Post by bobshotter on Oct 4, 2013 10:19:21 GMT
Nick would be in breach of WSF rules were he to copy n paste here where as I'm not. If Mr Thrushel Jnr has a problem with these post being copied he has only to say. So here ya go a selection of post from WSF courtesy of myself, enjoy >>>>
The Nick Sunny Show
Nicks 1st Post………….. “Its been a long time since I bothered to waste time on this forum, because anglers are never allowed to speak freely here. And when I say anglers, I don't include Commercial Fishermen who own a rod; even those with gin palace fishing boats. But when I saw the Bass C&R thread I did wonder how long it would be before the disinformation crowd began to weave their misuse of facts. No slight on you Parahandy, but disinformation is just another form of propaganda :0)
In a later post Nick said…………. “C&R is about the future of our pastime, in a sea decimated by commercial activity and a government that has utterly failed to control them”
Quote Originally Posted by Gulp (A WSF moderator)………….
Indeed. It amazes me how people who do it just for fun attempt to take the moral high ground.
Nick replied………… “Surely it isn't about 'taking the moral high ground', it is about doing something positive for fish stocks ?
Otherwise we become no better than the commercials who simply take, take, take, like the supply is endless.
If the guy wishes to go angling for the fun of it then so be it....its a pastime that tens of thousands (who knows how many) enjoy up and down the length of this country. Your words simply defame every freshwater angler in the land....seems somewhat unreasonable on an angling forum, where many many members fish both sea and fresh.
So Gulp, whilst it may amaze you it is normal behaviour for huge numbers of anglers. Those that do practice it in the sea should be able to express their opinion - on here - without feeling that they are doing something abnormal, or a fringe element ...on some moral crusade.
Most anglers - on the beach - will say that they see C&R as being an important contribution to the future of our pastime, sport, passion ...hobby. If the original author of this thread feels that this should be said then good on him. He is far from alone in his thoughts.”
Quote Originally Posted by Para Handy………….
Both the "carrier bags full of dead fish and doggies slung up the beach and on the rock marks" are visible evidence of waste and are rightly condemned, & not only by the antis. But catch & release is also condemned by conservationists because it puts fish at risk. CEFAS (and ICES) reckons C&R mortality is on average about 20% across all sea species with some (mackerel) over 70%. That's why C&R of in-size fish is illegal in Germany. You're supposed to be fishing for food.”
Nick answered that with………. “There is absolutely no - peer reviewed - science to support that claim and you seem to have mixed two issues; which will cause some disinformation.
The German thing was about pain, not survival rates. German lakes are stocked with 'small carp' and one would suppose that 20% mortality - quoted - would mean that the shoreline had previously been awash with dead carp.... sorry I was laughing there!
I have fished in German lakes and rivers and I didn't see the hordes of dead fish. The Germans - on the whole - killed everything they caught and saw us Brits as slightly odd in putting the fish back.
The German thing was to stop undue pain. However, the latest science has proven that fish do not suffer pain as we understand it and so the application of the law in Germany is unfounded nonsense.
C&R is practiced by BASS and the NMC. In tagging schemes it has been shown that the same fish have survived and been caught again. It is also the experience of many mullet anglers that see the same large fish year after year, in the same spots, despite being caught and released.
BUT LOGIC MUST PREVAIL....why should a carp - caught many, many times - always survive and not sea fish?!!
The truth is it is about handling techniques and ensuring the fish is returned quickly.
I keep my fish (bass & mullet) in the net, to recover and dissipate lactic acid before bringing them out for photographs......by doing this my fish go back strong and with no pushing through the water. I would suggest that they survive. I fish some quite confined logoons, which otherwise would see floating dead mullet ....I don't.
I'm sure many sea anglers can add to these experiences and so this figure for sea fish mortality from C&R angling is unfounded propaganda......which serves what purpose !
