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Pair trawlers clean out Dunmanus bay

  • 14-12-2015 7:50pm
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,113 ✭✭✭


    A pair of trawlers cleaning out Dunmanus Bay today. They went almost to the end which basically means the place has been possibly been decimated for recreational anglers. I don't know target species but guess Bass, Mackrel ??
    Going by the amount of sea birds during gutting they had a good haul.....:mad:
    The catch is being landed at Castletownbear tonight.
    IMG_4171_zps3zfo621x.jpg
    IMG_4172_zpst9ybbmm1.jpg


Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 127 ✭✭Tippjohn


    Is fishing this close inshore legal? Looks dodgy to me?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 234 ✭✭bluezulu49


    According to marinetraffic.com they were the Fiona K II and the Ocean Venture II. Both currently at Bere Island.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,113 ✭✭✭freddyuk


    Correct.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 127 ✭✭Username Exists.


    Probably dredging for razor clam if they were in that close.
    Terrible practice.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 127 ✭✭Tippjohn


    Probably the fishermen who objected to a salmon farm. See google. They want to conserve then rip it up.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 192 ✭✭Jim from Cork


    More than likely hoovering up sprat.
    Shameful carry on really.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,166 ✭✭✭✭Zzippy


    Yep, sprat. No quota, no restrictions. Fish away, lads... :rolleyes:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 127 ✭✭Tippjohn


    And everything eats sprats. Thats the brains of the Minister for you. The sand eels were dredged of the banks off Dover for fertilizer. The cod disapeared.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,113 ✭✭✭freddyuk


    The actual track took these "deep water" vessels way up into the shallow end of the bay where the juvenile fish are. There are few big fish this far up the bay but more out nearer the entrance and on the reefs off Mizen. I guess the juveniles move out as they grow but they may never get the chance.

    http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/shipid:291371/zoom:10

    It was a deliberate target as they went straight there for the day and then back to port. That has compromised the recreational fishing which brings in the tourism. The water depth is less than 10 metres! So the young pollack, cod, bass, gurnard, wrasse, scad, conger, ling, flounder etc. which may not have been target species will have been mashed through the nets and ended up as gull food. Possibly they churned up the bottom and affected the shelfish beds also. I am no expert on commercial trawling but the damage to future stocks must be compromised for years to come? Is it possible to "mid water trawl" in 30 feet of water?
    It may be technically legal but it is certainly morally unacceptable and frankly reprehensible.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 127 ✭✭Tippjohn


    I am not sure it is legal, I thought there was a 4 mile limit for trawling? A bit like the minister talking about dredging rivers today, homes are more important than fish, what an attitude.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17 AnglingMad


    I am over from the UK at my place here in kerry for a while and we see them do similar runs each year. They to are usually boats from Castletownbere. You are correct, trawling these areas should have been banned years ago as they are clearly nurserys. They say they pair trawl for the Herring but stock depletion here, particularly the Bass fishing is very noticable, plus against local opposition they reopened an old defunct Salmon farm and got authority triple its size. As you can appreciate what with the Trawling, Salmon Farm and poor recreational fishing experienced by visiting anglers the cost to tourism here is large. As a fellow angler I was drawn over many years ago and when I managed to get a place here used to bring all my pals and always being asked if they could come over for the Sea Trout, Bass and general ground fishing in boats but not now. All the ghillies are struggling and it is only the stories that remain. Sadly in my view and that of many UK anglers the quality and consistency of fishing Ireland once offered has long gone. There seems to be no organised opposition strong enough to take these issues on against the commercial lobby. I would love to be wrong but have not seen any at least. Most of my pals spend a lot of money going to others places now.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,991 ✭✭✭sword1


