Aldeburgh

[seanyrooroo]

Having seen hundreds of reports from Aldeburgh in the last 6 months of huge catches of cod, I started to wonder how long the stocks will last with the current bombardment.

I have no problem with anyone taking fish home for the pot but the majority of pics are of multiple fish. A good bag is all fine and well but it's getting to the point where people are returning on a regular basis and surely taking more than they need. Have we not learned from yesteryear where huge bags were taken without thought of the future?

[stuartdv]

I wouldnt get too worried about it- when you see people taking decent catches of cod off Aldeburgh (i haven't seen any huge catches )its not in Aldeburgh itself- its a damn long walk over shingle towards Orford Ness to the decent marks - I can assure you the hoards aren't descending on the place and massacring the cod stocks as its too far to walk for many.

The numbers of Anglers that do make the trek taking half a dozen or even twice that aint going to affect the stocks. Aldeburgh itself isn't that good a venue - the occasional good cod or bass but it aint all that. It can be very snaggy in the groynes by the martello because of the number of crack offs developing into huge snags and the town beach isn't very good.

The grounds off Orford have consistently been the best cod mark off the Suffolk coast for years and despite being hammered every weekend through the winter the cod are still prolific. this has been a very good year compared to recent years.

I take your point about the same people going back time and again though- I personally don't bother as a) i cant be bothered walking for an hour over shingle for codling and b)its not that much of a challenge lobbing out hauling up codling after codling

[Iva-Cod-on]

You have got a good point about conservation mate but I always think about the damage the trawlers do when they are throwing dead cod overboard due to quoters being met I watch alot of stuff like trawlermen on sky etc I'm not overly educated on the matter but I have seen that such as norway have a rule of not wasting whats caught but fine for catching small fish etc and that seems to work i thought that was a good idea making net mess bigger to combat such probs.

I can only speak for myself and say that I never ever waste fish I catch they all go in the freezer and get eaten.

I think its abit like tryin to fight the world but for what its worth I agree that something needs happen but believe its on a comercial level.

[seanyrooroo]

Thanks for that Stuart I can't honestly see the point in trekking miles with a huge bag of fish that will inevitably be wasted. I'm not tarring all of them with the same brush, just think all anglers should keep conservation in mind.

I think Norway has the right idea, they target the smaller fish and the majority of the larger fish are returned. This enables a good supply of larger spawning fish which in turn generate a lot more table sized fish.

[phill_itofish]

i must be the ultimate conservationist, you should all take a leaf out of my book... just go fishing an dont catch anything and then they'll be loads of fish left!!

[musky]

I reckon a couple of anglers taking a good bag of fish home a couple of times a week is hardly going to deplete any fish stocks

Its a drop in the ocean - spot the pun lol compared to the commercial massacreing of em

[Iva-Cod-on]

I think Norway has the right idea, they target the smaller fish and the majority of the larger fish are returned. This enables a good supply of larger spawning fish which in turn generate a lot more table sized fish.

When I said fine for catching small fish I meant as in prosicute (fine) for taking small fish in the way of giving juvinile fish a chance to grow on and reproduce sorry I didn't word it very good

Norway introduces tough new commercial fishing laws | IceNews - Daily News

Found the above on a quick search

[seanyrooroo]

i must be the ultimate conservationist, you should all take a leaf out of my book... just go fishing an dont catch anything and then they'll be loads of fish left!!

Apart from fishing in my back yard of course Phil

[The Great Wallsendo]

The few fish that shore (or even boat) anglers catch is, as has been said a drop in the ocean - anything caught by a recreational angler does not have tonnes of bycatch or wastage

Like Phil says the average Angler doesn't go out and bag up with 30lb+ bags every session so the "damage" done is even less

If you were to consider conservation even further, how about the catching and keeping of big fat hen Cod laden with roe - that's surely putting a large dent in the local population and it's potential to increase its numbers

[Kentish Bassman]

Having seen hundreds of reports from Aldeburgh in the last 6 months of huge catches of cod, I started to wonder how long the stocks will last with the current bombardment.

I have no problem with anyone taking fish home for the pot but the majority of pics are of multiple fish. A good bag is all fine and well but it's getting to the point where people are returning on a regular basis and surely taking more than they need. Have we not learned from yesteryear where huge bags were taken without thought of the future?

I totally agree, having fished Dungeness for many years before moving up here I have seen how the cod stocks have been depleted. Twenty years ago it was possible to catch 20lb cod and bigger with just a short cast off the beach and bags of 20+ cod were the norm. Now you are lucky if you get 1 or 2 cod and if it wasn`t for the rockling and dabs you would blank more often than not. I know the commercials have a lot to answer for, but if people are regularly taking huge bags of cod with them (most of which will probably sit in the freezer for months before being binned) the stocks of cod will disappear. It seems that some anglers just can`t help themselves and continue to slaughter the fish with no thought to the future.

[seanyrooroo]

The few fish that shore (or even boat) anglers catch is, as has been said a drop in the ocean - anything caught by a recreational angler does not have tonnes of bycatch or wastage

Like Phil says the average Angler doesn't go out and bag up with 30lb+ bags every session so the "damage" done is even less

If you were to consider conservation even further, how about the catching and keeping of big fat hen Cod laden with roe - that's surely putting a large dent in the local population and it's potential to increase its numbers

Point taken Tony, however how often does an angler take a double figure fish? Myself, I've had 3 in 25 years of fishing.

I can't believe for one second that we as anglers don't make an impact, afterall this is the most popular sport in the UK is it not? Granted not anywhere near the scale of commercial fisherman but conservation is in the hands of us all.

I guess what I'm trying to put across is, if you catch a sized fish it doesn't mean you have to keep it. Anglers should just try returning a sized codling, the buzz is amazing.

[fishing bairn]

But what can we do? We can return fish after catching them if we dont need them but fish are being culled in there millions out at sea. Not only that but anglers who have just started the sport dont know the diffrence beetween sizable and undersized fish...i am not saying that all newbies are the same but most people are not educated about this.
I am no expert myself i admit that but there are rules for this sport as there are for all sports but they are not enforced in anyform