British freshwater anglers will testify that C&R of carp, bream, roach, trout, rudd ....long list.....does not result in masses of dead fish. It’s a nonsense claim by CEFAS....all driven by commercial industry propaganda. I think -they are worried that the UK will adopt schemes being rolled out in the western USA, where certain species are designated sport-only.
Money talks and it fights very hard to keep the 'gravy train' rolling; and CEFAS & ICES have proven who owns them !”
Quote Originally Posted by cfish………….
It is very enjoyable, if I go out and target bass then 9 times out of 10 i do catch a few. This isn’t because i am some top dangler but because i fish the right times, tides and conditions that produce where i fish. You won’t get me out bassing in crystal clear, flat calm, bright sunshine and at low water, though of course people do go and then blame everyone but themselves when they blank. The big hype surrounding bass confuses me, if they are there and feeding then a kid with a worm on a bent pin and a bean pole could catch them, all fish should be treated the same, no one species should be judged better than another. On the c&r thing, I only throw undersize bass back, any in size I take home, if I don’t want any for the oven/freezer then I don’t fish for them.”
Nick replied………..Cornwall has probably the best waters in the UK....but despite that the fish stock there is not perfect and is a fraction of what it was.
Stating that a Sussex, Hampshire or Essex angler is failing due to technique is neither fair nor true. If you can come to Hampshire and do the same then I would listen to your argument....but it is flawed and does not reflect the state of the UK fishery
I consider myself a reasonable boat angler and when I go out to target bass I too am able to catch them....but I have to be prepared to put in some miles, going anything up to 35 miles out. I know - for a fact - that had I fished the same areas in the 40s, 50s or early 60s I would have bagged up on the inshore reefs. Those fish were taken by commercial activity and have never recovered.
Ask any south coast angler and they will tell you how few big bass there are. The facts - from marine scientists - support the experiences of anglers. I think what the guys are saying is that putting back big breeding bass is sound logic. It’s just a shame that commercial fishermen only see pound notes and that such selfish activity is destroying the stock”
Quote Originally Posted by dai1641……………….
“I am a born hunter, I no longer shoot but fishing has always been my number one hobby. I have never fished for fun as I take no pleasure in causing injury to any creature; I do fish for food and only target fish that I would eat. Having a licensed boat allows me to sell any fish that are surplus to my requirements. I also derive a great deal of pleasure giving feeds to old folk that can't afford to pay supermarket prices, there again the people I sell fish to are not paying supermarket prices either, but are paying a bit more than rip off wholesalers. My commercial activities go towards paying my costs, but never seem to cover all of them. That is my choice, I don't put the time in fishing when I can, and do earn a hell of a lot more cleaning windows. I have no qualms about landing a 10lb bass, she has never been kept in pens, force fed or been carted off in a truck to the slaughterhouse. The truth is my nets are 100mm mesh and most large fish just bounce off.
I have no problems with what anglers do, it's up to them, keep them or release them. I do often wonder what happens to those big fish that snap angler’s lines, and swim off with a hook and a length on nylon line attached to their mouth.
A long and lingering death I shouldn't wonder.”
Nick replied thus………….. “So you are a Commercial Fishermen....not an angler...isn't there a Commercial Fishing Forum?
I'm sure some of your contribution the anglers on here will find helpful, but I fail to see how you can offer an opinion on C&R...... I have just looked on your thread history and there are no catch reports...do you own a fishing rod even?
I have to question why so many commercial fishermen are to be found on this Conservation page..... Would it not be more helpful to let the anglers talk and listen to their concerns?”
Quote Originally Posted by Rouge Moullet
“By stating in a post that you caught and released a fish would indicate you see some righteousness in doing so otherwise why mention it. Fish are food. These days even tiny little fish are not left in peace to grow with the onset of this craze for tiddler bashin in rockpools (for fun)”
Nick replied with this…………. “There seems to be scant few catch reports from you mate....no pictures of good bass either. You live in the Channel Islands....which used to be richer than Cornwall...but now rapidly in decline.
