Inshore netters

[mark]

it is not just the breeding grounds that is the problem for a few years now i have seen while offshore the sand eel boats just sucking up all the bait fish they want. these are at the bottom of the food chain and are a life line for fish and birds alike.

there's probably more in that for the declining fish stocks than there is from overfishing

what is it? 7kg of fishmeal to produce 1Kg of farmed salmon or something?

over 1 millions of the little fellas have been landed from the north sea every year for years. stands to reason less scran for the big fish = less big fish

using em as fish meal for fish farms is bad enough but a huge amount ends up as fertilizer???

[sandworm]

ya get this topic every year soon as the fishing goes quiet the shore anglers point the finger at boats and netters they carnt be getting every fish swimming in the sea and must be thousands close in or its that time a year when they have stayed miles off feeding on easy feed well thats my opinion anyways

ya can only catch whats infront of ya and that isnt much this time of year

You hit the nail on the heed there Coddy.
People always blaim the boats when they are catching nowt.
They also forget where the fish came from when they buy one from the chippie or eat frozen fish from Birdseye and the like.These fishermen are there to make a living,sometimes in very dangerous conditions.
Anglers seem to think that all the fish should be left just for them.

As for Gill nets,its a proven fact that they do a lot less damage to fish stocks and other marine species than a trawl.

[Red5]

You hit the nail on the heed there Coddy.
People always blaim the boats when they are catching nowt.
They also forget where the fish came from when they buy one from the chippie or eat frozen fish from Birdseye and the like.These fishermen are there to make a living,sometimes in very dangerous conditions.
Anglers seem to think that all the fish should be left just for them.

As for Gill nets,its a proven fact that they do a lot less damage to fish stocks and other marine species than a trawl.

On that point I can take the moral high ground as my chippy only uses line caught cod and haddock from Norway.
I very rarely eat frozen fish, as it doesn't compare to fresh caught fish, that I have caught myself, and if the public took the same attitude, then there would not be the demand for the intensive fishing that is the current cause of the problem.
If there were no trawlers then there would be no need for a policy on discards, as they are totally indescriminate, but to say that gill nets do not cause as much damage is not entirely true.
Look at the amount of seabirds that are killed every year across Filey Bay, and as is stated elsewhere in this thread that often these nets get washed away and continue to kill fish and other marine life unitnentionally.

Oh and they also use Sandeels in their powerstations in Denmark, just to annoy anglers even more!

[Gazz]

Is it not that when some good fish are getting caught by line, the netters see where from by looking at forums etc like this then off they go to take over?. I don't know, are the nets out at the same place on the same months every year?

[Charlie_Thompson]

Don't eat farmed Salmon! It has the moral equivalence of a Panda Burger and tastes worse.

[YoursTruly]

ya get this topic every year soon as the fishing goes quiet the shore anglers point the finger at boats and netters they carnt be getting every fish swimming in the sea and must be thousands close in or its that time a year when they have stayed miles off feeding on easy feed well thats my opinion anyways

ya can only catch whats infront of ya and that isnt much this time of year

Yes your right codseeker this topic does arise the same time almost every year, thats because thats when the gill netters know they are going to get good catches.

And as for those who claim gill nets do not cause damage then as far as i am concerned thats a load of bull, they do cause damage.

Picking up on the quotas, the legal netters give you catch quota's NOT the B******s who are selling to the black market etc,.

[Charlton]

Is it not that when some good fish are getting caught by line, the netters see where from by looking at forums etc like this then off they go to take over?. I don't know, are the nets out at the same place on the same months every year?

inshore netters don't need to look at forums, their knowledge of where the fish are has been handed down through the family for years, they know where the fish will be at given times and after rough weather. They know that during rough weather fish come inshore, and as soon as it settles they set their nets, if they did not have this knowledge they would all starve.

[Falcone]

i laugh every time these threads arise, some good points, but more are uneducated views.
Im just going to start and copy paste my responses from the last 7 years on this subject.
All i have caught this year is 1 scabby bleg, but i dont whinge on about how the gill netters have raped my enjoyment of the sport, i better not say where i caught the bleg otherwise it will be trawled, gill netted, potted and longlined as we all know the commercial need forums so they know where to shoot there nets because many years of experience are just not enough.

