RSA: A Survey of the District. A Strategy for 2013-14

Northumberland IFCA

Northumberland IFCA

Member
Hello everyone. As many of you will know; over the past few months Northumberland IFCA (Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Authority) have been working on a strategy concerning Recreational Sea Angling to accompany our upcoming survey of the district.

As an IFCA we realise how important RSA is to our stakeholders and would like to take this opportunity to continue forging the best possible working relationships with our angling community.

The strategy is intended to be a living document and we welcome suggestions from anglers who operate within the district.

It is now available to view on-line at:

http://www.nifca.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/final-draft-Sea-Angling-Strategy.pdf.

In addition to this a limited number of hard copies are available to boat/angling clubs and tackle shops. If you wish to request a copy please do so via email to the office (details below) or by pm to this account.

Thank you and good fishing to all of you.
 
Right....

I've read that (good read, by the way), and checked out the NIFCA website, but I'm puzzled by a couple of things.

It's good that you see anglers in such a positive way, but, looking through your website and checking out other IFCA' s via sea angling forums and social media, they are talking about new bye laws to protect seagrass from bait digging. I notice you have an open meeting on the 8th August at Cramlington (which really should be advertised on these forums) mentioning seagrass and commercial fishermen, but strangely no mention of RSA's.

Do you also intend to try to restrict bait digging in Northumberland ?
I would imagine quite a few RSA's would attend this meeting if only they had known about it in advance, and let's not forget, any such ban is bound to have an impact on professional bait diggers, and could well filter down to tackle shops too.
 
tonyfromalnwick said:
Right....

I've read that (good read, by the way), and checked out the NIFCA website, but I'm puzzled by a couple of things.

It's good that you see anglers in such a positive way, but, looking through your website and checking out other IFCA' s via sea angling forums and social media, they are talking about new bye laws to protect seagrass from bait digging. I notice you have an open meeting on the 8th August at Cramlington (which really should be advertised on these forums) mentioning seagrass and commercial fishermen, but strangely no mention of RSA's.

Do you also intend to try to restrict bait digging in Northumberland ?
I would imagine quite a few RSA's would attend this meeting if only they had known about it in advance, and let's not forget, any such ban is bound to have an impact on professional bait diggers, and could well filter down to tackle shops too.
Click to expand...

Tony
just going to put meeting info up, and it will be going into papers
 
It's been a month since the meeting. Sorry if I've missed the outcome (long holidays for teachers and all that) but what happened?
 
Stores said:
It's been a month since the meeting. Sorry if I've missed the outcome (long holidays for teachers and all that) but what happened?
Click to expand...

Feeling decidedly lonely now. 36 hours since I asked the question - lots of viewings - all the main protagonists have been on the board including Northumberland IFCA (....forging the best possible working relationships with our angling community.....) but no reply. Anything to do with the hoo hah in July?
 
Only me, talking to myself again. Since I last met I've taken the trouble to go back to the NIFCA website and trawl around. Like Tony, I can't make sense of some things -

- Northumberland IFCA said his breezy hello on 29th July.The August 8th meeting had already been arranged - why not tell us all about it then?

- there was an EGM of NIFCA on 28th August - did anyone mention it? If so I apologise but I can't find it in the Shore Fishing section, where it would be most use, even though the public were invited.

- I think I'm right in thinking that our MCZ's are no more - they're now SAC's and SPA's because they're European Marine Sites. Why change now, making something difficult to get your head round even worse?

- the EGM was to propose the seagrass (eelgrass? - both are used) protection - I quote:

1. Seagrass Protection Byelaw – this will prohibit any person in the Berwickshire & North Northumberland Coast Special Area of Conservation -
(a) Digging for or fishing for any sea fisheries resource by hand or using any hand tool where seagrass is situated, and
(b) Digging for or fishing for any sea fisheries resource or taking any sea fisheries resource using a mechanically powered device where seagrass is situated. They go on:

“Regarding our Seagrass Protection byelaw, guidance has been received from Natural England and members of the Sea Angling Community and we will continue discussions to see if it is possible to open some areas in the SAC in the future which are currently closed to bait digging and hand-gathering activities.”