I see that you made light of Henry Gilbey's account of declining fishing in the Channel Islands
A bit of a do
So the mullet club used to travel there - in numbers - every winter, to catch the large 8Lb plus fish, for which it was famous. They were not deterred by the cost....but they no longer go because the commercial fellows (bless them) have netted the place to death and the big mullet have been exterminated.
A mullet that is worth a few pennies more than a potato !
Killing your angling tourism...quality!
Quote Originally Posted by storsy
“I would say that you fish for pleasure, not "sport".
I would be delighted if the "fish for sport" title was done away with for good.
Most other human v's creature "sports", have fallen foul of the anti (just about everything) zealots.
But that's just my opinion.”
Nick said……….. “Storsky...I recall from our past encounters that you are in the Commercial Fishing camp.....and that you hadn't caught anything with a rod and line...has that changed?
You also have to give up this quest to not call angling a sport...in the minds of virtually all Britons it is a sport...which means ..it is a sport. If the whole population thinks something is a sport and a few disagree then I'm sorry but you are a minority fringe group.
Let us enjoy our sport, let us enjoy debating our sport, leave us to determine how we should feel about our sport and what we do with our fish. You make money out of yours, we get sport :0)”
Quote Originally Posted by dai1641……………..
“Don't make me laugh Fishbuoy, I have only caught 6 bass this year. How many have you taken? I have however caught loads of plaice, how come nobody moans about that? When I say loads I don't think the total weight would come to more than 300kgs. It's obvious to me that you have little concept of what small scale commercial fishing is. I have seen the weekend warrior brigade weighing in bass to a local wholesaler, two guys struggling to carry the huge cool box. Another guy who has a local fish round buys all his bass from boat anglers, no doubt at a smaller price. It's not worth having a licensed boat when you consider the hassle and paper work involved, only to be undercut on price by the weekend recreational anglers. "Let he without sin cast the first stone" my friend, you need to see what's really going on.
I'm not one to cast stones...not as long as lead weights are available :0)”
Nick Sunny said ………….. “I personally think that pair trawlers are the biggest threat to bass stock...not the small inshore guy.
But I also think gill nets should be illegal.... 'period'. Line caught small commercial fish should be encouraged.
Anglers selling their catch to restaurants should result in the restaurant being prosecuted. Make the fines eye-watering, as they are in Australia and you will kill that trade over-night”
Originally Posted by robert gallacher
“that would be incorrect. there is insufficient data to make any judgement on bass stocks. theorising the bass stock is low because commercial catches have risen in the last 2 decades is not the way fish stocks should be surveyed.
numbers caught by anglers year on year recently do not seem to vary much in the main areas unless weather has an impact, like the long cold spring we had this year.
i would agree there may well have been more bass 30 years ago,but i doubt stocks have changed much in the last 15 years.”
Nick said ………. “cheers rab
And tobacco does not cause cancer!
Rab...good to see you are still abusing the truth :0)
I'm not accusing you of being 'in denial', but you are not a marine scientist, so perhaps you should at least listen to those that know better. The scientists are studying the whole stock...not just some little corner where you are fishing.
Not that I don't believe your experience...but I don't see any hordes of big bass on your catch reports (all one)....are you keeping them secret?
In fact you had to go out on the gin palace (paid for by dragging oyster nets) to get some decent fishing !!!
a lovely sunny day in the solway
It would be nice if we could all afford to buy such a boat and go fishing in one of the best - remaining - venues in the country.
Now I can go out and catch a few Tope....and as boat anglers in my part of the country go, I do reasonably well........but the numbers are nothing like that area you went to. Why?
Could it be because the (French) Commercial Fishermen, joined by our own home-grown commercials have killed them all?
Look, Rab, you and I have 'sparred' many times. But your argument here is built on misinformation and a complete lack of evidence. Bass stock has plummeted - according to the scientists, anglers and conservationists. Why are you even attempting to refute it....where does this statement come from?
