Bass in Guernsey

[roryh]

Why should they have done anything illegal ?

 

It takes two boats to pair trawl, at the moment there are 3 boats pair trawling for sprats in this area, once one is full and heads for the harbour the other takes up the tow, makes good sense to me and is perfectly legal.

With a catch like that it makes sense to spread it around, it's no good flooding one market.

It might seem to your angling perception that they are being greedy, but in reality to the commercial fishermen they are just making up for all the days when they catch very little or nothing, all fishermen rely on a bumper catch once in a while, it's the carrot that leads you to sea time after time and makes the job what it is.

 

See this is why i asked in th first place, no good coming out guns blazing till the facts are out. Three boats working sounded like common sense to me in the first place.

However do we know what the investigation is for?

Edited February 11, 2007 by roryh

[roryh]

Mornin Wurzel,

 

If this is the case and it is legal then i do not have a problem with it. There must be some thing not quite right in this instance if defra and the local sfc had to get involved or is this the norm? My other problem is Hypocricy and attitude of their reps, ok, it appears they have found a way around the quota, take what they like, fine, then they have the gaul to suggest that the rsa and the jersey boats are the ones that will damage the fishery. Fishings fine made a point that these are the breading stock, also when they tagged some three hundred of these they appeared to spread out and were captured up and down the channel. I hope for all of us that these fish are being trawled sustaianably, but on the other hand they are not as the commercial reps say that the rsa are the ones who are catching them all at the same time and damaging the fishery.

 

The final point on your post, is it normal for these guys to take the locally caught fish out of the local economy to get the best price, or only on the rare occasion as you intimate? None of the islanders saw any of those fish.That must be a five hour crossing for the boat each way so the price differance must be enormous. Cheers Wurzel.

Fully agre with the hypocrisy point tho, to suggest such damage by the proportionaly few anglers then tak such numbers all in on hit, sounds a bit iffy to say the least.

[roryh]

sry tried to delete a doubled post.

Edited February 11, 2007 by roryh

[Ian Burrett]

Why should they have done anything illegal ?

 

Hi Wurzel

 

One of the SOS committee Denis Kelly found this whilst doing some research on the Eu fisheries site.

 

Although written in legal gibbety gook; The boats clearly broke the law

 

Trans-shipment and export of fish prohibited without a licence

7. (1) Within the fishing waters the transshipment from a fishing boat or the receiving of fish by a fishing boat from another fishing boat or the transport from the territorial seas or internal waters by any fishing boat of fish transshipped from any other fishing boat is prohibited unless authorized by a transshipment licence or export licence granted under this section.

(2) Where any fishing boat is used in contravention of a prohibition imposed by this section the master, the owner and the charterer shall each be guilty of an offence.

Provided that it shall be a defence to a prosecution for an offence arising under this subsection if the person charged satisfies the court that the fish was not taken, caught or captured in the fishing waters.

PENALTY: £50,000.

[roryh]

Hi Wurzel

 

One of the SOS committee Denis Kelly found this whilst doing some research on the Eu fisheries site.

 

Although written in legal gibbety gook; The boats clearly broke the law

 

Trans-shipment and export of fish prohibited without a licence

7. (1) Within the fishing waters the transshipment from a fishing boat or the receiving of fish by a fishing boat from another fishing boat or the transport from the territorial seas or internal waters by any fishing boat of fish transshipped from any other fishing boat is prohibited unless authorized by a transshipment licence or export licence granted under this section.

(2) Where any fishing boat is used in contravention of a prohibition imposed by this section the master, the owner and the charterer shall each be guilty of an offence.

Provided that it shall be a defence to a prosecution for an offence arising under this subsection if the person charged satisfies the court that the fish was not taken, caught or captured in the fishing waters.

PENALTY: £50,000.

 

Now THAT clarifies things perfectly, for one boat to be full and leave being rplacd by the third is legal but for fish to be cross loaded isnt!?!

Can see the reasoning in spreading the catch between markets tho, only common sense, as far as the islands never seeing the fish is concerned there was never any suggestion that they were for consumption by the islands, just a scource of revenue.

Edited February 11, 2007 by roryh

[barry luxton]

Hi Wurzel

 

One of the SOS committee Denis Kelly found this whilst doing some research on the Eu fisheries site.

 

Although written in legal gibbety gook; The boats clearly broke the law

 

Trans-shipment and export of fish prohibited without a licence

7. (1) Within the fishing waters the transshipment from a fishing boat or the receiving of fish by a fishing boat from another fishing boat or the transport from the territorial seas or internal waters by any fishing boat of fish transshipped from any other fishing boat is prohibited unless authorized by a transshipment licence or export licence granted under this section.

(2) Where any fishing boat is used in contravention of a prohibition imposed by this section the master, the owner and the charterer shall each be guilty of an offence.

Provided that it shall be a defence to a prosecution for an offence arising under this subsection if the person charged satisfies the court that the fish was not taken, caught or captured in the fishing waters.

PENALTY: £50,000.

 

So obviously they must have a transshipment licence then?

[barry luxton]

as far as the islands never seeing the fish is concerned there was never any suggestion that they were for consumption by the islands, just a scource of revenue.

 

That would appear to be a little bit emotive though, like crapping on your own doorstep.

[wurzel]

So obviously they must have a transshipment licence then?

 

Hello Barry

 

It does not apply to pair trawling.

 

If the fish had been landed local the price of shipping them to the main land would have come off the price, much better to take them your self. I have done the same many times.

[barry luxton]

Hello Barry

 

It does not apply to pair trawling.

 

If the fish had been landed local the price of shipping them to the main land would have come off the price, much better to take them your self. I have done the same many times.

 

Good evening Wurzel, so if when pair trawling they say both have quota, fine i understand that, but what about the third boat or forth, fifth, for that matter? Is this where transshippment comes in use?

 

Again Wurzel, taking those fish to the mainland is not the norm then fine, but if this is normal practice, where the fish caught locally are taken out of the local ecomomy, it would be like letting tom, dick and harry fish right up to our doorstep in the knowledge that we would not benifit from them.

[FishingGuernsey]

As I understand, the third vessel was not involved in the pair trawl activity, it was called when the catch was realised to be so big in order to offload them. I will stand corrected if i am wrong, but that I understand is why they are being investigated.