Edible crabs as bait ....Why not..?
- Thread starter tolerence
- Start date
Charlie_Thompson
Well-known member
Law says No! 
border reiver
Well-known member
Eaters
Eaters
I had a run in with a fisheries officer a good few years back at cambois slip and can't remember exactly what was said because it got a bit heated, he had the clipboard, the verniers the bifta and started reading my mate his rights. Apparently the eaters cannot be taken unless they're 4" across the back(i think) and not in a soft or peeling state and that only applies from the tweed to the tees (I think) so on this basis it must be illegal as bait. I'm sure not long after Chris Guthrie told me a young lad from Seaton Sluice fishing club got done by the same fat bugger and fined £400. I'm sure someone on this site will no the facts.:question:
Eaters
I had a run in with a fisheries officer a good few years back at cambois slip and can't remember exactly what was said because it got a bit heated, he had the clipboard, the verniers the bifta and started reading my mate his rights. Apparently the eaters cannot be taken unless they're 4" across the back(i think) and not in a soft or peeling state and that only applies from the tweed to the tees (I think) so on this basis it must be illegal as bait. I'm sure not long after Chris Guthrie told me a young lad from Seaton Sluice fishing club got done by the same fat bugger and fined £400. I'm sure someone on this site will no the facts.:question:
sorry chaps the bye law states that no edible crab can be used as bait, this is regardless of the size. It was brought in to stop the commercial potters from using soft and crinkly eaters as pot bait. If you use edibel crabs in Seaham you will be breaking the bye law.
kingcod deano
Well-known member
im guessing you mean cart and not eater peelers as far as i know cart is ok to use but its best to check on the day
Stores
Well-known member
Al - what if you sourced them in Scotland? In other words is it illegal to use them because it's illegal to pick them or is it illegal to use them as bait regardless?
willywetegg
Administrator
David, this has been discussed before and I am sure it was said then that no matter where you got them they were illegal to use mate.
Just found this, it was posted by Doc back in 2004
Just to put the matter straight, the byelaw clearly states that it is prohibited to use edible crab, otherwise known as brown crab (Cancer pagurus) as bait. This is a direct result of concerns by fisheries managers that an unknown quantity of edible (soft) crab was being used by the commercial sector as pot bait. The byelaw was not enacted originally to prohibit use by anglers, it was only at a later stage when the use of crab by recreational anglers became widespread. The definition was extended to include use by all stakeholder groups, with no exception.
The arguement has been used in the past that \"I brought them from outside the area\", this arguement does and will not hold in a court of law. The defining word is USE, it doesn\'t matter where they came from, if the intention was to USE them as bait then the law has been broken.
The crabs being purchased from tackle shops or chinese supermarkets are I believe non-native species and therefore are not included in any current byelaw and have no MLS attached. These are already frozen and as a consequence will not affect or impact on UK coastal fisheries. There is little chance of them being imported live, as a license would be required and stringent regulation of their movements and possible release into the wild would negate this.
In addition to the prohibition on use of edibles, crabs are subject to MLS regulation. The edible MLS is 130mm along the Yorkshire and Northumberland coasts and practically all of the UK, the only exception being within the Eastern Sea Fisheries Joint Committee (the Wash) where the MLS is 115mm, this is due to the Wash fishery being driven by a predominantly juvenile stock recruited from the Yorkshire fishery.
The only crab species described in the prohibition of usage as bait is the edible crab, however, velvet swimmer crab (Necora puber) are also covered within the MLS, which I think is 65mm.
The problem arises when one sea fisheries committee has different byelaws, e.g. the Sussex SFC has no byelaw prohibiting the use of edible crab as bait. So potentially an angler may use it in Sussex, bring some up to Yorks or Northumberland for a fishing session/match and break the byelaw. Additional porblems occur when anglers are unaware of these regulations, as was recently discovered when an angler won a match using edible crab in an area where it is illegal to do so, should he have been disqualified?