I would say that Anglers have far more in common with Conservationists than they ever will with Commercial (greed-driven) fishermen. Most anglers see the merits of conserving bass stock...as do Conservationists. Commercial fishermen only see profit...to buy that bigger gin-palace fishing boat, their next BMW X5, or an even bigger house.
Conservationists on the other hand are concerned about the marine environment, as are anglers. We (anglers) want to go out fishing and not blank. If we do Blank then it is not our timing, not our location, not our tactics or bait...it is because some person got there first with a trawler and a net...and exterminated the lot.”
Originally Posted by Gulp ……………….
The short answer is no.
The long answer is: I do not know enough commercial fishermen to determine if they are/were motivated by greed. And I have just moved from Cumbria, where two Fisheries Officers told me that more bass are landed there by so-called recreational sea anglers than by commercials.
A fish removed from the stock is gone, whether caught by a commercial, a "RSA" or dying after return.”
Nick replied………. “If Commercial Fishery was not greedy then the fish would still be there....seems to be an obvious equation?
If the fish have gone then someone must be greedy. When stocks get low the non-greedy commercial would find another source of income, one that was perhaps less damaging to the marine eco-system?
We no longer have the immense North Sea herring shoal...is that not because of greed?
Some might think that saying ...I don't know enough Commercial Fishermen to say.....is just avoiding the obvious (the elephant in the room). If the fish are not there then someone has taken them all....which is either greedy or not greedy. The facts speak for themselves.
Now this fishery officer claim....it sounds really dubious that a Fishery Professional would claim that more bass are caught by RSA than commercials. Can you tell me their names or what office they hail from. I will write to that office and ask for evidence...freedom of information act is a mighty powerful tool.
I struggle to believe such a claim.... its nonsense to suggest that guys with rod & line could compete with pair trawlers.
For a start the volume of tons would mean that every angler would be going home with their cars overloaded !!!!
Give me the names or office and I will follow this one up. If they are stating that then I will challenge them for the evidence, the figures, and the proof. We cannot have public servants spreading lies like that; it must be challenged.”
The Nick Sunny Show
Nicks 1st Post………….. “Its been a long time since I bothered to waste time on this forum, because anglers are never allowed to speak freely here. And when I say anglers, I don't include Commercial Fishermen who own a rod; even those with gin palace fishing boats. But when I saw the Bass C&R thread I did wonder how long it would be before the disinformation crowd began to weave their misuse of facts. No slight on you Parahandy, but disinformation is just another form of propaganda :0)
In a later post Nick said…………. “C&R is about the future of our pastime, in a sea decimated by commercial activity and a government that has utterly failed to control them”
Quote Originally Posted by Gulp (A WSF moderator)………….
Indeed. It amazes me how people who do it just for fun attempt to take the moral high ground.
Nick replied………… “Surely it isn't about 'taking the moral high ground', it is about doing something positive for fish stocks ?
Otherwise we become no better than the commercials who simply take, take, take, like the supply is endless.
If the guy wishes to go angling for the fun of it then so be it....its a pastime that tens of thousands (who knows how many) enjoy up and down the length of this country. Your words simply defame every freshwater angler in the land....seems somewhat unreasonable on an angling forum, where many many members fish both sea and fresh.
So Gulp, whilst it may amaze you it is normal behaviour for huge numbers of anglers. Those that do practice it in the sea should be able to express their opinion - on here - without feeling that they are doing something abnormal, or a fringe element ...on some moral crusade.
Most anglers - on the beach - will say that they see C&R as being an important contribution to the future of our pastime, sport, passion ...hobby. If the original author of this thread feels that this should be said then good on him. He is far from alone in his thoughts.”
Quote Originally Posted by Para Handy………….
