An Alliance Between Anglers And Commercials?

[Guest jay_con]

Taboo why doesnt that come as a shock???

[Leon Roskilly]

John and Michele:

If someone approaches a politician and suggests a good plan for improvement, he will say, "That's a good plan, but it cannot be implemented because we have to consider all parties involved." And so it goes round and round, never getting anywhere. But what do the politicians care? They still get paid at the end of the month. The only thing that alters is that they keep getting pay rises while our livelihood or sport is disappearing.

From Ben Bradshaw's Letter in Fishing News (16th September)

 

"Prior to the recent election, the Labour Party launched the Charter for Angling. In the foreward I said I had agreed "to implement much of the excellent bass management plan put forward by the Bass Anglers Sport Fishing Society"

 

The first part of that, a proposal to increase the mls for bass to 45cm, and increase mesh sizes accordingly, will go out for consulation shortly, with further proposals based on the BMP to follow soon.

 

It will be up to anglers en masse to support the proposals to ensure that they go forward.

 

If too many anglers leave it to others to put their pens where their mouths are, then the politicians will rightly take the attitude that John ascribes to them.

 

Why should they bother?

 

Tight Lines - leon

[Guest jay_con]

Anyone any idea what a blinder is???

[Brian Carragher]

Is'nt it a cricket term for when someone has played a good game " he's played a blinder"

[Old Man of the Sea]

big_cod:

Old man of the sea mate being reading your threads and oh dear I thought you were a experienced trawler skipper but i was wrong, on the case of discards you a totally wrong it seems, i  am not a trawler skipper but on the other hand i speak to them daily and the discard rate has being emense the last 4 or 5 weeks with small codling going back over the side feeding on herring spawn and no it hasnt being weed in the cod end its being vast amounts of small codling this is from the skippers mouths so why you say seed whiting yes seed whiting are mixed in but there has being a hell of lot of small codling mixed in sadly to say ,but on the other hand these guys have a living to make but it is very sad in 2005 that this practice still goes on.

Mr Big Cod,

What you thought - or think - about me is of no concern to me at all.

 

You are right, you are not a trawler skipper and probably never have been. From what you have said on this forum, it is obvious your commercial fishing experience is - at most - limited.

 

Now please go back to my last posting. Read and then try to understand the last paragraph. If you can't manage that, perhaps you should ask somebody to help you.

 

Over to you!

[stavey]

Anyone any idea what a blinder is???

 

Someone who fits blinds perhaps?

sorry autumn could'nt resist that, i dont no but it those sound a bit naughty though.......

[spanner]

sounds like something that obstructs the mesh.......

[Ian Burrett]

I am guessing Spanner has hit it on the head. Sounds like a small gauge net inserted in the cod end to stop smaller fish escaping.

desperate measures if is true

[spanner]

Binatone,

 

The fact the anglers and commercials may enjoy the challenge of trying to find the fish, its all part of the 'hunt', doesn't change the fact that man has decimated the marine environment and fish stocks are way below what they should be.

 

You just have to look at historic documents of previous catch rates to see how bad things are.

 

A couple of hours in a row bait with a string of feathers and a rubber eel saw a dozen coalfish all well into double figures in the 1920's. In the same place now you might still catch a dozen but the average size will be 1lb or less, and the last double figure fish was caught decades ago.

 

That wasn't a 'natural high' in the 20's, post 1st world war or anything, as catches like that were the norm for decades, but once fishing got going on a commercial scale it decimated the stocks. It was un-sustainable, and it still is, and that it s to change.

 

Saying that there aren't the fish there used to be is admitting that there is a problem, but saying you just have to put a bit more effort into it is effectively saying that you are going to do nothing about correcting it.

 

How long do you suggest we keep putting in more and more effort into chasing diminishing stocks?

 

 

Ideally the stock levels should be allowed to regenerate to levels like they originally were, and then only 'harvest' what can be sustained, but I know that will never happen.

 

The biggest failing I see is with the politicians trying to protect the status quo, when that stock level is already way below where it should be.

[Guest jay_con]

OMOTS ???? As a commercial fisherman are you able to give me a better understanding of the word blinder that has been brought into this conversation. I have never heared this term before and am very interested to learn more.

Im also wondering about your thoughts on the research I have quoted above. Would you say the yorkshire coast fishery is an immature one?? Perhaps this will explain the alleged amounts of undersize fish around at the moment. The research also suggest a Spring trawl of the area to test for the existance of a vunerable year class of undersize codlings so that measures to protect them can be introduced. Do you think protecting undersize fish in this way is the way forward ????

 

Im also trying to get a picture of the scale of the undersize discards. As an x skipper omots could you estimate how many undersize codlings you have returned to the sea either dead or alive throughout your carreaer. I,m also interested on your thoughts of the seasons of the mid to late 90's what were discard levels like then???

 

[ 12. October 2005, 01:28 PM: Message edited by: @AUTUMN@ ]