Amateur anglers are to be included in tougher controls on EU fishing agreed recently as part of continuing efforts to revive dwindling stocks. A deal in Luxembourg means closer monitoring of licensed fishing boats, stiff penalties on the industry and national authorities for breaching strict annual catch quotas, and the first-ever inclusion of casual fishermen in the Common Fisheries Policy net. However boat anglers will not have to report every fish to the authorities – unless the fish is subject to an EU stock recovery programme, such as cod in the North Sea. So Kevin's 33lb cod caught in 2008 off Hampshire (pictured) would not have to be reported!
Sweden’s agriculture minister, Eskil Erlandsson, stated: “Recreational fishermen are not being excluded. There is provision for dealing with them, but we have, as a result of these negotiations, limited the impact of the requirement to report fishing activity to recovery stocks. This in effect applies to cod in the North Sea and Baltic Sea, and Blue Fin Tuna in the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic, and any stock subject to recovery plans in future would be affected as well.” But he insisted: “If, as a result of an assessment, the impact of recreational fishing on the stock is small and insignificant, the obligation to report catches will not apply.”
Earlier plans included counting anglers’ catches against national fishing catch quotas for the industry, and Mr Erlandsson left the prospect open for the future, saying: “For the time being at least, we will not be counting the catches of recreational fishing against quotas, but there will be increased monitoring of the recreational fishery and it may well be that member states would introduce measures to curtail or control recreational fishing activities if they have a significant impact on recovery stocks”.
Monday 2 November 2009
EU Catch Reporting - Facts for Anglers
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5 comments:
It's time EU had bag limit's for Angler's ,for beach/boat ,to stop the wholesale taking of pressure stock speices such as Cod.In the "Net benefits report" there's a estimateded 3 million Anglers in the uk of which 400,000 target cod/and bass.so if in the course of a year each of them catch 10kg's of cod thats 40 metric ton's!and for this reason its very important that what anglers catch should be accounted for ! This fishing area (viid)has had no quoter for much of this year ,and wont untill the start of the new year!. So as a conservation example all Anglers if they really care about Cod should'ent be taking any!.Rule's should be applied fairly too all stake holder's for the Cod recovery plan to be effective .
I agree with the comment in principle, in that stocks under pressure need to be controlled. However, the EU needs to focus on what brings results. If all 3m anglers caught 10kg each (which I doubt - most don't catch much at all) then 40 tonnes is tiny in comparison to what is taken by fleets of commercial boats fishing and dumping fish. The DAILY freezing capacity of large offshore trawlers is 100-150 tons EACH. Commercial fishing has to be the prime focus of attention, anything else is like rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic.
Eu recovery plan is about conserving Cod stocks, suitable ways of controling discards being an Important part of managing a fishery.WHAT IS THE UK DOING IN 2008 TO REDUCE DISCARDS IN THE NORTH SEA?
UK selectivity measures already in place which go beyond existing EU requirements
There is a strong case for a TAC increase in the North Sea. The recent ICES advice represents a significant shift in the scientific perception of the stock. For the first time in many years ICES has advised that the stock is being harvested at sustainable levels. The advice also confirmed the unacceptably high rate of discards in the fishery. Increasing the TAC would have as its principal effect a reduction in the those discards. In the light of the latest assessment it is clear that an increase in the TAC is entirely consistent with continuing to reduce fishing mortality. The UK believes that an increase of 15% would be entirely justified.
It's a case of the Brit's leading the the way again ,on the SS. EU Titanic with the CFP floating on deckchairs above Cod that noone has the quoter to catch (well least not this coutry )let alone filling these fleet's of mythical white fish freezer trawlers.
Anyway now that smoke screen is clearing ,lets get back you to the Anglering slaughter thats been going on ,like I'v had reports of 200 cod a days being slaughterd on channel wrecks over resent weeks by charters fleet's ,and this summer the "Rips" have seen more charter fleet's from poole slaughtering 100 cod a boat a day ,why catch so many, your all surely just sport fishing ? .The Angling press and Internet are full of photo's of wholesale slaughter of Cod via Angling,its hardly preaching sustainability to younger sporting hopefuls ,so it would be nice too see this blog advocating "catch and release " as an Example to us all,or if you just see what Anglers catch in terms of just another discard ! why catch them at all ,"HEY EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS !" LOL
100 and 200 fish per day per boat? Maybe as a one-off, hardly a regular thing. Ask any angler on a charter boat this Summer if he saw or heard of wholesale slaughter and he would laugh - a few cod to take home is all most manage, on a good day. It sounds like pub talk! If it was true it would still be a pinprick compared to commercial fishing. Anyway, this blog is just general sea fishing talk, I don't try and change anyone's views. Not everyone agrees that Catch and Release in the sea is humane, but everyone is entitled to their own opinions.
I have witnessed such slaughter of so called sport fishermen ,and there not throwing them back ,why not be happy with one each ,and move on to anchor an slanghter a few spotted dog's
"catch and release" works very well in other countrys as do bag limit's
So called Angling conservationists want too put there own house in order before throwing stones in the green house !
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