Both the "carrier bags full of dead fish and doggies slung up the beach and on the rock marks" are visible evidence of waste and are rightly condemned, & not only by the antis. But catch & release is also condemned by conservationists because it puts fish at risk. CEFAS (and ICES) reckons C&R mortality is on average about 20% across all sea species with some (mackerel) over 70%. That's why C&R of in-size fish is illegal in Germany. You're supposed to be fishing for food.”
Nick answered that with………. “There is absolutely no - peer reviewed - science to support that claim and you seem to have mixed two issues; which will cause some disinformation.
The German thing was about pain, not survival rates. German lakes are stocked with 'small carp' and one would suppose that 20% mortality - quoted - would mean that the shoreline had previously been awash with dead carp.... sorry I was laughing there!
I have fished in German lakes and rivers and I didn't see the hordes of dead fish. The Germans - on the whole - killed everything they caught and saw us Brits as slightly odd in putting the fish back.
The German thing was to stop undue pain. However, the latest science has proven that fish do not suffer pain as we understand it and so the application of the law in Germany is unfounded nonsense.
C&R is practiced by BASS and the NMC. In tagging schemes it has been shown that the same fish have survived and been caught again. It is also the experience of many mullet anglers that see the same large fish year after year, in the same spots, despite being caught and released.
BUT LOGIC MUST PREVAIL....why should a carp - caught many, many times - always survive and not sea fish?!!
The truth is it is about handling techniques and ensuring the fish is returned quickly.
I keep my fish (bass & mullet) in the net, to recover and dissipate lactic acid before bringing them out for photographs......by doing this my fish go back strong and with no pushing through the water. I would suggest that they survive. I fish some quite confined logoons, which otherwise would see floating dead mullet ....I don't.
I'm sure many sea anglers can add to these experiences and so this figure for sea fish mortality from C&R angling is unfounded propaganda......which serves what purpose !
British freshwater anglers will testify that C&R of carp, bream, roach, trout, rudd ....long list.....does not result in masses of dead fish. It’s a nonsense claim by CEFAS....all driven by commercial industry propaganda. I think -they are worried that the UK will adopt schemes being rolled out in the western USA, where certain species are designated sport-only.
Money talks and it fights very hard to keep the 'gravy train' rolling; and CEFAS & ICES have proven who owns them !”
Quote Originally Posted by cfish………….
It is very enjoyable, if I go out and target bass then 9 times out of 10 i do catch a few. This isn’t because i am some top dangler but because i fish the right times, tides and conditions that produce where i fish. You won’t get me out bassing in crystal clear, flat calm, bright sunshine and at low water, though of course people do go and then blame everyone but themselves when they blank. The big hype surrounding bass confuses me, if they are there and feeding then a kid with a worm on a bent pin and a bean pole could catch them, all fish should be treated the same, no one species should be judged better than another. On the c&r thing, I only throw undersize bass back, any in size I take home, if I don’t want any for the oven/freezer then I don’t fish for them.”
Nick replied………..Cornwall has probably the best waters in the UK....but despite that the fish stock there is not perfect and is a fraction of what it was.
Stating that a Sussex, Hampshire or Essex angler is failing due to technique is neither fair nor true. If you can come to Hampshire and do the same then I would listen to your argument....but it is flawed and does not reflect the state of the UK fishery
I consider myself a reasonable boat angler and when I go out to target bass I too am able to catch them....but I have to be prepared to put in some miles, going anything up to 35 miles out. I know - for a fact - that had I fished the same areas in the 40s, 50s or early 60s I would have bagged up on the inshore reefs. Those fish were taken by commercial activity and have never recovered.
Ask any south coast angler and they will tell you how few big bass there are. The facts - from marine scientists - support the experiences of anglers. I think what the guys are saying is that putting back big breeding bass is sound logic. It’s just a shame that commercial fishermen only see pound notes and that such selfish activity is destroying the stock”
Quote Originally Posted by dai1641……………….
