Lobster Pots !!

How about this, the skipper of the boat wears one of those dog collars that gives the dog a shock when it does somthing wrong. It could be pluged into the GPS & everytime the boat goes into an area that requires extra vigilance the skipper gets a bit of warning.....
 
Or, how about this...every yachtsman who has ever felt pissed off by ill-marked lobster pots, deliberately seeks potting districts, taking with him one or two (or ten) very similar empty oil-cans or whatever float is typically used, tethered to hefty rocks by pieces of rope as long as the area's average depth of water...

...and, taking care not to get entangled, he tosses the can and rock over the side, very close to the real pot-markers...

...picture the potter's frustration, hauling up rock after rock in the mistaken expectation of a catch...

...who knows, he might learn how irritating it is, not to be able to avoid something which wasn't sufficiently marked!
 
dancrane said:
Or, how about this...every yachtsman who has ever felt pissed off by ill-marked lobster pots, deliberately seeks potting districts, taking with him one or two (or ten) very similar empty oil-cans or whatever float is typically used, tethered to hefty rocks by pieces of rope as long as the area's average depth of water...

...and, taking care not to get entangled, he tosses the can and rock over the side, very close to the real pot-markers...

...picture the potter's frustration, hauling up rock after rock in the mistaken expectation of a catch...

...who knows, he might learn how irritating it is, not to be able to avoid something which wasn't sufficiently marked!
Click to expand...


Ok you get the rocks & I'll go and buy some bait....
 
fisherman said:
OK everyone, you're all having the usual rant, but how many fishermen of any description are reading it? I'll give you a clue, its roughly one.
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Are you now saying fishermen (except yourself, of course) are ignorant of the trouble they cause?

They would have to be totally ignorant not to be aware of the fact.

They just don't care, and there is no effective mechanism to deal with them.

And it is not a rant, just saying that the careless actions of a group of people cause endless damage and inconvenience to others.
 
dancrane said:
Or, how about this...every yachtsman who has ever felt pissed off by ill-marked lobster pots, deliberately seeks potting districts, taking with him one or two (or ten) very similar empty oil-cans or whatever float is typically used, tethered to hefty rocks by pieces of rope as long as the area's average depth of water...

...and, taking care not to get entangled, he tosses the can and rock over the side, very close to the real pot-markers...

...picture the potter's frustration, hauling up rock after rock in the mistaken expectation of a catch...

...who knows, he might learn how irritating it is, not to be able to avoid something which wasn't sufficiently marked!
Click to expand...

:D :D :D :D :D
 
ChrisE said:
+1

As SJ said at the start of this rant (I've not read it all, yawn) they are an obvious hazard, so avoid them ....
Click to expand...

You obviously haven't read it all.
Would you explain how you avoid the markers, which have been mentioned several times, when they are dragged below the surface? We may be able to learn from your experience.
 
ChrisE said:
+1

As SJ said at the start of this rant (I've not read it all, yawn) they are an obvious hazard, so avoid them ....
Click to expand...
Then read it all and you will see that the complaint is not about the "obvious" ones - that is those which are properly marked, but about the unmarked ones and those that are put in places where they should not - as in the case of the original post.
 
It seems the obvious answer is to cut the lines every time you see one that is badly marked, shame for the lobster but it doesn't exactly have a good outlook anyway!
 
Last edited:
Tranona said:
Then read it all and you will see that the complaint is not about the "obvious" ones - that is those which are properly marked, but about the unmarked ones and those that are put in places where they should not - as in the case of the original post.
Click to expand...

Umm, I really can't get wound up by these things. They're there and you avoid them and have a rope cutter on your prop if you don't.
 
ricky_s said:
It seems the obvious answer is to cut the lines every time you see one that is badly marked...
Click to expand...

I'm thinking the same way, regarding anything I might get entangled by. It's not as if anyone deliberately becomes tangled...so anything which the reasonably alert sailor encounters this way, must be an irresponsibly neglected hazard to mariners, and needs slashing away with the breadknife or whatever comes to hand, and damn the owner.

I had to ditch a dinghy rig decades ago, in shallow water. Must have had long, trailing, floating lines all around it. If anyone had caught a prop or rudder in that tangle, I'd have defended their right to do anything required, to cut their vessel loose. I'd have felt damned guilty too.

No question, I'll always avoid buoys or other tethered markers...because why would I want to risk being hooked? But if I do get hooked, I'll cut the line without a moment of conscience, because it shouldn't have been so inadequately marked.

Difficult to understand why all crab & lobstermen don't see the light and do themselves a favour by only ever marking their pots clearly...

...we get the impression they actually enjoy the acrimony they cause by not bothering. In which case, sod them!
 
ChrisE said:
Umm, I really can't get wound up by these things. They're there and you avoid them and have a rope cutter on your prop if you don't.
Click to expand...

I have a rope cutter. But that is not the only thing that gets caught. The death I referred to earlier was the result of a pot wrap[ping round a rudder - and not a spade rudder.

Of course it is sensible to avoid them if you can, but the whole point is that many are not marked, are in fairways or in areas of strong tidal streams and you can't see them, particularly at night. Suggest you do a bit of research and you will soon find how extensive the problem is.

So don't dismiss it as not a problem - why do you think rope cutters exist?
 
Im taking a wild guess here but it seems all the people who say avoid them have never snagged one.

Well, to all those people, here is some advice you will appreciate. Don't have a car accident coz avoiding one is easy....... :rolleyes:
 
So if these pots are not clearly marked so they are visible are they not classed as a hazard to navigation ?
Do you not have an obligation to report or/and remove that hazard ?
 
Sandyman said:
So if these pots are not clearly marked so they are visible are they not classed as a hazard to navigation ?
Do you not have an obligation to report or/and remove that hazard ?
Click to expand...

If you are going to try that on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, its gonna be up there with slaying the nine headed hydra........
 
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