Lobster Pot Progress

[Greg2]

greg2 thanks for your experienced post----how many pots did you fish??

Some involvement with fisheries management for me lenten. Actually a complex subject (as I am sure you know as an ex-commercial fisherman) and your experience of fishing pots is very valid - hope I didn’t come a cross as dismissing that. I know divers who have found abandoned/lost pots full of crabs/lobsters off our bit of the coast.

Other gear is probably more of a problem, particularly lost/abandoned nets around the world that just keep on killing fish and cetaceans.

Apols to the OP for Fred Drift

 

[MrB]

I had a reply to the petition, which was simply not accurate. As identified the pot marking requirement is guidance in inshore waters (within 12nm) so completely unenforceable. Reference is made to Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities having regional responsibilities but they do not have any powers to enforce what is only guidance in any event. They do have the ability to regulate in their districts, which only go to 6nm offshore so there is a 6nm void, but doing so for gear marking would have to be ancillary to fisheries or conservation management purposes.

This was the reply to the petition for those that didn't get it.

The Government has responded to the petition you signed – “Lobster Pots and Small Craft Safety – time to change the rules!”.

Government responded:

The Government takes safety at sea seriously. The UK has regulations in place regarding the marking of fishing gear. We are looking at areas in which the enforcement of regulations can be enhanced.

The UK has clear rules in place regarding the marking of all fishing gear. Council Regulation (European Commission) No. 1224/2009 outlines the rules applicable to all fishing vessels using passive (static) gear to mark fishing gear so that it is clearly identifiable. Further to this, the detailed rules for implementing this regulation outline the requirements for marker buoys to ensure visibility.
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) undertake the enforcement of this regulation within England’s Exclusive Economic Zone (0-200 nautical miles) and have the power to investigate and take action. The Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs) have regional responsibilities within inshore waters (6 nautical miles). In instances where non-compliance is found, the master, owner or charterer of a fishing vessel may be fined or prosecuted for unmarked or poorly marked gear.
The government is looking at areas in which the enforcement of regulations can be enhanced. We have met with the Royal Yachting Association who have developed an online reporting form to allow fishers and boaters to identify any incident involving fishing gear. The collection of data from this process may help identify any potential solutions.
The RYA Fishing Gear Incident Reporting Form can be reached at: www.rya.org.uk/go/entanglements
Further information on the marking of gear can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/marking-of-fishing-gear-retrieval-and-notification-of-lost-gear

Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Click this link to view the response online:

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/200001?reveal_response=yes

 

[lenten]

greg2----- depending on what bait i used in my pots as well as lobsters i would catch brown crabs/spider crabs/velvet swimmer crabs/bream/john dory/wrasse/dogfish/congers-----after a few days the pots would be empty----if i thought ghost fishing worked i would have had 700 pots pulled 100 a day and left them ghost fishing for a week to fill up---sadly ghost fishing is a myth and i am still a poor man

 

[BruceK]

Unfortunately your experience is at odds with scientific study locally and globally and even within the lobster fishing industries. It also then makes a mockery as to why some fisherman choose to use traps with a rot out panel.

 

[lenten]

from the institute for european environmental policy---ghost fishing -- 106 page pdf with data from all round the world---page 20--experiment ghost fishing a string of 12 pots in wales killed a minimum of 6.06 brown crabs and 0.44 lobsters a year---i think that justifies what i have been saying

 

[henryf]

I think there's a multitude of issues here and feedback from our local HM users group suggests there are things we can all do. The general consensus seems to be that the registered fishermen do generally mark their pots fairly well, it's the unregistered hobby fishermen that don't - they won't often follow any rules and will sell their catch on the black market or to mates, local outlets etc. The simple reason they don't mark them being that they don't want to draw attention to their prime spots or what what they are doing. They tend to be small scale operations. We have had some enforcement locally on people catching fish from the shore - there are limits on numbers there too apparently which I never knew (I don't fish). The HM also commented that very few people report pot snagging which masks the numbers and makes it appear like a very insignificant problem. He said that he'd like to have every encounter reported so that they can build a case for taking action and justify the use of resources to take action. I'm not sure the statement that there is no legislation is entirely true either as local harbour masters often have powers through local bylaws to make rules within their jurisdiction and enforce them. Whilst this won't cover all of the many problem areas along the coast it's a start, encouraging our local authorities to take action would also help to highlight the problem. Again, reporting every incident - even if you manage to resolve it without help will build a picture. Times, locations, photos - the more evidence we all as water users report, the more likely we are to see something done about it.

Hence the post. It is important that we report any incidents to the RYA via the link in post #1. If every single fouling incident or dangerous pot was reported this year the RYA would have ammunition to push further. As things stand there is no central point of reference. Every one of us has either been caught out or had lucky escapes so we know it's a real problem, the trick is persuading the powers in charge.

Henry