Meeting with David Miliband.

[daren]

well done lads i think you have done all north east fisher men /women proud lets hope they take us seriously i hope the outcome will benefit us and generations to come well done again lads

[Glenn Kilpatrick]

Paul,


Glenn, there were several mp's who spoke up in support of the marine bill proposal from all parties and it is from this I assume that as an overall proposal the Marine bill has all party support but several MP's voiced opinions on area's of the marine bill that were of concern to their local constituents, including the whitby MPwho made a very good point about the extra costs to charter skippers and also commented about the use of the sea as a carbon capture device (not sure how that works)


.

Yes Dave you are right most said the "MARINE BILL" itself was a good idea however a lot voiced concerns over the licensing bit which I must add is only a tiny piece of the marine Bill.

Anyone wanting to see exactly what was said and get an idea of just how large and diverse the marine bill is can do so here :

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2007-04-19a.501.0

Also don't just get sidetracked by the licensing issue there is a lot more in the bill potentially damaging. Like bag limits, closed fishing areas (closed to anglers as well) and bait collecting bans etc.

I think it is wrong to even discuss the word licence or conditions under which one would be acceptable I think Mr Milliband needs to go away and do a lot of work in improving fish stocks to a point where we can turn around and say "You know what we have some superb fishing off our coast. At that point he might get a better welcome with regards to asking us to pay. (I personally don't think any condition would be acceptable as its an erosion of an ancient right and unnecessary for conservation for us to have to foot the bill. However I know some people would pay but its surely not right to discuss anything untill they have shown they mean business).

[The Great Wallsendo]

If you feel that strongly about it......

...then put your name to this:

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/anglers/

I remember sea angling licences being discussed when i was at school - over 15 years ago - they never came in then and i would be very surprised if they came in now - for one thing how could it be policed and monitored? Rivers and Lakes and the like can be monitored because they are more accessible. Plus the stocks that they hold can be replenished easily.

How many people would come and check to see if you were holding a licence on a cold windy beach at midnight in November?

I don't know the specifics of this white paper and what proposals they have put forward - but it seems to me that this is another case of hot air that'll blow over. And even if the subject doesn't go away it will be argued about for years and years before becoming legislation.

Well done for those that went to see David Milliband - politics aside he seems like he has his head switched on and would come to a sensible solution. (however if you are to include politics it is unlikely that his party will be in power after the next election - so any dialogue may have been in vain)

[ray]

has milliband answered any of the questions put to him yet?

[sless]

i got an email off scott duffy
his secretary
and he is sorting it out

[jamiebrennan]

Ive always had my doubts about polititians probably due to the way they cant ever answer a question with a simple yes or no! I thought we might have been getting somewhere with Mr Miliband but by the looks of it hes going to be getting a promotion, so who are we going to get next? Hope its not a case of better the devil you know...

[sless]

so who are we going to get next

the post office for your license jamie
hahaha

[jamiebrennan]

Nah itll be the corner shop after the posties strike on friday! Wont be able to get them at tackle shops cos they will have gone under!

[davem2005]

I think its safe to say that a meeting with David Milliband will not now go ahead since he has moved on to other things. So what now?

Its still important that all anglers get in touch with their own MP and let them know how we feel about it. Its up to individuals to make their feelings known to those who represent us in parliament.

I have been invited to go to Westminster next tuesday to meet MP's at a screening of a film made by the WWF. The WWF have invited all MP's to the screening and it will be intresting to see how many turn up. The fishing part of that film was shot here in the NE, but as yet I have not actually seen what it contains. The message I tried to get across was that I personally would be happy to pay a license if we see some improvements first, and also the numbers of anglers who go see fishing and their importance to the economy.

I'll let you know how it goes.

If anyone wants to be kept informed of whats going on, one of the easiest ways is to join the SACN. Its free and they send out regular information emails on issues affecting sea angling. See http://www.sacn.org.uk/ for more details.

Cheers
Dave

[Glenn Kilpatrick]

I saw your wwf video Dave.

http://www.sacn.org.uk/Conservation-and-Political-News/A_Fair_Share_of_the_Sea.html

To be honest I am not very impressed. Its a propaganda video. anglers fishing in canoes 200 yards off the shore are catching better fish than you caught on that vid. Fishing is poor but you painted it dire. Angling licences and bag limits need taking out the marine bill and quick.

