Registration of buyers and sellers of fish

[wurzel]

And it won't do any thing to stop bass being sold at pubs or chinese resturants, in fact it will probably increase the sales at such places.

[Guest stevie cop]

The 25 kg rule is a joke. It makes a complete nonsense of the whole thing. Just think about it. An unemployed, unlicenced, gill netter goes out and catches 25kg of fish every day and sells it to his local chinese. Thats 175kg a week. 700kg a month. So this illegal netter can sell almost a ton a month of fish as long as he isn't caught red handed. If he is stopped with the fish aboard, he can say it's for personal consumption. I doubt there is a family in existance that could eat 25kg of fish every day!

 

O.K, the chinese will have to be a registered buyer. Or will he? There is mention of first point of sale of the fish, so the chinese could say he bought it from any number of sources instead of direct from the fisherman.

 

Also, the buyers and sellers register is designed to stop black fish landings. So it'll make all the fishermen adhere to their quota? If it is successful, surely the fishermen will turn to a fish which has no quota, ie, bass for example.

 

I'm sure that even DEFRA can't be that ignorant with regard to how much fish is being caught. They are so far out with their figures that it's not only embarrassing, but shows them up as being extremely incompetent. I reckon they know roughly what is being landed and have chosen now as a good time to bring things to a head. It should have happened years ago, but they've always been too scared. When the 5hit hits the fan, it'll show everyone what a load of nonsense the quota system has been and there will be awkward questions asked.

 

On the other hand, this new buyers and seller register may be enforced in the same way as the quota system is. In which case it'll show everyone, through lack of convictions, just how good the quota system is.

[wurzel]

Hello Steve

If it is for thier own consumption, which it normaly is,it would be quite legal and they would not have to regester. I supose it would be illegal if a unlicenced boat sold the fish, I'm geting confused.

[Guest stevie cop]

Hello Peter

That's what I meant. I think? They've left it so that an unregistered boat can catch 25kg of fish a day. They just won't be allowed to sell it. They aren't allowed to sell it now, but we all know they do.

 

What I am saying is, 25kg a day is too much for personal consumption. This loophole will be exploited. Has it been left there on purpose?

[Leon Roskilly]

Steve,

 

You are getting confused!

 

An unregistered boat can still catch as much as it likes each day.

 

The 25kg is the amount that a buyer can purchase for his/her own consumption from a fishing vessel without the need to register as a buyer.

 

If they then go on to sell it, they will be committing an offence.

 

I'll send you the explanatory notes etc.

 

You need to understand what the seller's position is and what the buyer's position is.

 

None of this makes redundant any of the existing rules about catching and selling, it's added on top, and is meant to put some of the risk of dealing in black fish upon those ashore, and to make sure that there is a paper trail that shows that fish being bought and sold are legitmate.

 

Without the right paperwork, from the right person, you are in trouble!

 

 

Have Fun

 

Tight Lines - leon

 

[ 29. June 2005, 10:20 PM: Message edited by: Leon Roskilly ]

[Guest jay_con]

Through an Audit it should be possible to make sure most things are above board ???? So there should be no more hiding of fishing under layers of different species, no more recording cod as non quota type species, no more non recording of catches?, no more private auctions?.

 

Surely through an audit all that should have been possible anyways without this measure?

[Guest stevie cop]

O.K Leon, thanks for the details. I think I see it now!

 

So the part time gill netter who sells his fish to the chinese, pub, restaurant, etc, may find that they won't buy it from him any more because they will have to show paperwork proving that they bought it from a registered fisherman?

 

If they can't show the paperwork, they have committed an offence?

 

O.K, it'll work if it is enforced. Who is going to enforce it? Fisheries officers, customs and excise, police?

[Guest jay_con]

They will probably only use this legislation to go after the big boys steve, and im pretty certain they already know who they are. Just another tool in the box I guess.

 

Only guessing but havent the part timers been priced out by the availability of cheap farmed fish steve or am I rather naive? I know it stopped the Salmon poachers.

[big_cod]

The horse has bolted as far as cod goes the damage has already been done.

[Guest jay_con]

You keep saying this BC. I guess at present it can go either way. The stock can be maintained with hopes of an increase or without controls such as this it can continue into extinction. It may be late in the day but the fact you are still catching cod suggests there is still some hope. Just think of all those poor guys down south who havent seen a cod for 5 years - This is where the horse has bolted.

 

No matter how much we wish things were as they were in the 80's and 90,s they just arent. No amount of court cases etc is gonna put them fish back. Lets just hope that in future measures such as this make people think twice before taking out more than they should. Im looking forward with fingers crossed .

 

Judging by the response of some of the commercial fishermen and those with interests in the industry this legislation could be quite useful. Lets look forward not back