OK lads there is always going to be a difference in opinions on the identity of rockling species but a decision needs to be made so we can carry on with the hunt. When I started this species hunt the whole point was to have fun catching as many species as possible and all this "debating" is taking the fun out of it. That stops now. As the one running the hunt the final decision is mine and I have made a decision. Of course you can't please all the people all the time and whatever I decide there will always be someone who does not agree but at the end of the day if you do not like the way I am running the hunt then you do not have to take part. My decision is this.....
1. Three bearded rocklings are a rare catch in our area and always have the characteristic colour pattern of dark spots on a light background. Unless a fish shows these characteristic markings it will not be accepted as a 3B. No 3Bs have been caught so far in the hunt this year or last year.
2. Shore rocklings are rare in the north east and claimed by at least one website (Marlin) that they do not occur at all in our area MarLIN - The Marine Life Information Network . However I do not dismiss the possibility that shore rocklings could occasionally be caught in our area from time to time so if the photograph submitted clearly shows the necessary identifying features it will be accepted i.e. only three barbels (no stubby barbels , stumps or lumps that could be a 5B) and either (i) brown or drab colouring or (ii) light spots on a dark background.
3. Five bearded rocklings are clearly the common species in our area. I have caught a lot of rocklings with five barbels showing many different colour and pattern variations and all the suspect fish are consistent with these colour patterns. Some of those I have caught show varying sized barbels sometimes just stumps. Whether this is due to being poorly formed or lost through damage is anybodies guess but it is a fact that they are sometimes this way. So unless the evidence given clearly shows one of the other species this will be the default.
OK. So this is the new rule and I have added it to the rules in the first post... To claim a shore rockling or three bearded rockling you must provide a clear photograph showing it's characteristic features. Where a photograph is blurred or taken from an angle where the identity is unclear then it will be assumed to be the commoner species i.e. a five bearded rockling.
So following this new rule the table will be updated as follows :-
None of the fish currently labelled as "3B" show the characteristic markings of a 3B. None of them have clear photographs showing they are shore rocklings not 5B. Therefore all fish will be re-labelled as the default species 5B. Wee Ver, Codfather145 and Toonboymc your scores remain unchanged. Myself, Aquaholic, Mad Rob, Lumpsucker and John Findley already have a 5B so we all lose one point.
I will update the table tonight. For those of you still taking part let's carry on with the hunt 
