Fed up with lobster pots

Malo37

Malo37

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Lobster pots with tiny buoys, sometimes even transparent water bottles used as floats are dangerous and all over the place in Scotland. Impossible to see in anything but flat calm and totally impossible to see at night. Should be a criminal offence to leave these things at sea.
At least there should be a legal minimum size/colour requirement for lobster pot floats.
I am tempted to lash a breadknife to my boathook and slice off water bottle floats whenever the opportunity arises.
 
Since it's a fisherman livelihood, I just don't understand why it's not in their interest to use visible markers. I've often thought that the cost of losing their gear and the hassle of trying to find it using grapnels etc would motivate most industries to improve.

It's not just Scotland. France, Spain and Portugal have the same random markers. Big lumps of polystyrene seems popular in Portugal. They are probably easier to spot than plastic bottles when they are new.

I'm not sure what is the most visible colour for flags and markers at sea.

Garold
 
adwuk said:
Must be talking about the East coast. As a matter of interest, how many people have their own pots, and what marks do you use if you do?
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Markers are what ever washes up on the beach, can be anything form an 8" pick up buoy to 18" dayglow orange.
Why do people use cheap markers: Because bloody boats keep coming along and cutting off the stupidly expensive ones.

Seriously, if you cant see the markers round here, you really shouldnt be driving a boat.
 
Malo37 said:
Lobster pots with tiny buoys, sometimes even transparent water bottles used as floats are dangerous and all over the place in Scotland. Impossible to see in anything but flat calm and totally impossible to see at night.
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Unless the buoys are lit or it's a bright night with some decent clear moonlight, and a flat sea I'm not sure that you're going to see any marker at night until it's too late.

Richard
 
dylanwinter said:
Anstruther area is easily the worst I have ever seen



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Should have posted those before, Dylan.
Easiest and very good marker is a bamboo painted dayglo orange, with a couple of bands of reflective tape. You get a good reflection from even just your nav lights, or a quick flash round from a torch. Can't educate them though.
 
chanelyacht said:
Nothing like over-reacting with a bit of criminal damage. :ambivalence:
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I think you'll find it's not crminal damage, especially as I'm told by a responsible pro fisherman that the worst offenders - who lay stealth pot markers in critical places like Portland inshore passage - are amateurs just trying to get a few lobsters for their chums running pubs etc.

I'd like to see a fisherman try to sue anyone, after he'd risked families in boats being pinned by their sterngear in strong tides...

There is still a line of small dark blue detergent bottle markers on the direct line from Chichester West Pole beacon to the Dolphin passage off Southsea - I'd guess they must be replaced quite often after snaring boats.

Loppers on Yellow Alert !
 
Seajet said:
I think you'll find it's not crminal damage, especially as I'm told by a responsible pro fisherman that the worst offenders - who lay stealth pot markers in critical places like Portland inshore passage - are amateurs just trying to get a few lobsters for their chums running pubs etc.

I'd like to see a fisherman try to sue anyone, after he'd risked families in boats being pinned by their sterngear in strong tides...

There is still a line of small dark blue detergent bottle markers on the direct line from Chichester West Pole beacon to the Dolphin passage off Southsea - I'd guess they must be replaced quite often after snaring boats.

Loppers on Yellow Alert !
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Doesn't matter who owns it, s1.1 CDA 1971 would apply : A person who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property belonging to another intending to destroy or damage any such property or being reckless as to whether any such property would be destroyed or damaged shall be guilty of an offence.

You could try a s5 defence that it was done to protect property, but as the floating rope is not being removed that would still present a hazard, and you'd be on sticky ground.

Plus, in getting close enough to cut, unless you were already entangled, you would be placing yourself in more danger than just sailing away.

I completely agree pots should be marked properly and that "invisible" floats are indefensible, but so is destroying property for the sake of it.
 
So motoring at night with a rope cutter on my prop I suppose I am reckless about whether his property is damaged or not.
 
chanelyacht said:
Doesn't matter who owns it, s1.1 CDA 1971 would apply : A person who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property belonging to another intending to destroy or damage any such property or being reckless as to whether any such property would be destroyed or damaged shall be guilty of an offence.

You could try a s5 defence that it was done to protect property, but as the floating rope is not being removed that would still present a hazard, and you'd be on sticky ground.

Plus, in getting close enough to cut, unless you were already entangled, you would be placing yourself in more danger than just sailing away.

I completely agree pots should be marked properly and that "invisible" floats are indefensible, but so is destroying property for the sake of it.
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When do these poorly marked floats become a 'danger to shipping' ?
I doubt that a jury would convict someone who believed they were removing such a danger.
From the tip of Burghead in the Moray Firth there is always a single line of very small floats starting about 1/2 mile offshore and extending about 1/2 mile due North. The perfect trap for the many boats making passage along that coast to/from the Caledonian Canal.
 
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I'm not in favour in cutting any body's gear , but when they mark it in a way that makes it almost impossable to see they desired to,lose it .

Over the last few days we seen small one lts water bottles marking pots ,
The on,y time we every run over one our rope cutter done the trick , I say the only time , there could had been more time without us knowing .
 
The 35 miles between Felixstowe and Southwold has three or four Yacht mine locations.
The ones that are a real pain are the ones with too sort a line so that the float is almost submerged when the tide is running hard.
The floating 2 or 3m line is sometimes the only way to spot them.

Its bad enough when the tide is running but when the tide is on the turn the floating lines seem to cross our line of travel making it even more tricky.
Bad enough for a yachtie must be awful for the mobo's.

Worst I've seen was 3/4 of the way across Biscay around 3 miles inside the shipping lanes.
I spotted an orange bouy with a 1 meter stick with a light on it.
So far so good, but suddenly I realised this buoy was only marking part way down a long line left on the surface.
I turned to starboard and ran down the line spotting 3 other unlit buoys every 1/4 of a mile until I reached another lit buoy at the end.
There was no way you could see 2 lit buoys at the same time.
My guess it the first one I spotted marked half way making this yacht catcher over 2 miles long!
Thank god I had half light so I could see them.
 
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