“I am a born hunter, I no longer shoot but fishing has always been my number one hobby. I have never fished for fun as I take no pleasure in causing injury to any creature; I do fish for food and only target fish that I would eat. Having a licensed boat allows me to sell any fish that are surplus to my requirements. I also derive a great deal of pleasure giving feeds to old folk that can't afford to pay supermarket prices, there again the people I sell fish to are not paying supermarket prices either, but are paying a bit more than rip off wholesalers. My commercial activities go towards paying my costs, but never seem to cover all of them. That is my choice, I don't put the time in fishing when I can, and do earn a hell of a lot more cleaning windows. I have no qualms about landing a 10lb bass, she has never been kept in pens, force fed or been carted off in a truck to the slaughterhouse. The truth is my nets are 100mm mesh and most large fish just bounce off.
I have no problems with what anglers do, it's up to them, keep them or release them. I do often wonder what happens to those big fish that snap angler’s lines, and swim off with a hook and a length on nylon line attached to their mouth.
A long and lingering death I shouldn't wonder.”
Nick replied thus………….. “So you are a Commercial Fishermen....not an angler...isn't there a Commercial Fishing Forum?
I'm sure some of your contribution the anglers on here will find helpful, but I fail to see how you can offer an opinion on C&R...... I have just looked on your thread history and there are no catch reports...do you own a fishing rod even?
I have to question why so many commercial fishermen are to be found on this Conservation page..... Would it not be more helpful to let the anglers talk and listen to their concerns?”
Quote Originally Posted by Rouge Moullet
“By stating in a post that you caught and released a fish would indicate you see some righteousness in doing so otherwise why mention it. Fish are food. These days even tiny little fish are not left in peace to grow with the onset of this craze for tiddler bashin in rockpools (for fun)”
Nick replied with this…………. “There seems to be scant few catch reports from you mate....no pictures of good bass either. You live in the Channel Islands....which used to be richer than Cornwall...but now rapidly in decline.
I see that you made light of Henry Gilbey's account of declining fishing in the Channel Islands
A bit of a do
So the mullet club used to travel there - in numbers - every winter, to catch the large 8Lb plus fish, for which it was famous. They were not deterred by the cost....but they no longer go because the commercial fellows (bless them) have netted the place to death and the big mullet have been exterminated.
A mullet that is worth a few pennies more than a potato !
Killing your angling tourism...quality!
Quote Originally Posted by storsy
“I would say that you fish for pleasure, not "sport".
I would be delighted if the "fish for sport" title was done away with for good.
Most other human v's creature "sports", have fallen foul of the anti (just about everything) zealots.
But that's just my opinion.”
Nick said……….. “Storsky...I recall from our past encounters that you are in the Commercial Fishing camp.....and that you hadn't caught anything with a rod and line...has that changed?
You also have to give up this quest to not call angling a sport...in the minds of virtually all Britons it is a sport...which means ..it is a sport. If the whole population thinks something is a sport and a few disagree then I'm sorry but you are a minority fringe group.
Let us enjoy our sport, let us enjoy debating our sport, leave us to determine how we should feel about our sport and what we do with our fish. You make money out of yours, we get sport :0)”
Quote Originally Posted by dai1641……………..
“Don't make me laugh Fishbuoy, I have only caught 6 bass this year. How many have you taken? I have however caught loads of plaice, how come nobody moans about that? When I say loads I don't think the total weight would come to more than 300kgs. It's obvious to me that you have little concept of what small scale commercial fishing is. I have seen the weekend warrior brigade weighing in bass to a local wholesaler, two guys struggling to carry the huge cool box. Another guy who has a local fish round buys all his bass from boat anglers, no doubt at a smaller price. It's not worth having a licensed boat when you consider the hassle and paper work involved, only to be undercut on price by the weekend recreational anglers. "Let he without sin cast the first stone" my friend, you need to see what's really going on.
I'm not one to cast stones...not as long as lead weights are available :0)”
Nick Sunny said ………….. “I personally think that pair trawlers are the biggest threat to bass stock...not the small inshore guy.
