FISHING PETITION

spiny · Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 7:23 am Post subject: FISHING PETITION

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/1mileboundry

You guys might be interested in the above petition on the governments web site, judging from the comments I read about drag netting along our coastline.

Neil

Dene · Member Joined: Sep 04, 2007 Posts: 92 Location: Norfolk

signed and i emailed it out to all members at fishingmarks.co.uk 600 users hopefully they will all sign aswell

Can the admin here email it out to all members??

Planetgarb · Member Joined: Jul 01, 2007 Posts: 41 Location: Gorleston

Signed

spiny · Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 11:06 am Post subject:

Perhaps we should have embraced a sea fishing licence ?

The government might be under more pressure from us if we had a financial investment in our sport.

3am at Mundesley recently , I watched a trawler drag netting the sea bed just a couple of hundred yards out. Then we wonder where all the fish have gone !

I've put up with jet skiers and speedboats disturbing bathers and anglers, I've been bitten by untrained dogs just randomly slipped off their leashes by ignorant owners and a friend of mine was attacked by drunks whilst minding his own business quietly fishing.

Would my position carry more weight if I paid a licence fee ?

What do you guys think ?

Big_Fluffy_One · Member Joined: Mar 31, 2007 Posts: 39 Location: Leicester

Nope..Gordon would have your money and you would get nothing in return except the obligation to cough up an above inflation increase to the cost of the licence next year.

threefields · Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 3:19 pm Post subject:

spiny · Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 6:57 pm Post subject:

Of course it was another source of revenue for the government we knew that at the time.

Trouble is we're small players in a larger game - European and UK fishing policy. What we catch is nothing compared to what foreign trawlers take and our trawlers chuck back dead. The whole scene needs reviewing if fisherman of all types are to have a sustainable future.

Still let's let Gordon know how we feel by signing this petition. From small acorns etc........

andy1_i · Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 7:32 pm Post subject:

i am an ex-trawlerman,we never fished within 2miles,but there was alot of practices went on that were less than legal,the drag netters you saw were probably shrimpers,which do alot more damage to the sea bed as the net mesh is smaller

andy

tankman · Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 3:26 pm Post subject:

done.... well spotted
thanks

waterboy · Member Joined: Jun 29, 2008 Posts: 8

Keep up the good work

philboy · Member Joined: May 02, 2008 Posts: 12

i've signed too and i've emailed the link to all my buds....well done!!!!!! happy

sam28 · Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 11:07 pm Post subject:

We really need this, signed up mate.

spiny · Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 7:33 am Post subject:

You're quite right about livelihoods.

As I said there's a much bigger picture here with the real casulties being the fish. Everybody involved with the sea has an interest in some way.

The Independent carried an interesting article recently about the decline of marine life in our and global seas. I didn't know 300 lb Tuna and 800 lb Halibut used to be common in the North Sea. The decline started in the 1700's once eating fish became more popular.

We all need to be shouting out loud and signing any petition that draws attention to the disaster looming on the horizon that our kids will inherit.

An old boy said to me once, as recently as the 60's, that they used to use Bass as bait for catching other fish, crabs and lobster because there was no market for them. Then a fashionable restaurant renamed it Sea Bass and started selling it. Now it's on every menu and stocks have declined to danger level. As soon as Gordon Ramsey realises you can eat Whiting then the same thing will happen and we'll lose this fish that has saved many a blank fishing trip.

As one of our members said the fish trawlers don't come in close to shore to fish. But foreign ships and rogue trawlermen do.

If awareness of the issues means we end up with a uniform and caring fish management strategy that might result in no fishing areas for anybody, recreational angling areas and commercial only areas, that combined together allow expansion of the fish stock then I'm right behind it. If it means I can never fish Trimingham again as it's a designated no fish area, that allows safe fish breeding beds that boost the fish population then I'll support that and fish elsewhere.

Anglers, commercials, restaurants, the tourist trade and consumers all need to start taking an interest and support the real casulties - the FISH. Let's be honest if fish were cute and furry like Pandas, Monkeys and Tigers we'd have all manner of charities and vociferous groups running around screaming conservation.

Neil

rabbi2 · Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 8:04 am Post subject:

I refuse to be drawn on this one, Cheers keith

tankman · Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 3:34 pm Post subject:

dave69 - thats an interesting view, and having signed the petition days ago i did feel a pang of guilt after your comments...

I guess the answer is.. there is no easy answer...

when you stop to consider all sides of the "argument" there will never be a win win... its not just the route commercial fishermen take or how close to the shore they are.... there are many factors which affect fish stocks..

eg- people used to be appauled when we pumped raw sewage out to sea.. funny how when this stopped the catch rate on crabs/lobster dropped...
you solve one problem - cause another.... how many other factors affect the fish stocks... plastic bags , chemicals illegally discharged , the list i'm sure is endless....

so in the great scheme of things would there be any benefits that far out way the loss's in this change in the petition...?

Lee