Herring Spawn fishery gets underway off the north east coast.

[Guest challenge]

Hello Challenge

 

I think they can lease or buy them as well.

Yes you can mate. I can give you the web site if you want a few days? I wonder if you can lease fine weather days for angling.

[Guest challenge]

You mean they dont need quota ? A free for all then. Catch as much as you can while you can, dump half back dead and everything is rosie.

It’s all a bit complicated but I think that if they have signed up (in there net management) to target cod only, with a small by catch, and they are using 120m cod ends. Then they can target and catch as much as they like. But they are limited to how many days a month they can do this. I think it’s only about 13 or 14 days a month.

I believe that if they are not targeting cod they can use smaller mesh nets and have more days at sea. But they are then only allowed a small quota of cod.

Don’t target cod and you can catch more fish (but not cod) and have more days at sea to do it.

But as wurzel says you can also lease days. I don’t know if you can do it if targeting cod? But if you can then this time of the year would make it very tempting. Of course you still have to catch the bloody things.

[clem]

Hello Clem,

 

The French boats are working on whiting, of which they have a large quota.

Glen is worried about the local trawlers discards while useing 120 mm cod ends, I suggest he looks into what these boats useing 80 mm codends might discard, The French are not short on cod quota either.

 

So it is whiting they are still working Wurzel they musty be giving it a right pasting and I bet they are having one hell of a by-catch as well especially at this time of year. Outside 12 mile they can pretty much do as they please I presume. As for mesh size I have mentioned before on here the resteraunts in Spain are full of 9" whiting which they serve deep-fried like whitebait.

[big_cod]

If there using 120m cod ends to target cod they will be able to catch as much as they want regardless of quota. it will be there days at sea that will stop them.

 

When you are getting the volume of crap in the codend 120ml doesnt make any difference its sheer bulk dabs spawn etc act as restricter believe me there must have been some dumping yesterday according to one of the skippers last night as they were blown in for weather they themselves had had a very good days fishing but its nothing to what this lot got yesterday, a pair team two boats from eyemouth pair scenceing a deadly way of fishing in clear water had probably one of the biggest halls seen around here yesterday fishing on a herring mark on the 9 mile where the spawn is laid as you were fishing yourself challenge have ever known anybody on these local grounds to take 35 lifts in one tow estimated around 800kit thats 8000 stone of small codlings, whitings, dabs, spawn etc now that is some bulk the discard rate must have obscene there has been some excellent signs this summer with volume of small codlings but the sheer slaughter whats going here is a discrace cod recovery plan its a joke when you can let this slaughter go on, when herring spawn it attracts fish from miles around but one thing to remember you cant catch it twice its madness there wont be a codling alive after this on 8 and 9 mile grounds and probably in the surrounding areas when this spawny season has finished who them give em the nod to bring them down here wants horse whipping.

[glennk]

Are they not bright enough to have worked it out themselves Paul ? They know their is this phenomenon here where masses of baby codlings come together to feed, theyve all worked it many times before. If me a non fisherman knows when it starts I'm sure Scottish trawlermen will have it diaried in. Again this year has been better than average for small codling 30-45cm, everyone has noted it. If me a non fishermen had guessed this year would be a good one in the herring spawn fishery then I'm sure experienced fishermen would have worked it out too.

 

Like I said before - no use complaining here wurzel et al will just take the proverbial from you all day long but your not an inch nearer making any difference. Take it to your MP, Your Mep, defra the marine fisheries agency, joe boerg etc. Paul did you ever sign the cod petition ?

[Guest challenge]

When you are getting the volume of crap in the codend 120ml doesnt make any difference its sheer bulk dabs spawn etc act as restricter believe me there must have been some dumping yesterday according to one of the skippers last night as they were blown in for weather they themselves had had a very good days fishing but its nothing to what this lot got yesterday, a pair team two boats from eyemouth pair scenceing a deadly way of fishing in clear water had probably one of the biggest halls seen around here yesterday fishing on a herring mark on the 9 mile where the spawn is laid as you were fishing yourself challenge have ever known anybody on these local grounds to take 35 lifts in one tow estimated around 800kit thats 8000 stone of small codlings, whitings, dabs, spawn etc now that is some bulk the discard rate must have obscene there has been some excellent signs this summer with volume of small codlings but the sheer slaughter whats going here is a discrace cod recovery plan its a joke when you can let this slaughter go on, when herring spawn it attracts fish from miles around but one thing to remember you cant catch it twice its madness there wont be a codling alive after this on 8 and 9 mile grounds and probably in the surrounding areas when this spawny season has finished who them give em the nod to bring them down here wants horse whipping.

How much of this “bulk” was fish and how much was sporn? Did anybody say?

Never had 35 lifts big cod. Had 21 lifts, but that was with just one boat, using one net?

Don’t know how big there cod ends are (amount they can take in one lift) would imagine that they would be rigged to take about the same in one lift as we did (15 kit, 150 stone) per lift.

We had about 3 stone of discard from our big haul, but then again there was not a fish under a stone.

If the Scotsmen got that sort of bulk and are still there then I think you can assume that most of it was sporn. If it was all size fish then they would be away to land. If it was all small codlings then they would have steamed away as fast as there boats could take them.

We don’t know do we? We are only surmising on what there discard rate is?

As for them being there? Bit like us turning up in the Danish sectors and expecting them to be surprised…

[big_cod]

Challenge i am sorry to say according to feedback i am getting and it first hand there is massive discard with undersized codlings it seems such a shame that the dumping of such vast amaount of undersized codlings in the present climate is happening this is very very sad these small codlings would be size in a few months its self destruct .

Edited September 21, 2006 by big_cod

[clem]

Challenge i am sorry to say according to feedback i am getting and it first hand there is massive discard with undersized codlings it seems such a shame that the dumping of such vast amaount of undersized codlings in the present climate is happening this is very very sad these small codlings would be size in a few months its self destruct .

It is indeed a big shame Paul so much could be gained from the closure of this fishery I doubt they will even get a decent price for what is kept aboard.

From the feedback so far on here it seems there is only us northern lads expressing outrage.

What would happen if it was tiny bass slaughter time?

Anyway looks like we will just have to put up with it again.

[clem]

EVEN THE SUITCASE HAS NOT GONE RED!

[Guest challenge]

big cod.If they are catching what your first hand information suggests, then it is a sad state of affairs.

Are the same Scottish boats still there? Did anybody actually find out what they got out of that massive haul? Are the Scottish skippers apart of your first hand information? it’s not that I don’t believe what is being said, it’s just that it would put things more in perspective from my point of view if I knew where this information about the 30 lifts (of whatever) came from.

As for horse whipping the people that gave them the nod about this fishery? Where are you going to start?

Maybe they read this forum? A bit of self inflicted horse whipping might come to mind there big cod. This fishery has been talked about on here for months.

Maybe they are just commercial fishermen and like every other commercial fisherman in the northern hemisphere just happen to know that herring have historically sporned of Whitby and therefore there is a good chance that they might of sporned here this year.

Or could it be that they where actually telling the truth when they said “that more (Scottish) boats would be working in the central north sea this month because of the quota farce” that had made them leave there traditional deep water north Atlantic fishery.

Or Maybe it’s just the same bar room banter that is spread about among anglers is also spread about among commercial fishermen? I don’t know? I think we should leave the horse whipping to the cow boys don’t you?

regards.