Fishing Pots

[jtwebb]

Just thought I would air the topic of fishing pots as they seem to be more and more prolific. The final straw for me was finding them in the main channel in the Western Solent near Hampstead Ledge.

What is the legal position? I have only kept to main channels at night for some time but even that option is going. I have observed that they are sometimes on a short scope, more are visible at low tide than high around the Calshot area. One recently appeared in the are where we collect to enter Hythe Marina. All the margins in Southampton Water seem to be getting infected meaning one will tend to use the main channel along with ferries etc. more and more.

Anyone else feel we are getting to the enough is enough situation and who should then take action?

J Webb

 

[rogerroger]

we were discussing this as we had about 10 near misses going into Falmouth in the dark. Why oh why are some marked with a BLACK flag ? what's the chuffing point of that at night ?

Well I'm not up for banning them or restricting them - I'm sure fishermen don't deliberately try to put them in the most awkward places.

But - how much would it be to put a simple light on them? Surely when one does end up round a yacht's prop it costs the fisherman as well. This must be the answer.

Roger Holden
www.first-magnitude.co.uk

 

[Chris_Robb]

Re: Black Flags

I did hear that there was a reason for a black flag, in that it shows up better at night. The French - who do mark their bouys - all seem to use black.

 

[jimi]

Re: Black Flags

Sure you do'nt mean the Irish! They're bad enough to see during the day.

 

[bigmart]

I agree, they are a pain in the a**se but beware putting restrictions on others. It can backfire on you.

Did you see the letter about, I think it was, Dawlish & the yotties versus the Jetbikes.

 

[halcyon]

Bin liners are cheap, and our fishermen are poor.

Hope this helps.


Brian

 

[pugwash]

Re: Black Flags

You're right. Black against sea or sky in most conditions is by far the best. What you're seeing is effectively a silhouette rather than a colour, so denser the better.

 

[Will]

In my experience the sea is very often silverish at night and black flags do show up reasonably well, compared for example with trying to spot one of the yellow racing buoys in the solent. I wonder what the fishermen think about those...??

Which leads me to point out that fishermen are out there all year unlike the rest of us who bimble along the coast in the summer. If we want fancy reflective pot markers then we can pay for them. The fishing industry's hard pressed enough as it is.

 

[AndrewB]

Use a rope cutter.

Don't let them bother you. Avoid them if you see them, but don't let them deter you from going through, specially if they are packed closely together. If you should touch one, 99 times out of a 100 they push aside. The odd one gets the chop.

Tough on the fishermen, maybe. But most lobster pots are laid in connected rows, with two or more buoys on each row, so cutting one line won't lose the pot.

 

[jtwebb]

Re: Use a rope cutter.

Trouble is, how do you know your rope cutter works. I have no proof mine has ever done anything, equally I have no proof it has not yet!

J Webb

 

[Chris_Robb]

Re: Black Flags

Didn't use the word silhouette as I couln't spell it!!

 

[Guest]

Re: Black Flags

In my youth and for my sins (it appears) I did both commercial potting and trawling and the reason we use black marks is that they are easier to see both by day and night. Admitadly we would never try to lift the string at night if the sea was to rough, you have to be able to see the silhouette of the marker against the background horizon. Strings are laid with a mark at each end to allow us to lift them whether the tide is making or ebbing, we can go to either end. You may have noticed that the dahn markers are of comparativly light weight construction, normally a bamboo cane with float and weight this is so that we do not have to scope out to much riser otherwise when we went to lift the string the boat would be to far down tide of the first anchor, it also means of course that you can pass very close to a dahn without picking it up. Providing you pass it on the down tide side you should miss the riser with no problems. If you do pick up a rope then have no worries "cut it" I for one wouldn't want to "catch" a yacht and put it in danger, I can always go to the other end a haul the string. I of course reserve the right to cuss you to hell and back but then your not there to hear it<s>. As for where they are laid, its of no use to lay them on open ground, we needed rough or semi rough ground to be of any use.BTW because of all the regulattions and red tape I gave up Fishing and took up sailing and teaching power boating much more rewarding.
all the best, have a sharp knife to hand, but please remember that I was (then) trying to earn a living at it and I didn't see to many yotties about in the middle of Jan when the boat was rolling on her beam ends in a near gale and sleeting whilst I was trying to recover a 5 strings that had been down for a week because I couldn't get near them for foul weather and was in serious risk of losing the lot.

 

[jtwebb]

Re: Black Flags

I was there in January! Bringing my boat back from Holland so does not really count? Still the point that I have seen them in the main channel, presumably off the end of Hampstead Ledge.

J Webb