Skate mutilation

[Alan Taylor]

I hope one of these pictures are published in the angling press and the person(s) responsible are shamed in public. Disgusting :mad:

 

Would having to qualify for and buy a Licence to fish for Common Skate put a stop to this sort of thing?

 

Alan

[Spur-Hound]

Thats an absolute disgrace!!!! I feel ashamed knowing that an angler did this, Same with boat safety, bieng at sea etc i think people who want to fish for skate should be educated properly , and make sure there responsable enough 1st,

On the other hands ,maybe they are educated but are just sick b@$t***S

 

I think the angling press should show this, So people know that there still bad anglers out there that need weeded out!!

[dale]

could it have been a prop blade?

[spanner]

At least it shows how tough these fish are, surviving such wounds and apparently thriving.

 

I cant see how it could be nets, although the fact the cuts are at 90degrees is interesting, almost as if something with sharp edges had been dropped on top of its nose. I wonder how often a fish is sitting on the bottom having a quiet snooze when somebody drops an anchor on its snout! (not that this could be anchor though)

 

Likewise I cant believe that kind of damage could be deliberately inflicted with a knife, or maybe I am just too naïve.

[SandTiger]

All the stuff on prop wounds seems to suggest parralel cuts:

 

 

Manatee with fresh boat propeller wounds on the peduncle and tail

[Leon Roskilly]

It might have come up in a net and 'had to be' cut out, to avoid damaging the net too much.

 

Tight Lines - leon

[chappers]

Having looked at the picture I would say accidental damage seems unlikely as the cuts seem too clean and its strange that they are two identical cuts one on each side of the snout.

Though it still baffles me why anyone would have any legitamate reason for doing this.

[Davy Holt]

Hiya,

 

The cuts were very clean, unlike the tearing of a gaff which is quite obvious when you see it on a skate

 

Propeller.. is a non starter as the cuts would have been identical shape and direction as in the picture of the Manatee.

 

bad gaffing: cuts were too clean with no tearing of the flesh that would happen with a gaff tearing through.

 

Cut out of a net: nope would be no reason for to make the cuts on the head like that, it's the tail that is always tangled in nets and sometimes cut off.

 

It's also doubtful that anything dropped would have caused that, without the fish tearing it's self free which would show different injuries.

 

Sadly the only plausible source for the injuries is for them to have been inflicted by a knife :mad: :mad: :mad:

 

Alan.. we will find out in due course, if the legislation goes through OK you will need a licence to fish for Commons and it will be illegal to land any dead... so fingers crossed

[Leon Roskilly]

Davy Holt:

Alan.. we will find out in due course, if the legislation goes through OK you will need a licence to fish for Commons and it will be illegal to land any dead... so fingers crossed

There has been discussion about licensing angling for certain species along the lines of a licence currently being needed to fish for trout and salmon (out to 6 miles).

 

The problem is that it's impossible to determine exactly what anyone is fishing for.

 

All that not having a licence means is that you have to return any species that takes your bait that you should have a licence for.

 

Exactly as a saltwater fly angler, who hooks a sea-trout whilst targeting bass, and doesn't have a migratory fish licence has to do now.

 

So, in all practicality, you can fish for sea trout without a licence anytime you want, without the need for a licence, so long as you return any fish you 'accidentally' hook.

 

In effect, if a licence were to be introduced (say) for bass, it would (in effect) be a licence to retain bass. So lug worm chuckers would still be able to catch as many bass as takes there bait, without an offence being committed, so long as no fish are retained.

 

I doubt that we would want a common skate licence that only allowed you to retain fish!

 

So how would you legislate so that an angler fishing for skate couldn't claim to be fishing for something else, and putting back all of the 'accidentally' caught skate?

 

Tight Lines - leon

[spasor]

Davy.

I have to agree with you. Those cuts were deliberately made.

Even amateurish gaffing would have left a large hole near the snout. Where all the weight of the fish was being held?

Those cuts were deliberate!

Some folks need a severe slapping? No way such winkers should be allowed afloat again.

With any luck, they`ll be bragging about their exploits in their local, and word will get around. :mad: :mad:

With all the care I`ve seen the Catchalot crew give these fish. It makes me sick!!

Paul.