Cod crisis? What cod crisis?

[mr motorola]

Stavey.

Sorry for not getting back to you before now, but the sea again beckoned me to try and make a living from assisting anglers with there hobby upon it.

I believe that Motorola answered your inquires as to what gear and methods our anglers use when fishing with us.

I can assure you that Motorola and his party are about as genuine (regardless as to what others might suggest) as any anglers could be, one of his party having fished from Whitby (recreationally) since the very early sixty’s. Long before I and many others on here could lift a rod never mind fish the North Sea with one.

Motorola himself is a bit younger than the rest of his party but what he lacks in age he certainly makes up for with his enthusiasm for his sport.

when I mentioned that a reason that the Danes “where not working the wrecks because of the price of quota” the other reason being that they where getting a much better price for souls and turbots etc and the damage that they took to there gear where also major factors in them not working wrecks.

At the end of the day it is Brussels that make the decision on what cod quotas our commercial friends will be allowed next year. DEFRA can only recommend as so can the scientist. By the way the disastrous sand ell fishery and the bad management of this fishery have been firmly laid at the feet of ICES especially the Danish scientist. But that’s another story.

You will be glad to learn that we had no where the amount of fish this trip as we did the last.Thats fishing stavey, I hope that you’re fishing improves. Regards.

Motorola.

As I have said previously, I think you are a real angler mate, even if you do support that lot from the wrong side of the Pennines. Don’t take these things to heart Carl; you will have to tally up how many years sea fishing experience your party has between you? I reckon it would be frightening, but then again at times the truth often is.

Regards.

thanks for those words challenge, i'll try not to take it to heart in future.....

just been having a few words with rest of our fishing club lads ( all 5 of us) and we reckon that between the 5 of us that there is roughly 150 years experience (sea angling) between us and just about all of that is out of whitby , with a couple of trips from hartlepool "GEORGE HAM" and a few weekend trips from bridlington but as i say almost all of our fishing has been done from whitby boats..myself in particular fishing on my very first charter boat "ROSE OF SHARON" skippered by george bowes, then CYANITA , SEA ROMA, CEE-DANN , SEA OTTER 2 and my favourite SEA TREK T.N.G.

[Guest challenge]

thanks for those words challenge, i'll try not to take it to heart in future.....

just been having a few words with rest of our fishing club lads ( all 5 of us) and we reckon that between the 5 of us that there is roughly 150 years experience (sea angling) between us and just about all of that is out of whitby , with a couple of trips from hartlepool "GEORGE HAM" and a few weekend trips from bridlington but as i say almost all of our fishing has been done from whitby boats..myself in particular fishing on my very first charter boat "ROSE OF SHARON" skippered by george bowes, then CYANITA , SEA ROMA, CEE-DANN , SEA OTTER 2 and my favourite SEA TREK T.N.G.

150 years, well in my book that makes you and your party very much genuine anglers to me.

Maybe just a bit more genuine than the characters that I showed you (on the laptop on chieftain) when you where last with us?

You take care mate and I will see you later in the month (weather permitting) and I look forward to more success.

Regards.

[sam-cox]

we was over the moon, but it was only three years ago that we could catch that many bass from the shore locally, without driving 105 miles.

[Guest challenge]

The Chieftain site featues an article on the cod crisis and how the sandeel industry could be to blame.

 

Given the title of this topic, one year on since this was published in Septembers Boat Fishing Monthly does the skipper now think that the cod crisis is over?

Hello speciman.

I don’t know the answer to that; you will have to ask the person who wrote it.

I personally believe there is encouraging signs for some kind of cod recovery regards.

[mr motorola]

Hello speciman.

I don’t know the answer to that; you will have to ask the person who wrote it.

I personally believe there is encouraging signs for some kind of cod recovery regards.

HELLO CHALLENGE hows the north sea cod crisis going on? have you been out recently ? still plenty of cod about?

[JB]

Challenge,

 

It would be interesting to see an X in the squares of the map that you fish.

 

Do they mostly match the areas containing good populations of cod, or the blank areas?

 

Hi Leon,

Studying your charts, it looks as though they have latitude down the left side and longitude along the bottom. The areas we fish are approximately from 53 to 57 degrees north and off to 5 degrees east. Apart from off the Yorkshire coast, we rarely fish within fifty miles of the British coast and we have not yet ventured into the very northeast or southeast corners of the box given.

 

We see a general improvement in the cod fishing east of the one degree east line; and a marked improvement in the cod fishing east of the three degree line. Also, the wrecks east of the three degrees seem more durable, and can be returned to more frequently.

 

This summer, the quality of the easterly cod has improved on that of the last six seasons. It appears to be far better or correctly fed; the fillets are thicker and heavier than they have been in previous years. It would be easy to assume that there is a greater abundance of bigger and healthier cod in the eastern half of the North Sea than in the western half.