But I also think gill nets should be illegal.... 'period'. Line caught small commercial fish should be encouraged.
Anglers selling their catch to restaurants should result in the restaurant being prosecuted. Make the fines eye-watering, as they are in Australia and you will kill that trade over-night”
Originally Posted by robert gallacher
“that would be incorrect. there is insufficient data to make any judgement on bass stocks. theorising the bass stock is low because commercial catches have risen in the last 2 decades is not the way fish stocks should be surveyed.
numbers caught by anglers year on year recently do not seem to vary much in the main areas unless weather has an impact, like the long cold spring we had this year.
i would agree there may well have been more bass 30 years ago,but i doubt stocks have changed much in the last 15 years.”
Nick said ………. “cheers rab
And tobacco does not cause cancer!
Rab...good to see you are still abusing the truth :0)
I'm not accusing you of being 'in denial', but you are not a marine scientist, so perhaps you should at least listen to those that know better. The scientists are studying the whole stock...not just some little corner where you are fishing.
Not that I don't believe your experience...but I don't see any hordes of big bass on your catch reports (all one)....are you keeping them secret?
In fact you had to go out on the gin palace (paid for by dragging oyster nets) to get some decent fishing !!!
a lovely sunny day in the solway
It would be nice if we could all afford to buy such a boat and go fishing in one of the best - remaining - venues in the country.
Now I can go out and catch a few Tope....and as boat anglers in my part of the country go, I do reasonably well........but the numbers are nothing like that area you went to. Why?
Could it be because the (French) Commercial Fishermen, joined by our own home-grown commercials have killed them all?
Look, Rab, you and I have 'sparred' many times. But your argument here is built on misinformation and a complete lack of evidence. Bass stock has plummeted - according to the scientists, anglers and conservationists. Why are you even attempting to refute it....where does this statement come from?
I would say that Anglers have far more in common with Conservationists than they ever will with Commercial (greed-driven) fishermen. Most anglers see the merits of conserving bass stock...as do Conservationists. Commercial fishermen only see profit...to buy that bigger gin-palace fishing boat, their next BMW X5, or an even bigger house.
Conservationists on the other hand are concerned about the marine environment, as are anglers. We (anglers) want to go out fishing and not blank. If we do Blank then it is not our timing, not our location, not our tactics or bait...it is because some person got there first with a trawler and a net...and exterminated the lot.”
Originally Posted by Gulp ……………….
The short answer is no.
The long answer is: I do not know enough commercial fishermen to determine if they are/were motivated by greed. And I have just moved from Cumbria, where two Fisheries Officers told me that more bass are landed there by so-called recreational sea anglers than by commercials.
A fish removed from the stock is gone, whether caught by a commercial, a "RSA" or dying after return.”
Nick replied………. “If Commercial Fishery was not greedy then the fish would still be there....seems to be an obvious equation?
If the fish have gone then someone must be greedy. When stocks get low the non-greedy commercial would find another source of income, one that was perhaps less damaging to the marine eco-system?
We no longer have the immense North Sea herring shoal...is that not because of greed?
Some might think that saying ...I don't know enough Commercial Fishermen to say.....is just avoiding the obvious (the elephant in the room). If the fish are not there then someone has taken them all....which is either greedy or not greedy. The facts speak for themselves.
Now this fishery officer claim....it sounds really dubious that a Fishery Professional would claim that more bass are caught by RSA than commercials. Can you tell me their names or what office they hail from. I will write to that office and ask for evidence...freedom of information act is a mighty powerful tool.
I struggle to believe such a claim.... its nonsense to suggest that guys with rod & line could compete with pair trawlers.
For a start the volume of tons would mean that every angler would be going home with their cars overloaded !!!!
Give me the names or office and I will follow this one up. If they are stating that then I will challenge them for the evidence, the figures, and the proof. We cannot have public servants spreading lies like that; it must be challenged.”
