If you think commercial fishermen are your ‘enemy’...

[seaside]

.................

 

I saw a presentation by a scientist that had been working with fishermen in the prawn fishery, using 120mm square mesh escape panels, by repositioning the panels they found they could eliminate all fish of less than 40 cm with out loosing any prawns.

 

The reason the fishermen don't adopt these panels is because there is not enough profit not to catch the fish between 35 and 40 cm, they are on the same days at sea. so if you had two boats fishing together one using a panel the other not, they land to the same market, the boat not using a panel would probably land say £3,000 worth of fish that the boat using the panel would not. in most cases most other expenses come out first that is £3,000 more that boat has to share out among the skipper and crew.

 

The government could just force all boats to adopted the escape panels.

Or they could let the boats using panels have more days at sea to allow them to make up the difference in lost catch, lift by catch quota restrictions, they could deem those that are using panels are fishing sustainable and allow them to market their prawns as such. they need to make it advantages for fishermen using these panels or they won't do it.

 

The following is a pointer to a very recent report THE SELECTIVE PERFORMANCE OF A 95MM CODEND WITH A 120MM SQUARE MESH PANEL IN THE NORTH SEA MIXED NEPHROPS/WHITEFISH TRAWL FISHERY

 

http://www.marlab.ac.uk/FRS.Web/Uploads/Do...%20solstice.pdf

 

It backs up what wurzel is saying about the ability to very selective -- and I couldn't agree more that the government should find a formula to support REAL conservation measures. It would benefit both commercial and RSA.

 

Rather than dick around with allowable bycatches when there really is a viable alternative which secures minimal bycatch, , it should promote those following it and come down like a ton of bricks on those that don't.

 

Why is it that simple, effective solutions are the ones that meet the most resistance ?

[wurzel]

The following is a pointer to a very recent report THE SELECTIVE PERFORMANCE OF A 95MM CODEND WITH A 120MM SQUARE MESH PANEL IN THE NORTH SEA MIXED NEPHROPS/WHITEFISH TRAWL FISHERY

 

http://www.marlab.ac.uk/FRS.Web/Uploads/Do...%20solstice.pdf

 

 

Why is it that simple, effective solutions are the ones that meet the most resistance ?

 

 

Hello Seaside

 

Because there is no management for the need to manage brigade in sustainable fishing, scientists are often just as much to blame, there is no work in an effective solution, you must not find the sulution to any thing,funding would stop if they did. so the whole pot is kept boiling.

[seaside]

Hello Seaside

 

Because there is no management for the need to manage brigade in sustainable fishing, scientists are often just as much to blame, there is no work in an effective solution, you must not find the sulution to any thing,funding would stop if they did. so the whole pot is kept boiling.

 

Well that's one viewpoint :-)

 

Serious question now - not a dig - but why won't commercial organisations take the lead on issues such as this, rather than argue TACs / Quotas, get sustainable methods to the top of the agenda, ensuring juvenile fish can escape and get a chance to breed can only benefit everyone surely ?

 

Seeing commercial organisations taking such an approach would go no end to cutting down the suspicion and mistrust and open up more opportunities for both sectors to work together.

[wurzel]

Well that's one viewpoint :-)

 

Serious question now - not a dig - but why won't commercial organisations take the lead on issues such as this, rather than argue TACs / Quotas, get sustainable methods to the top of the agenda, ensuring juvenile fish can escape and get a chance to breed can only benefit everyone surely ?

 

Seeing commercial organisations taking such an approach would go no end to cutting down the suspicion and mistrust and open up more opportunities for both sectors to work together.

 

 

A good point.

Commercial organisations are run by managers, often holders of quota that they need to lease perhaps.

I don't really know why. Every speech or paper I hear or read has the word sustainable all over it whether it's by a politician, scientist or a fisherman’s representative, but when it comes down to actually implementing it nothing ever happens, it's often too easy, not complicated enough, as I say once it's implemented they would have to move on to some thing else, perhaps they can't see any thing else to move on to.

 

The other problem I have witnessed, is the commercial organisation reps are more interested in the big players, the ones who have amassed all the quota they need, like one said to me why should we agree to catch less fish,