It would appear that last year’s ban on industrial fishing may have had a beneficial effect on the cod stocks.

 

JB

[Leon Roskilly]

It would appear that last year’s ban on industrial fishing may have had a beneficial effect on the cod stocks.

 

 

Hi John,

 

I do hope that you are right.

 

ICES are still saying that there was no sign of recovery of cod stocks in 2005.

 

And any sign of recovery will frustrate the arguments of the 'sod the cod' lobby, showing that there is some point to the restrictions being imposed.

 

 

It's also interesting that we are not talking about a single population of cod in the North Sea.

 

From North Sea Cod Recovery? - Joe Horwood, Carl O'Brien, and Chris Darby:

 

The "North Sea" cod is really a metapopulation of sub-populations with differential rates of mixing among them (Blanchard et al., 2005a; STECF, 2005a).

 

The sub-population in the Southern Bight is relatively discrete from that in the Northern North sea, which lives in deeper water north of the Flamborough front.

 

There is a limited influx of young cod from the Eastern Channel into the southern North Sea.

 

Cod in the German Bight show some limited mixing with cod in the Southern Bight.

 

There is also a coastal population off Flamborough and in the Moray Firth

DEFRA Document:

 

Scientists have looked at the numbers of young cod caught during surveys of the North Sea between 1977 and 2002 to identify the areas where most of the North sea cod were found.

 

The total area where cod are found has decreased dramatically since the 1980s when cod were very abundant, to recent years when the cod population is much smaller.

 

In the 1980s the cod population was very evenly spread, with cod in almost all (90%) of the survey area.

 

Now cod are only found in less than half (45%) of the survey zone.

 

CEFAS scientists have found that the distribution of cod is linked to water temperature at the bottom of the sea.

 

When there is a large population of cod, not all the fish can fit into the area where the sea water temperature is most favourable for growth and so some fish will spread into less suitable areas.

 

As the number of cod decrease the entire population can remain in the areas where seawater temperature is most favourable to fish growth and so a small cod population tends to be found in a smaller area.

 

Another DEFRA document:

 

It is largely undisputed that we have seen significant warming of UK waters over the last two decades, that cod generally thrive in colder waters, and cod in many UK waters are at tge southern end of their range.

 

However, this is not a simple relationship and research undertakenby CEFAS has demonstrated that cod in the more southerly UK waters are not migrating to colder waters, suggesting that there are other more powerful determinants of their behaviour than just temperature, such as habitat and availability of prey species.

 

 

So, it is difficult to draw any simplistic conclusions that will apply universally.

 

Perhaps your better fed cod are the sign of unpressured local populations that have the pick of the feed, and less competition?

 

Much will depend upon the sub-stock, geographical area and conditions, as well as different fishing practices in different areas at different times of the year.

 

It all makes cod-hunting so much more interesting though!

Edited October 3, 2006 by Leon Roskilly

[Guest challenge]

Quote Leon.[/b]“It all makes cod-hunting so much more interesting though!”

My god Leon, I believe there’s a commercial fisherman in there somewhere, just trying to get out.

[Guest challenge]

HELLO CHALLENGE hows the north sea cod crisis going on? have you been out recently ? still plenty of cod about?

We are supposed to be going tomorrow on a 36 hour (weather permitting) trip and I believe we have you at the weekend (again weather permitting) so lets keep fingers crossed. We have some fillming this afternoon for heartbeat (at least the boat has) so must dash and catch you again soon.

Sorry cannot mention fish anymore in case the reporting of actually catching any upsets anybody. Is this an angling forum or should it be re-named anglers pet.

Regards.

Edited October 3, 2006 by challenge

[big_cod]

thanks for those words challenge, i'll try not to take it to heart in future.....

just been having a few words with rest of our fishing club lads ( all 5 of us) and we reckon that between the 5 of us that there is roughly 150 years experience (sea angling) between us and just about all of that is out of whitby , with a couple of trips from hartlepool "GEORGE HAM" and a few weekend trips from bridlington but as i say almost all of our fishing has been done from whitby boats..myself in particular fishing on my very first charter boat "ROSE OF SHARON" skippered by george bowes, then CYANITA , SEA ROMA, CEE-DANN , SEA OTTER 2 and my favourite SEA TREK T.N.G.

 

Hi carl ,if i remember right about this time last year 2 of your party came off with me on 10 hr trip we were fishing approx 16 miles from whitby harbour and by 11am they just stopped fishing and started filliting said they had caught enough .

We were roughly in the same area last week and the fishing in now very similar as it this time last year it was nearly all quality fish very little small codling the trawlers are mopping them up on the 3 mile by the load feeding on the spawn as we speak but the fish out aback of the 12 mile are very well proporsioned and very well fed the fillits of these fish are thick in nature very nice to see.