I can't find any info of where seagrass is found but the possible area is from the Tweed to Fast Castle. The meeting was August 28th with 42 days public consultation.

- there are thanks to the anglers who have contributed (so, presumably thanks to Les, Alan and Tony, in particular) and perhaps they are fed up trying to get us off our backsides - I can understand that!

If I've misquoted please forgive and correct me. At the time of posting the viewing count was 502 - just for me really.
 
response to Queries. (Stores)

response to Queries. (Stores)

Dear Member,

Thank you for your recent enquiries. We would like to take this opportunity to address the points you have raised and hopefully shed some light so that everything is out in the open and understood by you and others who may be reading.

Stakeholder meetings have been advertised in The Fishing News, the NIFCA website (http:EMS Fisheries Revised Approach - NIFCA) and also on fishing forums.

With regards to the MCZ's, they are still ongoing and will be part of a Marine Protected Area network for the UK which will comprise of MCZ's, SAC's, SPA's and EMS. More information is available at www.gov.uk/marine-protected-areas.

Seagrass was discussed at the Stakeholder Meetings held by Northumberland IFCA in July and August. Charts indicating where Seagrass is currently found in the Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast SAC were available and distributed at these meetings. The Environment Agency carries out a yearly survey of Seagrass in the Lindisfarne Nature Reserve and this is thought to be the largest Seagrass bed on the North East coast.

All of this information will soon be uploaded onto the Northumberland IFCA website, proceeding into the 4 week statutory consultation period. Northumberland IFCA will ensure that this information is available on the NESA forums to avoid further confusion.

It is also worth noting that Northumberland IFCA are still actively working on the Sea Angling Strategy, which while separate to the European Marine Site work currently being undertaken, is still a priority.

Should members have any queries that require an immediate response, we would urge you to contact the office and speak with an Officer.

The office telephone number is: 01670 731 399
email: [email protected]

Thank you again for your query, we hope you find this information useful.
 
Soory lads should of put something up earlier, nothing is concrete yet but as the main area of sea grass is inside the area allocated to anglers that was taken into consideration in the public inquiry, so any area lost must be replaced otherwise we could try and get public inquirt judgement reveresed
 
Still no reply on the bait digging and gathering issue.

Also, if sea grass areas are going to be "no-go", doesn't that mean the sea grass will spread into areas currently open to anglers and bait diggers, thus reducing further the available fishing and collecting grounds ?

Can we expect to be compensated for any loss of grounds by the re-opening of Budle Bay to digging and angling ?
Seems only fair.
 
"Dear Northumberland IFCA,

Thank you for your reply. Questions pertaining to the reply are interspersed with your responses."


Northumberland IFCA said:
Dear Member,

Thank you for your recent enquiries. We would like to take this opportunity to address the points you have raised and hopefully shed some light so that everything is out in the open and understood by you and others who may be reading.

"I agree that everything should be out in the open and I have no reason to think that you are deliberately hiding anything. As to how much is understood by the average angler (who I believe is, like most of us, acronym illiterate) I couldn't possibly comment on."


Stakeholder meetings have been advertised in The Fishing News, the NIFCA website (http:EMS Fisheries Revised Approach - NIFCA) and also on fishing forums.

"I knew about the meetings but, living 250 miles away, I was interested in the outcomes."

With regards to the MCZ's, they are still ongoing and will be part of a Marine Protected Area network for the UK which will comprise of MCZ's, SAC's, SPA's and EMS. More information is available at www.gov.uk/marine-protected-areas.

"Thank you."

Seagrass was discussed at the Stakeholder Meetings held by Northumberland IFCA in July and August. Charts indicating where Seagrass is currently found in the Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast SAC were available and distributed at these meetings. The Environment Agency carries out a yearly survey of Seagrass in the Lindisfarne Nature Reserve and this is thought to be the largest Seagrass bed on the North East coast.