    AnglingMad wrote: »
    I am over from the UK at my place here in kerry for a while and we see them do similar runs each year. They to are usually boats from Castletownbere. You are correct, trawling these areas should have been banned years ago as they are clearly nurserys. They say they pair trawl for the Herring but stock depletion here, particularly the Bass fishing is very noticable, plus against local opposition they reopened an old defunct Salmon farm and got authority triple its size. As you can appreciate what with the Trawling, Salmon Farm and poor recreational fishing experienced by visiting anglers the cost to tourism here is large. As a fellow angler I was drawn over many years ago and when I managed to get a place here used to bring all my pals and always being asked if they could come over for the Sea Trout, Bass and general ground fishing in boats but not now. All the ghillies are struggling and it is only the stories that remain. Sadly in my view and that of many UK anglers the quality and consistency of fishing Ireland once offered has long gone. There seems to be no organised opposition strong enough to take these issues on against the commercial lobby. I would love to be wrong but have not seen any at least. Most of my pals spend a lot of money going to others places now.
    I would think the seals in the area eat more in a day than the boat's take in a season


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,113 ✭✭✭freddyuk


    Seals are discerning in their food gathering efforts and take enough to feed themselves. It is part of the "natural balance" of the food chain.
    Taking a bl**dy great net from end to end of a narrow bay fishing for "sprats", which I very much doubt can be "targeted", is not helping support the young stocks to increase the food supply it is basically trawling anything that happens to be there and any small fish which get trashed through a net is unlikely to survive whether it manages to get through or not.
    The purpose of this practice is to turn the catch into fish meal.
    Your argument sounds like something I would expect to hear from a commercial fisherman who does not give a damn - it's all about the money. To suggest the fish stocks are decimated by seals is daft but then the increase in seal numbers may to do with the introduction of salmon farms into the area? So again it is human intervention upsetting the natural balance.
    The available fishing areas open to trawlers are vast so it is totally unnecessary to come onto the beaches and potentially destroy the recreational end of the industry which also supports tourism.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,991 ✭✭✭sword1


    freddyuk wrote: »
    Seals are discerning in their food gathering efforts and take enough to feed themselves. It is part of the "natural balance" of the food chain.
    Taking a bl**dy great net from end to end of a narrow bay fishing for "sprats", which I very much doubt can be "targeted", is not helping support the young stocks to increase the food supply it is basically trawling anything that happens to be there and any small fish which get trashed through a net is unlikely to survive whether it manages to get through or not.
    The purpose of this practice is to turn the catch into fish meal.
    Your argument sounds like something I would expect to hear from a commercial fisherman who does not give a damn - it's all about the money. To suggest the fish stocks are decimated by seals is daft but then the increase in seal numbers may to do with the introduction of salmon farms into the area? So again it is human intervention upsetting the natural balance.
    The available fishing areas open to trawlers are vast so it is totally unnecessary to come onto the beaches and potentially destroy the recreational end of the industry which also supports tourism.
    Of course fishermen give a damn, they are doing what they have for decades in the bays, it is just with ais and social media people are more aware of it, the vessels catch is monitored and there is little or no bycatch, there has to be a balance though and the main imbalance is the seal population is exploding, the amount of fishing effort and boats is decreasing if anything


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,166 ✭✭✭✭Zzippy


    sword1 wrote: »
    Of course fishermen give a damn, they are doing what they have for decades in the bays, it is just with ais and social media people are more aware of it, the vessels catch is monitored and there is little or no bycatch, there has to be a balance though and the main imbalance is the seal population is exploding, the amount of fishing effort and boats is decreasing if anything

    Have you got those stats handy to show the seal population is exploding, or just peddling the same line we hear from fishermen all the time to lay the blame elsewhere?

    These boats are not monitored, there is no limit on sprat catches and no quota, so they can take as much as they like. That's not sustainable.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,991 ✭✭✭sword1


    Zzippy wrote: »
    Have you got those stats handy to show the seal population is exploding, or just peddling the same line we hear from fishermen all the time to lay the blame elsewhere?