Jim.
Just found this, it was posted by Doc back in 2004
Just to put the matter straight, the byelaw clearly states that it is prohibited to use edible crab, otherwise known as brown crab (Cancer pagurus) as bait. This is a direct result of concerns by fisheries managers that an unknown quantity of edible (soft) crab was being used by the commercial sector as pot bait. The byelaw was not enacted originally to prohibit use by anglers, it was only at a later stage when the use of crab by recreational anglers became widespread. The definition was extended to include use by all stakeholder groups, with no exception.
The arguement has been used in the past that \"I brought them from outside the area\", this arguement does and will not hold in a court of law. The defining word is USE, it doesn\'t matter where they came from, if the intention was to USE them as bait then the law has been broken.
The crabs being purchased from tackle shops or chinese supermarkets are I believe non-native species and therefore are not included in any current byelaw and have no MLS attached. These are already frozen and as a consequence will not affect or impact on UK coastal fisheries. There is little chance of them being imported live, as a license would be required and stringent regulation of their movements and possible release into the wild would negate this.
In addition to the prohibition on use of edibles, crabs are subject to MLS regulation. The edible MLS is 130mm along the Yorkshire and Northumberland coasts and practically all of the UK, the only exception being within the Eastern Sea Fisheries Joint Committee (the Wash) where the MLS is 115mm, this is due to the Wash fishery being driven by a predominantly juvenile stock recruited from the Yorkshire fishery.
The only crab species described in the prohibition of usage as bait is the edible crab, however, velvet swimmer crab (Necora puber) are also covered within the MLS, which I think is 65mm.
The problem arises when one sea fisheries committee has different byelaws, e.g. the Sussex SFC has no byelaw prohibiting the use of edible crab as bait. So potentially an angler may use it in Sussex, bring some up to Yorks or Northumberland for a fishing session/match and break the byelaw. Additional porblems occur when anglers are unaware of these regulations, as was recently discovered when an angler won a match using edible crab in an area where it is illegal to do so, should he have been disqualified?
Jim.
Thanks for the replies guys , I am meaning cart yes , The inside of sizable edible crabs sourced from boats , The ones your allowed to buy and do what you want with them , Like you say the law comes into effect when you start using under sized crabs and edible peelers , Like i said the tackle shops around here do sell cart and inshore fisheries sell it to be used as bait....Its absoloutey stupid if you ask my opinion if the your right and say its illegal to use yet you can buy it and eat it , mount it on your fence or watever you wanna do with it .....
So does the seaham club allow it ? ...? CHEERS LADS....p.s i will still use it as ive used it for years and its a quality bait under the right conditions.....If you havent tried it , do.....Thanks...
So does the seaham club allow it ? ...? CHEERS LADS....p.s i will still use it as ive used it for years and its a quality bait under the right conditions.....If you havent tried it , do.....Thanks...
kingcod deano
Well-known member
i have also seen alot of shops selling cart so im presume its legal to use and it is a deadly bait
you should of said cart in your original post.
Sorry Allan , I thought you may of knew what i meant , i didnt mean peelers ....Just edoble crabs in general ie cart.....
Would seaham allow it then ?
So out of curiostiy why do some of the big matches up north ban it then ie seaton sluice open ? when i fished this one it clearly says no edible crab or crab extract may be used .....I thought it was abit strange
Would seaham allow it then ?
So out of curiostiy why do some of the big matches up north ban it then ie seaton sluice open ? when i fished this one it clearly says no edible crab or crab extract may be used .....I thought it was abit strange
Topfly , I think the trouble was commercials were catching softies and smahsing them into there pots , , Im not saying i recomend using softies as that is breaking the law or thats the reason the law was brought into effect in the first place ....
Hard back sizeable edibles is what i am onabout ....cheers
Hard back sizeable edibles is what i am onabout ....cheers
it's up to the organising club what goes and what dosn't.