"It might be me but if you go on the EA website and type in seagrass or Lindisfarne or yearly survey or all three nothing comes up. I would be grateful if you could give us advice on the extent of seagrass in North Northumberland up to Fast Castle. If you distributed the information at the meetings surely it is on disc and can be uploaded?"

All of this information will soon be uploaded onto the Northumberland IFCA website, proceeding into the 4 week statutory consultation period. Northumberland IFCA will ensure that this information is available on the NESA forums to avoid further confusion.

It is also worth noting that Northumberland IFCA are still actively working on the Sea Angling Strategy, which while separate to the European Marine Site work currently being undertaken, is still a priority.

"Can I highlight the point made by TonyfromAlnwick regarding the bait digging issue and the effect the seagrass debate will have. When will the detail be made available? As always the devil is in the detail."

Should members have any queries that require an immediate response, we would urge you to contact the office and speak with an Officer.

The office telephone number is: 01670 731 399
email: [email protected]

Thank you again for your query, we hope you find this information useful.
Click to expand...

"I have found the information useful, though not satisfying. By the time anglers organise themselves the coastline will have been carved up by the tweeters, divers and tree huggers. (that is, of course a personal opinion and not, necessarily, that of NESA)"
 
Last edited:
Dear Members,

Thank you for your most recent responses. We will take into account all of your views and thoughts.

However, Northumberland IFCA have been directed to protect Seagrass in the Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast Special Area of Conservation (B&NNCSAC) under the European Habitats Directive. At the stakeholder meetings we held there was discussion regarding Seagrass currently known to exist in the Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve (LNNR) which is managed by Natural England.

Consequently, Seagrass has been detected in part of the voluntary bait digging zone. Apart from making the required byelaw, NIFCA is working closely with Natural England to assess the situation and see what can be done.

Budle Bay has been mentioned and is a matter for Natural England.

Information can be found on our website and further information including charts of the Seagrass will be uploaded there shortly.
 
tonyfromalnwick said:
Yet you say you are working closely with Natural England. Surely if you are working together (as equal partners?) you will have a significant input.

Or are you just passing the buck ?
Click to expand...

Hi Mr NIFCA and thank you for your prompt reply.

Looking at the make up of Natural England they seem a reasonable bunch with, as you would expect, conservation at the top of their agenda. That, logically, will mean that conserving the sea grass will mean protecting it from any form of disruption and top of that list will be digging from RSA's and using mobile gear from boats.

Tony, I think rather than NIFCA passing the buck (if, indeed, that is accurate) the sentence on a previous reply:

"Northumberland IFCA have been DIRECTED to protect the sea grass by......."

is illuminating. Rather than hiding behind the backs of others maybe they're being pushed in certain directions, (usually away from what we would want) because others have a louder voice than ours which, at present, appears to be as effective as shouting into an easterly wind with Miss Fenwick blowing.

Any idea of a date for the publishing of the maps?
 
Hello Mr NIFCA. Here we are again. It's nearly a week since we chatted so I thought I'd re-new our acquaintance.

I realise that there is a considerable amount of political manouvering going on and some of the questions posed are likely to get the stock answer "We will take into account all of your views and thoughts" ...but putting that aside here's some of my more up to date questions:

- I've looked on your website and can't find the minutes to the EAGM - that was 4 weeks ago - will it be published? If so, when? (please - "not soon")

- I've read your Strategic Plan 2013 - 2016. Can I ask a couple of things?

1. With regard to areas of the coast that are deemed, "by others" (my words) as most important, you say:

"It is important to know the extent of the features designated for protection so that we can reach a better understanding of how fishing activity interacts with said features and also, most importantly, how the mapping of said features can be used in conjunction with technology such as iVMS to ensure that a sustainable fishery can be maintained whilst protecting the marine environment."