    These boats are not monitored, there is no limit on sprat catches and no quota, so they can take as much as they like. That's not sustainable.
    I don't have stats on seals, just speaking from my own observations, I have not been sprat fishing in over a decade, but from what I can see of catches they are going strong after decades of fishing at what you call unsustainable levels, I believe the marine institute actually have finding of very strong amount of sprat this year so there is science to back up that part of my view but I do not have a link to that


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17 AnglingMad


    sword1 wrote: »
    I would think the seals in the area eat more in a day than the boat's take in a season

    I think this says it all!!!!! thats why its got this bad. Don,t you think the animal species that exist were here before the trawlers?????


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,991 ✭✭✭sword1


    AnglingMad wrote: »
    I think this says it all!!!!! thats why its got this bad. Don,t you think the animal species that exist were here before the trawlers?????
    I was answering a point blaming trawlers for a decline in angling, I was making the point that the fishermen cannot get all the blame for this, seals, other predators, climate change are all factors and in some cases if there were more sprat and more predators leading to even less fish for angler's


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 149 ✭✭Malcolm600f


    sword1 wrote: »
    I was answering a point blaming trawlers for a decline in angling, I was making the point that the fishermen cannot get all the blame for this, seals, other predators, climate change are all factors and in some cases if there were more sprat and more predators leading to even less fish for angler's

    Seals are doing more damage to fish stocks inshore than any trawler..
    There is a colony of seals near where i live its claimed to be 400 seals strong , thats working out at about nearly 2 ton of fish DAILY they require to survive thats over 700 ton of fish annually .. Now thats only one colony in the bay.So think about the overall damage seals do nationwide in small inshore bays and around river mouths..


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,605 ✭✭✭gctest50


    Seals are doing more damage to fish stocks inshore than any trawler..
    There is a colony of seals near where i live its claimed to be 400 seals strong ....
    :eek:

    you'd need to start hunting them before their numbers go ballistic


    Dangerous yokes them
    Pet owner watches in horror as his labrador is dragged into sea and killed by a seal as it played in the surf

    But this huge seal, more than twice the size of the dog, was flinging Fly around and pulling him under the water. I was horrified. The seal was enormous.

    'Both his hind legs were completely crushed and mangled, his rib cage smashed and his left eye torn out. He was pouring with blood and in spasms of agony.


    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2215050/Seal-mauls-labrador-death-dragged-water-went-retrieve-ducks.html

    .


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 149 ✭✭Malcolm600f


    gctest50 wrote: »
    :eek:

    you'd need to start hunting them before their numbers go ballistic


    Dangerous yokes them


    .

    Going to be alot more attacks like that to be honest as seal numbers grow and food becomes a issue ,,cant blame the seal for the attack to be fair the dog was in the seals territory, would be more concerned about them attacking young kids in the surf but not sure if they would attacks humans ..


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 149 ✭✭Malcolm600f


    Zzippy wrote: »
    Have you got those stats handy to show the seal population is exploding, or just peddling the same line we hear from fishermen all the time to lay the blame elsewhere?

    These boats are not monitored, there is no limit on sprat catches and no quota, so they can take as much as they like. That's not sustainable.

    Boats only catch a fraction of the sprat thats around our waters and the fact they have a short life cycle and the fishing season is very short it means they are a very sustainable fishery and only fished in a few area's around the coast .The sprat fishery was fished alot more yrs ago and it did not make any impact on sprat.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 519 ✭✭✭viper123


    Boats only catch a fraction of the sprat thats around our waters and the fact they have a short life cycle and the fishing season is very short it means they are a very sustainable fishery and only fished in a few area's around the coast .The sprat fishery was fished alot more yrs ago and it did not make any impact on sprat.

    Don't think anybody above has commented as to the sustainability of sprat, it is the bycatch of netting a potential nursery for other species which is the main concern.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 149 ✭✭Malcolm600f


    viper123 wrote: »
    Don't think anybody above has commented as to the sustainability of sprat, it is the bycatch of netting a potential nursery for other species which is the main concern.

