Angling for Eels banned from July 1st

CJhaughey

Our dept in its wisdom has decided to ban Eel fishing both recreationally and commercially from the 1st of June.
This will mean that it will become an offence to possess Eels.
Ireland is unique in the EU at implementing such a draconian measure, most other EU states have not decided to take such punitive measures against recreational and commercial Eel fishermen and most states are allowing a reduction in take from 20%-40%.
Across the Border in Lough Neagh they will still allow commercial harvesting of Eels and angling for the same.
How can we stand by and allow our govt to extinguish fishing rights that have been in existence for 100's of years in a stroke of a pen?

demanufactured

TBH This is a welcome move around the midlands , theres **** all eels left.

Offy

demanufactured wrote: »

TBH This is a welcome move around the midlands , theres **** all eels left.

I have to agree. I have been fishing for ells in the Shannon for about thirty years and last summer is the worse I ever saw. I dont like fishing bans but it is necessary at the moment IMO.

CJhaughey

This is not just for a few years this is for 90 years.

ButcherOfNog

CJhaughey wrote: »

How can we stand by and allow our govt to extinguish fishing rights that have been in existence for 100's of years in a stroke of a pen?

Because eventually there'll be no eels left if it keeps going like it currently is. It's called conservation, look it up.

Degsy

Like the ****ers who kill every fish they catch will care about conservation measures.

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

doesnt bother me tbh, i fish mainly for pike and course fish. landed an eel once before. i really dont think this is going to have any effect on eel fishing, i have NEVER seen a bailiff......ever. so if people want to fish for eels, who is going to stop them (i mean on the big waters like the shannon system)

Zzippy

CJhaughey wrote: »

Our dept in its wisdom has decided to ban Eel fishing both recreationally and commercially from the 1st of June.
This will mean that it will become an offence to possess Eels.
Ireland is unique in the EU at implementing such a draconian measure, most other EU states have not decided to take such punitive measures against recreational and commercial Eel fishermen and most states are allowing a reduction in take from 20%-40%.
Across the Border in Lough Neagh they will still allow commercial harvesting of Eels and angling for the same.
How can we stand by and allow our govt to extinguish fishing rights that have been in existence for 100's of years in a stroke of a pen?

Maybe you should be looking at other countries and asking why they aren't doing the same. Eel stocks are fcuked, and will be for a long long time. 90 years is the minimum time needed at current recruitment levels with zero commercial fishing for stocks to recover to a level where they aren't endangered.
Ask why Portugal France and Spain are still harvesting elvers when these are the exact fish we need to allow free movement so that adult eel stocks can replenish themselves.
Ask other countries why they aren't doing their bit to allow stocks to recover. If they don't our stocks will never recover if its only Ireland ceasing fishing.
Lough Neagh is different, the eels there have been stocked as elvers so its a managed fishery. But I only give them a few years more anyway, their stocks will also be fcuked soon.

Or maybe you think no, your right to fish for eels is more important than the continued existence of the species. I just despair with some people, as with the salmon, if the last salmon was swimming up a river there would be anglers and netsmen fighting over who got to kill it.

coolwings

CJ:
I remember when I was a kid, we used to go to the canal lough gates after dark and shine a torchlight into the water.
You'd always see a few dozen eels doing their thing in the clear water. Not always down on the bottom.
I did it again 2 years ago in the same place and was surprised to not see even one eel. So I accept that stocks are down to a 1/20th of what they were. I don't know what the official fiogures are, but that's what I observed.

Any reason why you think it's a bad thing to close the eel fishery? Livelihoods? I don't think there are any full time eel fishermen around nowadays, but I may be wrong on that.

Zzippy

coolwings wrote: »

CJ:
I remember when I was a kid, we used to go to the canal lough gates after dark and shine a torchlight into the water.
You'd always see a few dozen eels doing their thing in the clear water. Not always down on the bottom.
I did it again 2 years ago in the same place and was surprised to not see even one eel. So I accept that stocks are down to a 1/20th of what they were. I don't know what the official fiogures are, but that's what I observed.