[Gazz]

Thanks Mr Charlton for filling me in on that 1.
So can anybody do this or do u need some sort of license or such?, none of this bothers me anyway as i fish mainly in the river but what i have read it seems there are many well p'd off about it, i do laugh though when i see the "this gets brought up every year when nowt is getting caught". , i wouldn't know this but it will be something to look forward to the same time next yr

[treeboa]

allthough the guys who are licienced do cause us to complain its the unlienced nets that cause the damage in my opinion, having seen many good bass marks on the welsh coast devastated by nets, the worst occasion a few of us took a fair trek then down a cliff face path to one of our hidden but very productive marks, we passed a group who once past us shouted dont waste your time lads we have netted the place and carried on away laughing, as we were so close to the mark we carried on, two long nets could be seen one off each side of the rock arms to the sides of the small bay, it was worth the swim to gather the nets, then burn the lot

[Red5]

allthough the guys who are licienced do cause us to complain its the unlienced nets that cause the damage in my opinion, having seen many good bass marks on the welsh coast devastated by nets, the worst occasion a few of us took a fair trek then down a cliff face path to one of our hidden but very productive marks, we passed a group who once past us shouted dont waste your time lads we have netted the place and carried on away laughing, as we were so close to the mark we carried on, two long nets could be seen one off each side of the rock arms to the sides of the small bay, it was worth the swim to gather the nets, then burn the lot

Well surprisingly there is no quota limits up here for bass so they can catch as much as they like, as long as they are of MLS (35cm according to the fella I spoke to at the EA the other week ???).

In case anyone missed it last time round 'The End of the Line' is on Channel 4 this Saturday night, a real educational eye opener for anyone interested in fish stocks, but not as good as the book sadly.

Also, dunno how many of you have Sky but there is a programme on Bravo at the moment called 'Deadly North Sea', which has focused on one of the Scottish Pelagic Trawlers, which would make you seethe with anger when you realise how much fish it can haul in one Trawl, and also one of the Demersal trawlers that used to be on 'Trawler Men'...........The commentator is really annoying as he keeps on trying to get the sympathy vote by saying, they are ONLY allowed 20 days at sea per month, but when you see how many fish they land, and how many they discard due to quotas. They fail to mention that they wouldn't need to have discards if trawling wasn't such an indescriminate way of catching fish!

[drof46]

Trawlermen ?

Aye and don't forget, at least a couple of these illustrious 'Trawlermen', whose virtues are so extolled by the simpering commentator are currently serving 'time'
for crimes relating to landing 'Black Fish'.

As far as inshore netters are concerned, the vast majority are benefit cheats so simply photograph them 'in the act' and forward the shots to the relevant department.

Job done!

Drof

[ToonBay]

out in kayak today off megies burn wreck blyth beach, had a quick look at the marker everyone been saying was nets. just seemed to be a bouy with a long rope on it but no nets attached???

[loopy]

Response from Northumberland SFC

This is the response I have recived from NSFC
Les

THE NORTHUMBERLAND SEA FISHERIES COMMITTEE


MICHAEL H. HARDY LL.BChief Executive Chief Executive’s Office Unit 60B South Nelson RoadCramlingtonNorthumberland NE23 1WF


Telephone (01670) 731399
Telefax (01670) 731639
E-mail nsfc@nsfc.org.uk
Web site THE NORTHUMBERLAND SEA FISHERIES COMMITTEE - Home Page MARCH 2010


INFORMATION FOR ANGLERS and other interested parties

Fishing activity using fixed engines (gillnetting and T netting) in the Northumberland SFC district


Attached to this Notice is a copy of the committee’s Byelaw No. 4 Fixed Engines.

Please note that all fishing vessels under 10 metres in length with an uncapped
licence (from Defra) to fish can presently catch up to the current monthly legal quota allowance of cod, whiting and other species using legally sized gillnets.

Also please note that all under 10 metre fishing vessels which have a capped licence can only land 300 kilograms per annum of any TAC species.

Regular checks are carried out by fishery enforcement officers in respect of licensed fishing vessels at ports in the district as well as at sea using the committee’s patrol vessel St. Oswald and RIBs Bravo 1 and Delta 1.