    ..zzippy mentioned in his post it was not sustainable......
    The by catch from sprat fishing is very very very small i have done enough of it over the years to back up that statement too.. ;-)
    Dont think I am just another fisherman backing up trawlers I am not because i am totally against the larger boats been allowed into small bays as it should be preserved for the small inshore fleet. Biggest issue now within the fishing industry is social media just because stuff is posted on Facebook it dont mean its facts and thats where alot of the rubbish about the commercial fishing industry comes from.. Small bays die because of fishermen its nothing to do with weather,farmers pollution ,I am sure the 1000's of dead jelly fish i seen this year was the fisherman too not red tide..


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,605 ✭✭✭gctest50


    ....... but not sure if they would attacks humans ..

    no reason for them not to attack - your kid will look might look like food to them if they've a wetsuit on

    they are wild animals after all
    Over the past decade more than one thousand severely scarred and wounded porpoises have washed up on North Sea coastlines.

    Now DNA analysis of their injuries has led to an intriguing conclusion. It seems they are regularly attacked and killed by grey seals which tear strips of nutritious blubber from their bodies.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/11253207/Grey-seals-kill-porpoises-and-could-attack-humans-scientists-warn.html



    Northumberland islands see record seal births

    National Trust records largest total for grey seals off Farne Islands since 1971 as experts say they have benefited from lack of predators and rich waters for food

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/11360396/Northumberland-islands-see-record-seal-births.html


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,063 ✭✭✭wexandproud


    before people post on here they really should go and educate themselves about something before they post about it .
    The fact that people talk about fish being mashed through these nets really shows a total lack of knowledge of what they are talking about , if they were to go to where these boats were landing there would not be enough of the cod , pollock ,bass or any of the other species to get a good feed .
    as another poster said seals are a far bigger threat to inshore fish stocks than any commercial fishing , yes you could argue they are part of the natural balance but there has been a population explosion in the last 20 years . A couple of dozen seals used to inhabit the sand banks in wexford harbour now their are about 6/7 hundered and often seen 15 miles up the slaney and every one is wondering where the salmon are . If people want to know where they salmon and sea trout have gone , go and watch all the cormorants feeding at the lower parts of the rivers getting smolts on the way out and seal getting adult fish on the way in

    the big easy target is not always the one to aim for


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,605 ✭✭✭gctest50


    A SURFER has told of being attacked off the Tasmanian coast - not by a shark, but by a New Zealand fur seal.

    The seal left Liam Byrne's surfboard pitted with tooth marks in the incident at Cloudy Bay, on the island state's southwest coast, The Mercury reported.

    Mr Byrne said he noticed the eight-foot seal showing a persistent interest in him as he surfed.

    "There were two other guys in the water but as soon as they got out, it was on," Mr Byrne said.

    The seal disappeared underwater before charging Mr Byrne from beneath, knocking him off his board.

    "It repeatedly latched on to my board and thrashed it about even though I was kicking and punching it as hard as I could," he said.

    But his actions did not deter the seal, which attacked him another four times as he tried to reach the beach.

    http://www.themercury.com.au/seal-attacks-surfer-off-tasmanian-coast/story-fnj3twbb-1225856755842
    .


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,063 ✭✭✭wexandproud


    there is a couple of seals in residence in the harbour in kilmore and visiting anglers like to feed them as they come in to the harbour , also parents of young kids approach them on the slip so the kids can see their big puppy dog eyes and that's ok to a certain degree , kids have to be taught to appreciate nature . However a kid needs to be told that a seal is a wicked and savage predator .I hope i will be proved wrong but i can see some kid been bitten in future and believe me when you see the mouth of teeth they have it will be a serious wound.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,605 ✭✭✭gctest50


    .........and believe me when you see the mouth of teeth they have it will be a serious wound.

    seem to have a fine set

    ODCPRAi.jpg


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,917 ✭✭✭✭GT_TDI_150


    Tippjohn wrote: »
    I am not sure it is legal, I thought there was a 4 mile limit for trawling? A bit like the minister talking about dredging rivers today, homes are more important than fish, what an attitude.