[Topfly]

Thats all we want Glenn, untill things improve.

[willywetegg]

"To be honest I am not very impressed. Its a propaganda video. anglers fishing in canoes 200 yards off the shore are catching better fish than you caught on that vid. Fishing is poor but you painted it dire. Angling licences and bag limits need taking out the marine bill and quick".

First of all Glenn, as most of the boat anglers on this forum will tell you, at times boat angling IS dire, the same as shore fishing can be. I have a mate that goes out in a Kayak and he has some great days, he also has some dire days too.

Have a look in the "Catch reports" in the boat fishing forum for the last couple of years or try asking some of the boat lads about their catches over the last couple of years and I am sure you will get an idea of what I am talking about. This year so far has been a lot better than the previous two I would guess from reading the reports but I am sure the lads will put me right if I am wrong.

I don't know what you do read on this forum but over the last few weeks a lot of the regular posters have been complaining about shore anglers taking far too many Mackerel home, I am sure that you would agree that a bag limit would stop this.

I have seen some threads on a couple of forums from people that have been bragging about how many fish have been caught in a session from the Charter boats also, not a good thing in this day and age. I am sure that you would agree that a limit should be set to stop some of these mindless people continuing to do this also.

I know we all pay a lot of money to spend a day on a Charter boat but how can people complain about the trawlers being allowed to land what ever they want when some people will keep every single fish they catch by rod and line.

Again if you read the catch reports in the "Shore fishing" forum on NESA most people on here tend to return more fish than they take home, again a great thing at this moment in time and I am sure if you were to ask most of them I do not think that they would have a problem with a bag limit. Again if I am wrong I will hold my hands up.

When it was first mentioned, I was totally against a bag limit, I got to thinking "How many fish do I actually take home now". Not a great deal as most of my fishing is now done just for the sport and the excitement of it. I do keep the odd fish, especially if it is belly hooked or bleeding as I do like a nice fish meal now and again. I live well inland and it costs me a fortune to fish each year but I really don't think that a bag limit would make much of a difference to me.

Jim.

[Glenn Kilpatrick]

My point was the video is rubbish. It seeks to portray an image of boat fishing that simply is is incorrect. Even in bad years we catch more than boot strap ling. I had a 4 pound ling from the shore of all places just a few months back bigger than that one Dave shows in the video. This is an extract from one of Alan Charltons reports from the same port as Dave fishes from just 2 weeks ago

Two monster cod have been taken within the last couple of days with the biggest one - weighing in at 35lb - taken by Neil Smith aboard the Lady Elsie out of Hartlepool.

Neil also took cod of 21lb, and three at 15lb, in a catch of 100 fish which included no less than 20 over 10lb, 12 over 15lb and six over 20lb.

The other huge catch was one of 32lb by Steven Drury aboard Sarah JFK - the best of a 150-fish haul.

Other trips have also accounted for up to 150 fish, again mainly cod in the 4-10lb range with a few cod and ling to 14lb. While at Hartlepool Chris Ritchie certainly improved on his personal best cod in big style. Aboard Evelyn Jane, Chris hooked at what he thought was the bottom until the bottom started moving. And, after a hectic struggle, he landed a cod of 22lb 8oz, beating his previous best, a mere 6lb. The trip also produced good numbers of cod in the 6-12lb range, Chris taking another six cod and a ling.

These are pictures from Whitby just this year :







Ok the fishing may not be amazing like it was in the 70's or 80's. Quite possibly because of other factors that level may never be achievable again, but I know one thing fishing is not as bad as that video seeks to portray. As for bag limits for mackerel, Ive heard it all now.

[northeast1]

.

[The Great Wallsendo]

Can I ask a question that I have asked before about the size of catches on Charter Boats?

What happens to all the fish that are brought ashore?

Using the picture above as an example - a small commercial trawler would be happy with that haul....do the lads keep the fish, or does the skipper keep some of them for sale to the shops/personal use?

These aren't silly questions because the whole question of catch and release and bag limits is surely highlighted by those pictures alone.

A skipper that puts you over the right spot and enables the angler to catch good size fish in numbers is clearly worth his salt - but surely keeping 150+ fish is excessive?