recently spent a week at our place on Pembrokshire dock dealing with local day boat fishermen and cracking quality fish. My big problem was that there were on average 3 beamers landing every day, loading straight onto an arctic and heading straight to the continent. My understanding is that they are all foreign owned boats but liscenced to the local port so the boat owner could sell the fish (caught in our water) to whoever he wanted.

 

I need good quality fish and I do not see the point of it landing in Milford, being exported to france and then me importing it again three days later.

 

Can you not sell your fish to me?

 

Please get in touch, look forward to hearing from you.

 

Regards

 

Darren

[SOLWAYSILVER]

hi peter

 

alot of these anglers catch what you have said above and made ahandsome profit after all they have good jobs

 

regards steve

STEVE

IF BB DECIDES TO GO WITH THE BMP(I WISH)AND WE END UP WITH BAG LIMITS FOR BASS PER ANGLER WONT THIS CUT OUT THE ABOVE AND THUS ENHANCE THE PRICE OF THE MORE AND BIGGER BASS YOU WILL CATCH?

THATS ASSUMING THAT BECAUSE OF THE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF BASS AFTER THE IMPLEMENTATION THAT NONE OF THESE ANGLERS WITH GOOD JOBS BY A LICIENCE AND TURN TO ROD AND LINE FISHERMEN AND SELL THERE CATCH AS OPPOSED TO SPORTFISHERMEN WHO DONT!!!

I CANT GET MY HEAD ROUND WHY YOU OPPOSE ALL ARGUMENTS FOR THE BMP WHEN IN THE LONG RUN EVERYBODY IS GOING TO GAIN FROM IT INCLUDING YOU COMMERCIAL LADS.IF WE COULD ALL SING FROM THE SAME SONG SHEET WHAT A FORCE WE COULD BE!!!

KIND REGARDS

BRY

[John S]

STEVE

IF BB DECIDES TO GO WITH THE BMP(I WISH)AND WE END UP WITH BAG LIMITS FOR BASS PER ANGLER WONT THIS CUT OUT THE ABOVE AND THUS ENHANCE THE PRICE OF THE MORE AND BIGGER BASS YOU WILL CATCH?

THATS ASSUMING THAT BECAUSE OF THE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF BASS AFTER THE IMPLEMENTATION THAT NONE OF THESE ANGLERS WITH GOOD JOBS BY A LICIENCE AND TURN TO ROD AND LINE FISHERMEN AND SELL THERE CATCH AS OPPOSED TO SPORTFISHERMEN WHO DONT!!!

I CANT GET MY HEAD ROUND WHY YOU OPPOSE ALL ARGUMENTS FOR THE BMP WHEN IN THE LONG RUN EVERYBODY IS GOING TO GAIN FROM IT INCLUDING YOU COMMERCIAL LADS.IF WE COULD ALL SING FROM THE SAME SONG SHEET WHAT A FORCE WE COULD BE!!!

KIND REGARDS

BRY

 

SOLWAYSILVER, could you turn the caps lock off? Using capital letters is regarded as shouting on a public forum, plus it's harder to read then lowercase

[SOLWAYSILVER]

SOLWAYSILVER, could you turn the caps lock off? Using capital letters is regarded as shouting on a public forum, plus it's harder to read then lowercase

sorry im new to forums wont happen again apologies to Steve didnt mean to shout

kind regards

Bry

[snakey1]

Personnally i would like to see at some point soon both commercials and non commercials learning how to work together a) because with a little more tolerance and understanding of each other i think they can and because otherwise those people who truely want to destroy the uk commercial industry and those who would like to see angling banned (PETA etc) are going to be one step closer to success.On a slightly different tack i have seen this happen already as a long time holder of a firearm certificate, with both the 1988 and 1995 ammendments much was vaunted in the media about the powerful "gun lobby" affecting pariliments judgements. This almighty"gun lobby" was however a highly fragmented group of many organisations who seemed much more concerned at infighting between themselves and having an i'm all right jack attitude than in dealing with the true threats being directed at them and as such did nothing to stop the passing of foolish laws which have neither lead to an increase in public safety or a decrease in the firearms crime rate,only to a decrease in those people able to enjoy their chosen sport/work.Unfortunately the same in fighting and fragmentation appears to currently be going on within the fishing industry(both commercial & non-commercial) and i can only hope they will all learn from others mistakes before it is too late. As the saying goes together we stand, divided we fall.