    Imagine that ... Trying to protect peoples house...disguisting


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 149 ✭✭Malcolm600f


    And all the people shouting and giving out about the shannon been used to supply water to Dublin I bet there is quiet a few people who have lost their houses this past few weeks who would be glad to see it piped now..


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,166 ✭✭✭✭Zzippy


    I stand corrected. The well-presented and scientific posts here have convinced me that it's all down to the wicked seals, those bloodthirsty savages are clearly the problem and our poor maligned fishermen are innocent victims of a dastardly seal plot to take over the world, one sprat at a time...thanks lads! :rolleyes:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,605 ✭✭✭gctest50


    .
    The seals are believed to consume nearly 7,000 tonnes of cod each year off the west of Scotland, where landed catches now amount to only a few hundred tonnes.

    Researchers from the University of Strathclyde said the amount of cod being eaten by seals was preventing stocks of the fish from recovering.

    http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-32773523


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 149 ✭✭Malcolm600f


    I was trying to find a paper that was wrote last year or the year before about Seals up as far as the bridge in Ballina so how long will Salmon stocks on one of Ireland's greatest salmon rivers last. Most salmon fishing commercially around the coast has stopped so this would mean 10's of thousands of Salmon entering our rivers but guess what thats not happening ????? ..

    I cant post links as it wont allow me but google this and look at the independent article .... Fishermen demand massive cull as grey seals eat away their net profits ..

    Also read the bit wrote by the ISS (Irish Seal Sanctuary)
    Irish Seal Sanctuary (ISS) biologist Brendan Price acknowledged there was "a serious problem" and said his organisation would be "pushing for fishermen to be compensated for fish lost to seals".


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,063 ✭✭✭wexandproud


    Zzippy wrote: »
    I stand corrected. The well-presented and scientific posts here have convinced me that it's all down to the wicked seals, those bloodthirsty savages are clearly the problem and our poor maligned fishermen are innocent victims of a dastardly seal plot to take over the world, one sprat at a time...thanks lads! :rolleyes:

    did it never occur to you that the scientists could be wrong , and the fishermen at sea have a better idea of whats happening

    lets ban drift netting so salmon can recover . drift netting banned- no significant increase in salmon
    about 4 years ago scientific information suggested bass stocks sufficient to sustain a limited fishery .. angling groups lobbying and saying information must be wrong ,this year new information oh sorry bass stock in trouble more restrictions in uk and europe . last spring and summer were the best in years for bass along the shore in south east
    Twice this year factories in wexford dumped dozens of boxes of hake - glut on the continent , gill netters tied up all along south of england and brittany no market for hake. glut of it
    Round haddock regularly sold for crab bait , no market , haddock every where.
    donegal , scottish and uk vessels having trouble avoiding cod in north sea
    fishfinders marking fish over miles of ground .

    but oh ya the scientists say there is no cod


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,991 ✭✭✭sword1


    freddyuk wrote: »
    Seals are discerning in their food gathering efforts and take enough to feed themselves. It is part of the "natural balance" of the food chain.
    Taking a bl**dy great net from end to end of a narrow bay fishing for "sprats", which I very much doubt can be "targeted", is not helping support the young stocks to increase the food supply it is basically trawling anything that happens to be there and any small fish which get trashed through a net is unlikely to survive whether it manages to get through or not.
    The purpose of this practice is to turn the catch into fish meal.
    Your argument sounds like something I would expect to hear from a commercial fisherman who does not give a damn - it's all about the money. To suggest the fish stocks are decimated by seals is daft but then the increase in seal numbers may to do with the introduction of salmon farms into the area? So again it is human intervention upsetting the natural balance.
    The available fishing areas open to trawlers are vast so it is totally unnecessary to come onto the beaches and potentially destroy the recreational end of the industry which also supports tourism.

