poor response

[Ian Burrett]

Apparently the response to the tope consultation has been very poor and I must admit I am very worried that a golden opportunity for sea anglers may be missed as it appears there are as many responses from the commercials as Recreational sea anglers.

 

So whether you currently fish for tope or not, please try to get in a response supporting option 2, and convince your club and friends to do likewise.

 

I honestly believe that if we don't win this one there will be no tope fishery left in British waters within three years

 

Please don't let another species go the same way as all the others.

 

details at ww.save-our-sharks.org

 

 

 

It is only two weeks to the closing date. Please respond

[Ken Davison South Wales]

Apparently the response to the tope consultation has been very poor and I must admit I am very worried that a golden opportunity for sea anglers may be missed as it appears there are as many responses from the commercials as Recreational sea anglers.

 

So whether you currently fish for tope or not, please try to get in a response supporting option 2, and convince your club and friends to do likewise.

 

I honestly believe that if we don't win this one there will be no tope fishery left in British waters within three years

 

Please don't let another species go the same way as all the others.

 

details at ww.save-our-sharks.org

 

It is only two weeks to the closing date. Please respond

 

It is a sad state to be in, perhaps this post needs to be a sticky for the next couple of weeks.

[thebigman]

The problem is that a lot of us don't fish for tope and all the guidance on the SOS website specifically mentions where do you fish for them and how much you spend on tope fishing.

 

I'd certainly support the cause and would appreciate assistance on how to word comments for non-tope anglers.

 

http://www.save-our-sharks.org/news.php for those who have lost the link.

[dale]

Ian,

 

you would be better drafting a letter for people with an easy guide to where to send it.

 

i would also ensure ALL of your customers get a special request to send one. + the sfsa membership( who are now conservation minded)

 

the mullet club have done a similar thing for mullet where they sent a pre addressed envelope and a draft of what to include in the letter.

radical but effective.

 

dale

 

ps mines done.

[sam-cox]

Trouble is most rsa do not give a monkeys.

[glennk]

Ian,

 

you would be better drafting a letter for people with an easy guide to where to send it.

 

i would also ensure ALL of your customers get a special request to send one. + the sfsa membership( who are now conservation minded)

 

the mullet club have done a similar thing for mullet where they sent a pre addressed envelope and a draft of what to include in the letter.

radical but effective.

 

dale

 

ps mines done.

 

Apperently letters that are the same or similar will only count as 1. Thats if my information is correct of course.

[Leon Roskilly]

Apperently letters that are the same or similar will only count as 1. Thats if my information is correct of course.

 

 

Not quite.

 

They will be counted as an individual response, which is important in telling the managers and politicians how many anglers are concerned with the need to protect tope.

 

But in formulating policy, they will particularly be looking for new information (such as amount spent on fishing for tope, areas where tope have declined becuase of levels of bycatch etc), and the number of people who take the trouble to create their own response, rather than simply signing a letter compiled by someone else.

[Ian Burrett]

The problem is that a lot of us don't fish for tope and all the guidance on the SOS website specifically mentions where do you fish for them and how much you spend on tope fishing.

 

I'd certainly support the cause and would appreciate assistance on how to word comments for non-tope anglers.

 

http://www.save-our-sharks.org/news.php for those who have lost the link.

 

Hi bigman

 

This consultation is primarily a conservation issue to protect the tope from commercial exploitation, Evidence from around the world has shown that the tope (soupfin shark) stocks collapse after three year of commercial pressure, so anyone who cares about our oceans can respond

 

SOS is just trying to make sure that RSA are still allowed to fish for them.

 

 

 

 

Defra are looking for individual responses, as part of the consultation is a fact finding mission as so little is known of RSA captures, tope movements, RSA expenditure etc. but anyone can respond.

 

Even a one liner saying, Although you don't fish for tope, you support option 2 because you would hate to see another species dissapear from British waters would suffice. We have to show enough people care.

[Ian Burrett]

Ian,

 

you would be better drafting a letter for people with an easy guide to where to send it.

 

i would also ensure ALL of your customers get a special request to send one. + the sfsa membership( who are now conservation minded)

 

the mullet club have done a similar thing for mullet where they sent a pre addressed envelope and a draft of what to include in the letter.

radical but effective.

 

dale

 

ps mines done.

 

Hi Dale

 

SOS committee members prepared a an electronic response over a month ago but kept it back so we could obtain as many individual responses as possible. This will be going on line within the next day or two

[Steve Coppolo]

How do we know what the level of response is, if the consultation isn't finished yet?

 

If the turn out is low, maybe it's a sign that there might be something in this idea of compulsory catch and release after all. Look at the options available. 1) Do nothing. 2) Compulsory catch and release. 3) No fishing for Tope at all. Now I wouldn't dream of killing a Tope, (I have killed and eaten them in the past though), but that doesn't mean that every other sea angler in the country agrees with my ideals. No doubt there are people who would like to take the occasional pack Tope home to eat, and I can't see those people supporting an option that gives away their historic right to do so.

 

The Tope consultation, along with the few local byelaws brought in by SFC's, has all come about because of one fish merchant threatened to start up a commercial Tope fishery. Why isn't there an option 4) in the consultation that says, No commercial fishing for Tope? I agree that Tope need protecting from commercial exploitation, but regardless of what rules are in place, a few Tope will still be caught commercially by accident. If option 2 is adopted those fish will be thrown back to rot on the sea bed. Hardly a conservation measure is it?

 

I'll admit that I'm still struggling with how to respond to the Tope consultation. On the one hand I want to help protect Tope from commercial exploitation, so I should support oprion 2. But I'm not entirely comfortable with supporting an option which gives up one of anglings' fundamental historic rights. Catch and release is already widely practiced by most Tope anglers on a voluntary basis anyway, and commercial catches are mostly just a few fish caught by accident, which would still happen regardless of what the rules are. So maybe I should support option 1? The only thing stopping me from doing so is the threat of a full scale commercial Tope fishery starting up, in this country, in the future.

 

I know I'm going to get plenty of stick for expressing my views, but in my opinion the Tope consultation is too restrictive and hasn't been thought out properly. What is the biggest threat to Tope, anglers or commercial fishing? There should have been an option 4.