NESA Species Hunt 2013

[Stewart 1971]

Welcome Cat. Second one is a Flounder, well done

 

[Thunderpants]

Fish added. Welcome to the league Cosmic Cat.

I think we have established my "3bd" isnt a 5 bd lol

im i being accredited with shore rockling or 3bd

I think we neee to sort the whole thing out and debate over each rockling posted

The colours are wrong for a 3B, shore rockling is uncertain it's head does not look broad enough to me and the colours are more like a 5B. Here is another pic of one of the shore rocklings I caught on the south coast this year you can see how broad the head is compared to the ones we get up here...

Like Bassboyo says we could discuss this forever and never be able to decide one way or the other. We need to decide whether or not to allow different species of rocklings in the hunt or since they are so hard to identify just to have one "rockling" for all like last year. Sandeels will need to be all be one type too since the individual types cannot be identified easily. Please vote.

 

[Aqua-holic]

I vote we should allow different species of rockling. I caught a few of these last year at Whitburn.

 

[Bassboyo]

Due to not everyone (me included ) mostly using compact camera or mobile phones sometimes in poor light , slippery rocks , wriggly fish etc etc we can not always get a perfect picture of the appropriate differences in species along with including the NESA card. I vote for one species on rockling and one on Sandeel.

 

[fishingmark]

I vote for one rockling, one sea scorpion and one sandeel. Too much carry on over tiddlers for me.

 

[lumpsucker]

If someone has taken the time to learn the identifying features and takes the neccessary photos to make the id possible beyond doubt they are doing the species hunt pround and should be rewarded with as many points as possible not robbed of them.

 

[finding nemo]

I agree each should count......

If we cant agree then a vote should take place, ive posted a thread on wsf to get a wider opinion

 

[fishingmark]

If someone has taken the time to learn the identifying features and takes the neccessary photos to make the id possible beyond doubt they are doing the species hunt pround and should be rewarded with as many points as possible not robbed of them.

I was talking about next year. No one will be "robbed" as the rules would be clear from the start. As for taking the time to identify fish correctly I agree with you but these fish have taken up pages and pages of space to identify and they're just tiddlers that you catch by plopping your gear down the side. We will see how the vote turns out, each to their own.

 

[finding nemo]

In a species hunt these tiddlers are just as important as a 20lb cod

anyone who wants to have an input and discuss the matter can the ones who dont care dont have to

 

[fishingmark]

In a species hunt these tiddlers are just as important as a 20lb cod

anyone who wants to have an input and discuss the matter can the ones who dont care dont have to

In a species hunt I thought the idea was to broaden your horizons and get out and target and catch some new species not to sub divide the commonest fish caught. While I agree that size is not important in a species hunt, when I referred to them as tiddlers I wasn't referring to the size but how easy it is to catch them.
If that comment about not being willing to discuss matters and have an input was aimed at me, how am I not discussing matters? that is exactly what I'm doing. As for not caring, again if that was aimed at me, I do care and that is why I took the time to vote on the subject as Mike requested.
Whatever the outcome of the vote i will go along with the concensus. I don't have a pathalogical hatred of these fish, I just think it would be simpler to have one of each.

 

[Bassboyo]

If someone has taken the time to learn the identifying features and takes the neccessary photos to make the id possible beyond doubt they are doing the species hunt pround and should be rewarded with as many points as possible not robbed of them.

I have to agree to a certain degree, but there is a lack of positive clear photographs to distinguish between the sub species. It has to be cut and dry definite features clearly visible. Not everyone has the equipment or technology while at the water. Am happy with whatever is decided, it's only fun ;-)

 

[finding nemo]

opinions on id- World Sea Fishing Forums | Sea Angling and Sea Fishing Online | Fishing Reports

these guys seem pretty shure

 

[Bassboyo]

opinions on id- World Sea Fishing Forums | Sea Angling and Sea Fishing Online | Fishing Reports

these guys seem pretty shure

Yep I agree it's a shore rockling but I also think no one has entered a 3B ;-)

 

[Thunderpants]

OK lads we still need your votes. The score so far ...

One type of Rockling 2 Votes - Bassboyo, Fishingmark
Different species of Rockling 3 Votes - Aqua Holic, lumpsucker, finding nemo

I have not voted yet and will wait to see if I need to do a deciding vote if its a level score. If the voting result is that we go for multiple species of rockling and peoples individual fish are uncertain then I agree with finding nemo that we should vote on them and go with the majority decision. This species hunt is just a bit of fun anyway so it doesn't matter if we get the species wrong as long as we are all agreed on it. If we go this route then all those currently labelled as 3B in the table will need to be voted on. You may remember that originally I had them all down as shore rockling until I learned that shore rockling do not occur in the north east. Having seen Aqu-holics pic from Whitburn I am doubting this now as his pic looks very like the shore rockling I caught on Chesil Beach.

There are 28 people in the species hunt so we need more votes lads.


As for sandeels, there are five species of sandeels in british waters and they all look the same externally but are different sizes. Greater Sandeels are big so if you catch one over 20cm it is probably one of those but if it is under 20cm it may be another species or may just be a small greater sandeel Unless someone has a definate way of identifying them I intend to call them all Launce and just have the one type in the hunt.

 

[lumpsucker]

http://britishseafishing.co.uk/greater-and-lesser-sandeel/

Copied the most important bit:
While easy to confuse greater and lesser sandeels there are easy ways to tell the difference between the two species. If a sandeel is over twenty centimetres in length it is likely to be a greater sandeel, while lesser sandeels have an expandable, tube like mouth, which greater sandeel do not. There is also a deeper fork to the tail of the lesser sandeel.

It is possible to tell the difference although it may be tricky with poor photos and no measurements. Read somewhere else the record for a launce is 8oz!

 

[Wee Ver]

Ban rocklings altogether there getting on my tits now

 

[Thunderpants]

Nothing about tubular jaws here MarLIN - The Marine Life Information Network but it does say "the greater sand eel Hyperoplus lanceolatus can be distinguished from Ammodytes tobianus by presence of teeth in the roof of the mouth and by its inability to protrude its upper jaw. " I'd be surprised if anyone could get a photo of that though lol

 

[lumpsucker]

Nothing about tubular jaws here MarLIN - The Marine Life Information Network but it does say "the greater sand eel Hyperoplus lanceolatus can be distinguished from Ammodytes tobianus by presence of teeth in the roof of the mouth and by its inability to protrude its upper jaw. " I'd be surprised if anyone could get a photo of that though lol

Its getting a bit much if we need to take pics of the inside of a sandeels mouth! Lol

 

[toonboymc]

My vote is only 1 type no 3 beard or 5 beard same as scorpion fish

 

[codcatcher3000]

multiple species....red cod / spring cod/ nee cod .

being serious. if it has a separate scientific name then its a different species. the onus is one the poster to get the best pics and identify based on the pics. if not u register a basic species/. gotta go work .. i will mumble more later