inshore netting iow

[iowangler]

hi to all
does anyone know the law concerning netting inshore ???????
i live on the isle of wight (sandown )
and there`s two boats netting every day sometimes as close as 150 / 200
yards from the beach they started last year !! and they and they are back again
i had 70 odd rays up to 11lb all in size and all went back upto october last year i was aiming for 100 then they started netting and f**ked it up for one and all!!!
this year the rays didnt come into the bay as they do and catches are well down i have only had about 12 pi*s poor on last year
if any one can help sort this out please
its not just the rays but bass place sole and most fish that are affected
many thanks
john

[Charter Skipper]

It happens here in the Bristol channel to !,no one seems to give a monkies about it either .The environment agency /fisheries authority come up with the usual government response "were dealing with the situation".What that translates to in plain english, is the kettles just boiled were off for a cup of tea.

So short of a rocket launcher from the beach ,i think were stuck with the situation.

[devondave]

same situation here too im aftraid i was catching schoolbass as sport fish upto 3lb ish from the local harbour up until the end of july then suddenly nothing zilch not a bite in that harbour since! and %80 of the mullet seem to have vanished too! they should never be allowed to do it but somebody somewhere is getting away with blue murder!

[Ben]

dont get me started, my local beach has a boat going back and forth every weekend collecting muscles/oysters by dragging a metal bar across the bed, there is also some1 who gill nets the river (bass nursiery) on occasions when he thinks no1 is looking
the same guy will walk down the beach and act as a fisherman asking others if much is being cauhgt, if there is he is down the 1/2hr in his boat
what a c**t
like i said, dont get me started

[aks19]

A way to scare local trawlers, get a high powerd .22 or.177 an take out all teh windows an doors on the boat (make sure in hidden position I.e. a sand dune) an no-one around infact a hotel window! once they realise they're under fire zoom off teh go, a few doses of taht an no-one will come near

[Steviecops]

Basically, there are very few restrictions on inshore netting. Trawlers can trawl right up to the beach if they are under a certain size, and gill netters can shoot their nets more or less where they like.

There is nothing to stop you or I from buying a load of gill net and catching fish with it. The law says that without a licence, we can't sell the fish we catch. No one, licenced or not, is allowed to land undersize fish. That's simplifying things a bit, but it's a good basic explaination.

Of course there are thousands of unlicenced gill netters operating all around our coast who sell their fish. The fish they sell is called black fish, as it is sold on the black market. This is illegal and anyone selling black fish should be reported to the local sea fisheries officer and DEFRA. The licenced boats have a registration number painted on both sides of the stern. Any boat without a registration number isn't licenced.

Many of you know that there are new proposals going through at the moment that will place restrictions on inshore netting. There will shortly be a public consultation which you will all have the opportunity to take part in. Please take the time to have your say. I'll post details of when and how to take part in the consultation as soon as they become available to me.

[iowangler]

the two boats that are netting are crab potters that have turned there hand to netting !!!
people have spoken to them and they dont care
a few local anglers have said that they want to cut the floats off the nets so they sink and they cant find them! or burn the f**kers boats
it will get to the point that someone will get a good kicking ! it got that bad last year !
i fished a inter club comp yesterday sandown & lake aganst brighton we lost ,
and one of the boats was laying nets about 200, 300, yards off the beach and pier he got so close that we could see him laughing , he killed sandown bay last year and it looks like they will do it again
john

[tommy a]

What about taking a photo of this happening and sending it to the local rag - bad exposure wont be too good for him. I know it probably wont stop it but it may drum up some local support eh ?

They get right on my nerves - sooner or later this will end in big trouble and damaged boats or fishermen, unless something is done to sort it.

[Steviecops]

I wouldn't recommend cutting the floats off the nets, if they become lost they may continue to fish. It would depend on what the tides are like where you are. Where I fish, lost nets roll up and get buried pretty quickly but in other parts of the country they continue to catch fish for a long time.

What you need to do is speak to your local sea fisheries officer. First of all, find out what the local by laws are regarding gill nets. In a lot of places the head of the net must be below a certain distance from the surface at all states of the tide. If these nets have small floats all along the head line, they may be illegal nets. Also, the potters licence may not allow him to land fin fish, although most licences allow for both fin fish and shellfish. These are the things you need to find out. Then you can report the boat in the correct manner to the fisheries officer who should take action. Photos always help. Get the boat number, name, size, colour, etc.

As I said before, there is a consultation coming up. I've been told it will start in the beginning of October. It is vitally important that every sea angler takes part in the consultation. Also, it would be a good idea to write to your local MP to voice your support for the Bass Management Plan. The way to hit the inshore gill netters isn't through violence or vandalism. It's by showing the strength of recreational sea angling through support of BASS and the SACN, taking part in the consultation and writing to your MP's. Find out who your local sea fisheries officer is and hound him. Report anything that you don't think is right. These are the things to do to get long term results.

[iowangler]

thanks chaps
i will look into it and let you know how it goes
i think i will take a few pics and see how that pans out with the local paper
once again thanks
john