Nets can be used to catch pot bait from locations which are not prohibited by the byelaw and provided the species caught are of at least the legal minimum size (where there is one).

Unregistered and unlicensed persons may place gillnets in the sea in legally permitted areas to catch species of the permitted minimum size and over but are not permitted to sell what they catch.

Further information is available from the committee office or from a fishery officer.

All byelaws are on the committee website but if you would like a hard copy of the byelaws, please telephone the committee office.


The above is not a formal statement of the law, for which reference should be made to the relevant legislation and any Court cases decided thereunder.

BYELAW 4
TO ACCOMPANY NOTICE ‘MARCH 2010’

4. Fixed Engines

For the purpose of section 6 of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 the placing and use of any fixed engines is hereby authorised within the district of the Northumberland Sea Fisheries Committee excluding such part as lies within the River Tweed as defined in the Tweed Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1859 as amended by byelaws, providing that, in relation to any fixed engine other than a trap for taking lobsters and crabs, the following conditions are complied with:

(1) Subject as mentioned below at no time shall a fixed engine be placed or suspended unattended for taking salmon or trout.

(2) During the period 26th March to 31st October inclusive, no fixed engine other than a ‘T’ net authorised by the Environment Agency’s Salmon Net Byelaws confirmed (save as to Byelaws 16 and 19) on 21st February 1995 and (as to Byelaws 16 and 19) on 8th June 1995, shall:

(a) be placed or used in a depth of water less than 7 metres unless the position of any such fixed engine is on a rise in the sea bed separated from the shore by water deeper than 7 metres at any state of the tide;

(b) be placed or used so that the headline is less than 4 metres below the surface of the water at any state of the tide;

(c) be placed to the west of a line drawn:

(i) between the seaward end of the south pier at South Shields and Marsden Point; and

(ii) between Hauxley Point and Coquet Island Light House, thence on a bearing 355º to a point 3 nautical miles and 622 metres distant and thence due north-west to Seaton Point.

(3) During the period 1st November to 25th March inclusive no fixed engine shall be placed within the following areas (known locally as the Tyne Playground, Wansbeck Playground and Coquet Playground) unless the headline shall be at least 4 metres below the water at any state of the tide:


(a) Tyne Playground

Those tidal waters and parts of the sea within that part of the Northumberland Sea Fisheries Committee’s district as lies within an area bounded as follows:

(i) on the north by a line one nautical mile in length drawn due east from Marconi Point, Cullercoats;

(ii) on the south by a line one nautical mile in length drawn due east from Souter Point; and

(iii) on the east by a straight line joining the eastern extremities of the northern and southern boundary lines.

(b) Wansbeck Playground

Those tidal waters and parts of the sea at Newbiggin by the Sea west of a straight line drawn between the south eastern beacon, being one of the four beacons used by ships for identifying the measured nautical mile offshore of Newbiggin by the Sea, and the easternmost of the four chimneys at Blyth Power Station, Cambois.

(c) Coquet Playground

Those tidal waters and parts of the sea within an area bounded as follows:

(i) on the north by a line drawn due west to the high water mark on the shore from a position Coquet Lighthouse bearing 355° distance 3 nautical miles and 622 metres;

(ii) on the south by a line drawn due west to the high water mark on the shore from a position Coquet Lighthouse bearing 160° distance 1 nautical mile and 1024 metres; and

(iii) on the east by a straight line joining the eastern extremities of the said northern and southern boundary lines.

[Graham B]

Red5 I know what you mean about the pelagic's.I used to see it regularly. There is a good looking first officer off the Fisheies protection vessel on there that looks like my twin!
Thats one of the main reasons I left the SFPA or Marine Scotland as they are now as I got so disenchanted with the whole thing. The people that the governement employ to set the sustainable levels of fish caught and quota's are ignored by MP's getting bigger quota's for their constituents! Why employ the scientists in the first place if you are going to ignore what they have to say??????? The smaller the net you tow with the more days you get?
I have moved back to the commercial side of the merchant navy and haven't looked back yet! Except for tonight to laugh at myself on tv!

Graham.