Bradshaw bottles it.

[steve good]

Hello Steve G

 

What would you say to a suggestion of leaveing the mls at 36cm but still increasing gill net minimum size to 100ml?

Something that came up in conservastion with some anglers the other day, I said it would be a compromize, let Bradshaw off the hook for the moment and verually have the same intended effect on gill net fisheries close in shore and estuaries where anglers come in coflict with commercial fishermen more often.

 

Hi Peter

 

I see nothing wrong with that except what would happen to the Hasting beach boats who use 90mm mesh for catching soles, I would agree to what you say if people like the hasting boys agree. I would not like to agree with something that might effect or disadvantage other fishermen unless they to were happy with it

 

steve

[steve pitts]

Hi ColinW

 

If you leave the existing breeding stock alone then there will never be a problem with the bass stocks.

 

steve

 

I'm a bit lost here Steve - can you help me out?

Whilst I agree with your statement; breeding stocks should be left alone IMO, assuming that most bass over 42cm will be mature, or approaching maturity and therefore make up the breeding stock, how will the commercial sector NOT catch fish of this size and above.

 

OK, so if a rod and liner / hand liner catches a fish of mature size, he can return it unharmed, but the whole issue according to the NFFO is the assumed discard rate in the trawl fisheries - which as we all know is not as selective as lining or gill netting.

 

Surely, they would be shoveling back dead bass of + 42cm if your hypothesis was ever put into rigorously applied practice - a Maximum Landing size, if you will.

 

Skilled fishermen know where mature and immature fish are likely to be found and can use methods and gears accordingly, so I would have thought that those who target a range of fish sizes - not relying solely on any one year class to support their job, would actually oppose the concept of fishing down a stock to a recruitment fishery level, which is happening as we speak.

 

With almost every other stock going belly up - for what ever reason - bass represent about the only real consistant success story in inshore fin fish fisheries. Just why are the inshore commercial sector so intent on sticking together, come hell or high water, for the benefit of a minority of trawler outfits who will not concede that they could benefit if they adapted methods and gears.

 

Cheers

Steve

Edited March 24, 2007 by steve pitts

[wurzel]

Hi Peter

 

I see nothing wrong with that except what would happen to the Hasting beach boats who use 90mm mesh for catching soles, I would agree to what you say if people like the hasting boys agree. I would not like to agree with something that might effect or disadvantage other fishermen unless they to were happy with it

 

steve

 

 

Hello Steve G

 

The same applies to me and our spring sole fishery, it's a sole not a bass fishery same for the sole trawlers there are at times a few bass, there are rules already in place to determine your target species, there should be no reason for rules on gill netting for bass to disadvantage a sole fishery.

I think the Hasting fleet (6 boats I think) under the MSC certification are already using 100ml for their soles any way.

[Ryford]

Hi Peter,

 

Would you happen to know how they are setting their nets to retain the sole?

 

andyR

[wurzel]

Hi Peter,

 

Would you happen to know how they are setting their nets to retain the sole?

 

andyR

 

 

Hello Ryford

 

Do you mean how are the nets rigged?

[Ryford]

Hi Peter,

 

Yes, I was wondering how they are rigged as it was my understanding that soles will escape much smaller mesh in a trawl. Are they set loser for instance, so as to act as more of a tangle net.

 

andyR

[wurzel]

Hi Peter,

 

Yes, I was wondering how they are rigged as it was my understanding that soles will escape much smaller mesh in a trawl. Are they set loser for instance, so as to act as more of a tangle net.

 

andyR

 

 

Hello Ryford

 

Generally a 80ml trawl retains more of the smallest grade than a 90ml gill or trammel net. once you get up to a 100 ml you lose most of the bottom 2 grades of sole, this can be offset a bit as 100ml catches a few more of the larger grades .

last year with CEFAS we used a short net of 70ml to compare and see what we weren't catching in the rest of the nets.

there were hundreds of small undersized soles that we were not seeing in the main fleets also several small sizeable ones but only one or two large soles, the larger fish were bouncing off.

 

 

a sole gill net is usually very shallow, only fishing about 3 feet high, rigged very slack, 100 yrds = 33 yrds rigged, a trammel is normally rigged by half perhaps a little more but the outer walls hold the inner mesh down making it very baggy especially along the bottom foot or so.

 

Some fishermen prefer the gill some the trammel net, it often depends on the type of ground as the gill nets tend to fish cleaner.

 

I hope that helps

[Toerag]

Wurzel/Steve G - It would be really good if you could write an article on netting/trawling/lining for the site for people to refer back to - obviously not giving away any 'trade secrets', but explaining the basics. I think a lot of people would appreciate it and it would stop people making decisions based on poor information.

[Steve Coppolo]

I think a lot of people would appreciate it and it would stop people making decisions based on poor information.

 

A lot of people wouldn't believe it, and would still make decisions based on poor information.

[stavey]

Wurzel/Steve G - It would be really good if you could write an article on netting/trawling/lining for the site for people to refer back to - obviously not giving away any 'trade secrets', but explaining the basics. I think a lot of people would appreciate it and it would stop people making decisions based on poor information.

 

Nice idea toerag (if those that gave the information were being genuing about that information) would you trust wurzel or steve g 100% on such an article? now let me see Hmmmm i am having to think realy hard about that myself, NOT, cheers..................

 

 

Ps sorry not taking the p*ss no offence like.....