You said the maps that were given out at the meetings (were they actually?) would be on line. I still can't find them. Please re-direct me if I'm being blind. Can you, re the above, produce a sustainable fishery without them or is there more to them not being available?

2. I was also interested in the following two statements in the document:

"In addition, IFCAs have a legal obligation to ‘further the conservation objectives’ of MCZs."and:

"The Northumberland IFCA must protect red risk features listed in the DEFRA Matrix by December 2013."

Could you explain the consequence to sea anglers, both shore and afloat, of going "further" with conservation measures and who is pulling the "legal" strings? and finally........

December 2013 isn't very far away. This could be done and dusted before your website actually says anything.

I really, really hope I'm barking up the wrong tree here because I've spoken to a number of people who have great faith in your work with regard to fair play for the RSA and I believe that's the most we can hope for but the questions, to me, are there to be asked.

Look forward to your illuminating replies.

David
(I think David is better than Member, which may be misconstrued)
 
David,

Further to your post of 24th September 2013; the minutes of our Extraordinary General Meeting on 28th August 2013 will go before the main committee for approval at our quarterly meeting on 22nd October 2013 and should then be uploaded onto the NIFCA website within the following week.

The maps to which you refer were indeed available at the meetings and are due to go online today. Regarding your reference to MCZs, Red Risk Features and their consequence to RSA, I must stress the complexity of MCZs and EMS (which are different subjects).

The process is ongoing and we cannot foresee exactly how things will develop but we will continue to consult and inform as much as possible. In the meantime however, I have discussed your posts with our Vice Chairman Les Weller (MMO appointed) who is himself a sea angler and NESA member. He would be very happy to speak with you or to be be contacted by email.

A pm has been sent with his details. We hope the above is of assistance.
 
Northumberland IFCA said:
David,

Further to your post of 24th September 2013; the minutes of our Extraordinary General Meeting on 28th August 2013 will go before the main committee for approval at our quarterly meeting on 22nd October 2013 and should then be uploaded onto the NIFCA website within the following week.

The maps to which you refer were indeed available at the meetings and are due to go online today. Regarding your reference to MCZs, Red Risk Features and their consequence to RSA, I must stress the complexity of MCZs and EMS (which are different subjects).

The process is ongoing and we cannot foresee exactly how things will develop but we will continue to consult and inform as much as possible. In the meantime however, I have discussed your posts with our Vice Chairman Les Weller (MMO appointed) who is himself a sea angler and NESA member. He would be very happy to speak with you or to be be contacted by email.

A pm has been sent with his details. We hope the above is of assistance.
Click to expand...

Mr NIFCA,

Many thanks for your reply, especially those covering the EAGM and the maps, both of which I now understand. I must apologise for not contacting the Vice Chairman sooner, as I would have liked to do.

Thank you, also, for pointing out that complexities exist between Marine Conservation Zones, European Marine Sites, Red Risk features et al. Did you think that members of NESA would not be able to take on board those complex issues or would it be inappropriate for you to explain the issues on an open forum? I actually get quite frustrated when trying to become more knowlegable about these changes. One example, not new, but brought back into the limelight actually refers to EMS' and is from DEFRA's consultation document December 2012 and I quote:

"2.3.3 European Marine sites include:
��
Special Areas of Conservation10 (SACs) which protect specific habitats (listed on Annex I to the Habitats Directive11) such as reefs, shallow sandbanks and intertidal mudflats and specific species (listed on Annex II to the Habitats Directive), such as seals; and
��
Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for migratory birds and/or those listed on Annex I to the Birds Directive12, such as puffins, sandwich tern and common scoter."

Where is Annex 1? or Annex 2? Certainly not in the DEFRA Consultation document on my lap top and then where do I look?......what happens is I have another glass of wine and retire to Coronation St, having been given some information, but unable to make connections to what the outcomes might be. I hope you can see my point.

Will speak to Les asap.

David
 

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