Any reason why you think it's a bad thing to close the eel fishery? Livelihoods? I don't think there are any full time eel fishermen around nowadays, but I may be wrong on that.

There are a few full timers, but its mostly a seasonal and part time industry. The government have not made any statement about compensating these fishermen, but they are looking for a similar scheme to the one the salmon men got. I think thats only fair, if they are going to lose some/all of their livelihood they should be compensated.

Duck's hoop

Zzippy wrote: »

I think thats only fair, if they are going to lose some/all of their livelihood they should be compensated.

Maybe they shoulda thought of that before they fished the eels into oblivion in the first place? I've no sympathy for commercial freshwater fisher folk. Or saltwater for that matter. Authors of their own destiny.
And it will also help preserve other fish stocks as the amount of fatalities of other non-commercial species (pike,bream,etc) due to bycatch is appalling. If you see a fyke net lifted the only thing alive in it are the eels with large pike and other species stone dead.

CJhaughey

I think you are assuming that all mortality in the Eel fishery is due to fishing pressure, and not to other environmental factors like water quality, Hydro electric schemes, and illegal commercial/recreational take.
As has been pointed out there is very little enforcement or for that matter scientific studies done.
In fact the entire Corrib stock virgin biomass has been extrapolated from a single weir.
Do you really think that is good science?
I am not saying that we should not stop fishing for Eels but the way in which it has been introduced is nothing short of a disgrace.

Duck's hoop

CJhaughey wrote: »

I think you are assuming that all mortality in the Eel fishery is due to fishing pressure

With respect CJ, no there are no wild assumptions on my part. I haven't just wandered over and thought 'eel fishing kills all eels' but in fairness you only catch and kill them once. I make the point, that if a species is fished hard, hammered if you will, then the chances are it will suffer sufficient depletion of stocks as to endanger the species. I am aware of the negative impact of other environmental factors.

Edit: The Hydro scheme at Ballyshannon pretty much destroyed the Erne as a salmon fishery. Catching with big nets didn't help elsewhere however.

Zzippy

Duck's hoop wrote: »

Maybe they shoulda thought of that before they fished the eels into oblivion in the first place? I've no sympathy for commercial freshwater fisher folk. Or saltwater for that matter. Authors of their own destiny.
And it will also help preserve other fish stocks as the amount of fatalities of other non-commercial species (pike,bream,etc) due to bycatch is appalling. If you see a fyke net lifted the only thing alive in it are the eels with large pike and other species stone dead.

I'd have to disagree with you there. The reason eel stocks have crashed is not due to overfishing in Ireland, its due to the crash in elver runs which occurred in the 1980s. There were still plenty of silver eels migrating to the Sargasso to ensure enough elvers came back to maintain the freshwater stock, but the elver run collapsed in the space of a very short time. Current theories are that this was caused by the parasite Anguillicola crassus, which infests the swim bladder of yellow eels and may affect the depth regulation ability of silver eels at sea. The Irish stocks have taken so long to mirror this crash because eels here are so slow growing, and silver eels migrating now arrived as elvers 15-50 years ago.
I agree with you about fyke nets, I've personally lifted illegal fykes that were left down for weeks and the stench of dead fish/birds/mammals was appalling. But what about longline fishermen for instance? Do they not deserve something for having their livelihood removed?

CJhaughey wrote: »

I think you are assuming that all mortality in the Eel fishery is due to fishing pressure, and not to other environmental factors like water quality, Hydro electric schemes, and illegal commercial/recreational take.
As has been pointed out there is very little enforcement or for that matter scientific studies done.
In fact the entire Corrib stock virgin biomass has been extrapolated from a single weir.
Do you really think that is good science?
I am not saying that we should not stop fishing for Eels but the way in which it has been introduced is nothing short of a disgrace.