    I am a commercial fisherman, but to say I don't care about fish stocks would be the same as to say a farmer does not care if his farm does not produce grass, me and my family depend on it, it is a bit disturbing that people are more worried that a seal has a plentiful food supply, especially as the stock of seals can only reach certain levels before they run out of food, so from both sides the massive increase I see is worrying, also people need to prioritise whether seeing seals swimming around them is is better than having the odd fisherman and his family in there community, I am very narrow minded and think feed them till they run out of food or control the population humanely and also try to look after humans, do you have any scientific backup for your observations


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,166 ✭✭✭✭Zzippy


    sword1 wrote: »
    I am a commercial fisherman, but to say I don't care about fish stocks would be the same as to say a farmer does not care if his farm does not produce grass, me and my family depend on it, it is a bit disturbing that people are more worried that a seal has a plentiful food supply, especially as the stock of seals can only reach certain levels before they run out of food, so from both sides the massive increase I see is worrying, also people need to prioritise whether seeing seals swimming around them is is better than having the odd fisherman and his family in there community, I am very narrow minded and think feed them till they run out of food or control the population humanely and also try to look after humans, do you have any scientific backup for your observations

    I get where you're coming from, and maybe you do care about fish stocks, but it is patently apparent that is not the attitude of the industry as a whole. Our fish stocks have collapsed over the last 40 years since we joined the EU, the tragedy of the commons as it's known. But our fishermen are just as complicit in the destruction of fish stocks, constantly lobbying for quotas greater than scientists recommend is the absolute maximum that can be safely harvested.
    It's no wonder our stocks are depleted. And blaming seals for that destruction is patent nonsense when millions of tonnes are taken by commercial fishing. It's only now that stocks are so depleted that the amount taken by seals is an issue, because there are so few fish left fishermen are now competing with seals, so the attitude is shoot the seals? Nonsense!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,907 ✭✭✭✭CJhaughey


    The last report I read from the NPWS Monitoring the Breeding population of the grey seal 2009-2012 basically said that there has been an increase in the Grey seal population from 2005 and the data shows evidence of a population increase back to the mid 90's and even the early 80's
    The NPWS who would be the authority responsible, have published that report.
    Are people still arguing that seals are not increasing?

    http://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/publications/pdf/IWM74.pdf


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,063 ✭✭✭wexandproud


    Zzippy wrote: »
    I get where you're coming from, and maybe you do care about fish stocks, but it is patently apparent that is not the attitude of the industry as a whole. Our fish stocks have collapsed over the last 40 years since we joined the EU, the tragedy of the commons as it's known. But our fishermen are just as complicit in the destruction of fish stocks, constantly lobbying for quotas greater than scientists recommend is the absolute maximum that can be safely harvested.
    It's no wonder our stocks are depleted. And blaming seals for that destruction is patent nonsense when millions of tonnes are taken by commercial fishing. It's only now that stocks are so depleted that the amount taken by seals is an issue, because there are so few fish left fishermen are now competing with seals, so the attitude is shoot the seals? Nonsense!

    the vast majority of the industry care about the stocks and of course like any industry there are operators who don't care. the problem is that the scientific evidence does not tally with the stocks on the ground and the boats have been dumping more and more fish every year . thrown back dead , all in the name of conservation .
    fishermen most certainly recognise the need for conservation and usually when you hear them looking for extra quota , its a bigger share of the overall amount they want and less to be given to the foreign boats operating in irish waters
    surely thats not an unreasonable request
    no one is blaming the seals totally for the overall decline in fish stocks , but they have a part to play , especially along the shore. In recent years they have even learned to follow gill netters as far as 25 or 30 miles off and as they haul their nets back they just wait and rip the livers out of the fish destroying them , box after box
    Even on a more humane level , couple of years ago there was 2 seals in kilmore , one was blind cant remember what was wrong with second one . It was the commercial fleet who provided fish for weeks on end to feed the seals with fish laced with medicine . The industry is not 100% against seals either but they are gone out of control