The single weir you refer to is at the mouth of the river, consequently all silver eels migrating out of the catchment have to pass through it. There has been a fairly constant fishing effort here over the last 30 years, unlike with the private eel fishermen, so ths dataset here is the best and most reliable indicator of eel stocks. The precautionary principle applies also - the absence of sufficient scientific data does not excuse inaction.
As for your other points, yes hydro is a big problem in some catchments. Water quality however - the best eel fisheries are in eutrophic and even hypertrophic lakes, water quality is not a problem for eels except in grossly polluted waters. IMO the introduced parasite may be the biggest problem of all.

Duck's hoop wrote: »

With respect CJ, no there are no wild assumptions on my part. I haven't just wandered over and thought 'eel fishing kills all eels' but in fairness you only catch and kill them once. I make the point, that if a species is fished hard, hammered if you will, then the chances are it will suffer sufficient depletion of stocks as to endanger the species. I am aware of the negative impact of other environmental factors.

Edit: The Hydro scheme at Ballyshannon pretty much destroyed the Erne as a salmon fishery. Catching with big nets didn't help elsewhere however.

Irish fishermen haven't hammered stocks, AFAIK their catch has remained fairly constant only decling in the last decade as the decline in elver recruitment began to be seen in adult stocks. The French and Iberian fleets however could be accused of hammering the elver runs there, elvers which could have done a lot to produce more silvers to restock all European waters in the long run.

I've published on the effect of the hydro scheme in Ballyshannon on salmon, so I'm in full agreement with you there.

bernard0368

We as humans have done quite a lot of damage to our enviroment and the fish/animals that lived here. I am catch and release through and through. I however will not stop anyone taking one for the pot.
We seemed destined to fish our rivers and lakes to death. What do people expect if we bring a species to the brink of extinction, someone has to step up to the mark and put a stop to it.
One elderly angler who fishes the river I am on, told me that he had not seen a eel caught on the river for over six years where once they were prolific.
I for one congratulate the government on this stance. Shame they cant get a bit more right.

Kess73

Funnily enough two of the stretches that I fish on a regular basis in the Shannon region, are still producing lots of big eels. Last weekend would have been the last time I caught one over 2lb.


I don't fish for them, but do seem to get quite a few when fishing for bream.


What I have seen a massive decrease in, is the number of good pike in the stretches. Way too many partake in a "catch as many as you can and kill them all" mentality, and I have had many angry exchanges with people over it when I come across it being done. Reporting it seems to go nowhere. On one occassion I had an individual come up and try to take a pike that I was returning to the water. He seemed to think I was going to hand over the fish as he said "you are putting it back so you do not want it", and explaining why fish get returned held no water with this person, who in the end even tried to grab the fish as I placed it back in the river. The end result was the pike got to stay in the water and swim away and the individual also got wet as a quick shove saw him land on his arse in the shallows.

Duck's hoop

Zzippy wrote: »

But what about longline fishermen for instance? Do they not deserve something for having their livelihood removed?

From my experience in my part of the world, longliners are no longer operating and when they were they operated on a fairly casual basis. Difficult to ascertain compensation due, on an official basis, when your 'business' was blackmarket with no tax paid or profits declared. The day's of a milk churn with 'eels' painted on the side left by the side of the road for pick up are long gone. Maybe that's a pity. It's licensed nets around here, with the aforementioned bycatch mortality which does serious harm to other fish stocks.

Anyway I think we're all in agreement that the move to preserve eel stocks is a good one. Though I'm sure I'll get a hankering to ledger for some snakes at some point! I'll supress this urge.

Offy

In the thirty years of so that I've being fishing the Shannon I've seen numbers for Salmon, Trout, Pike, Perch, Eels, Bream and Roach all fall. As a child fishing I released far more than I caught, as an adult I dont catch enough most weekends for a good meal. The ban will disappoint me as I like to bring my kids Eel fishing from time to time but over the last few years we rarely caught any Eels and those that we did were to small for the pan. The ban is needed, pity.