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,166 ✭✭✭✭Zzippy


    the vast majority of the industry care about the stocks and of course like any industry there are operators who don't care. the problem is that the scientific evidence does not tally with the stocks on the ground and the boats have been dumping more and more fish every year . thrown back dead , all in the name of conservation .
    fishermen most certainly recognise the need for conservation and usually when you hear them looking for extra quota , its a bigger share of the overall amount they want and less to be given to the foreign boats operating in irish waters
    surely thats not an unreasonable request
    no one is blaming the seals totally for the overall decline in fish stocks , but they have a part to play , especially along the shore. In recent years they have even learned to follow gill netters as far as 25 or 30 miles off and as they haul their nets back they just wait and rip the livers out of the fish destroying them , box after box
    Even on a more humane level , couple of years ago there was 2 seals in kilmore , one was blind cant remember what was wrong with second one . It was the commercial fleet who provided fish for weeks on end to feed the seals with fish laced with medicine . The industry is not 100% against seals either but they are gone out of control

    If the fishermen know better than the scientists, and the fish are there, then why are we having this discussion about depleting stocks? It's very simple, if the stocks aren't there then quotas should be cut and stocks fished sustainably. If they are there then quotas should be set accordingly. But it's the same story for the last 40 years - the scientists estimate the stock size and recommend a quota. The fisheries lobby gets on to the minister and say the scientists are wrong and the quota should be higher. The minister goes to Europe and agrees the higher quota with the other ministers. And meanwhile the stocks keep declining. It's not f*king rocket science! Maybe fishermen are concerned about stocks and would like to fish sustainably, but they don't have that luxury - there are big loans to pay off on boats and a livelihood to make, and quota cuts don't fit into that equation. And their representatives constantly criticise any proposed cuts to quotas, no matter how obvious the need for cuts is. So excuse my scepticism about fishermen's concern for fish stocks and scapegoating of seals.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,063 ✭✭✭wexandproud


    Zzippy wrote: »
    If the fishermen know better than the scientists, and the fish are there, then why are we having this discussion about depleting stocks? It's very simple, if the stocks aren't there then quotas should be cut and stocks fished sustainably. If they are there then quotas should be set accordingly. But it's the same story for the last 40 years - the scientists estimate the stock size and recommend a quota. The fisheries lobby gets on to the minister and say the scientists are wrong and the quota should be higher. The minister goes to Europe and agrees the higher quota with the other ministers. And meanwhile the stocks keep declining. It's not f*king rocket science! Maybe fishermen are concerned about stocks and would like to fish sustainably, but they don't have that luxury - there are big loans to pay off on boats and a livelihood to make, and quota cuts don't fit into that equation. And their representatives constantly criticise any proposed cuts to quotas, no matter how obvious the need for cuts is. So excuse my scepticism about fishermen's concern for fish stocks and scapegoating of seals.

    The fact that the fishermen are catching and dumping more and more fish every year would indicate that the fish are there in far greater quantities than scientists are saying , and if as you say the' lobby groups' are so successful in getting quotas raised year after year , how come ireland has fcuk all quota left . Although fishermen might not agree with the scientists , by far the vast majority will operate within the law , and like I said all they have asked for is a bigger share of the overall TAC that is recommended by scientists.
    In a recent ICES report concern is raised , stating that the uptake from the north sea is not as high as it should should be . So after reducing the quota's year on year scientist's then complain that yield is not what it should be , conclusion , fish stocks must be down even more , what kind of [ROCKET] scientific research is that?
    while you might be sceptical about fishermen , how do you think fishermen feel towards scientists who continually tell them their is no fish there , yet week after week they are dumping ton after ton of fish , that is not supposed to be there , back over the side
    just for the record I am not involved in the white fish or pelagic sector but I am a keen bass angler and the only 2 case's of illegal bass i have seen recently down here
    were recreational fisherman


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