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[ylop]

You have to be pragmatic. The fishermen will usually put their store pots in one area. Should you anchor there
a) they will have to go elswhere, and may end up scattered all over the shop
b) you don't want to get tangled in a store pot: heavy, possibly unset your anchor, and you don't want him lifting the pot with your anchor, unmooring your boat
c) "she would have had a good feed of lobster or crab" Theft. Stealing by finding, as applies to a wallet picked up in the street.

Do fisher folk who keep their store pots in the same location all season/year need Crown Estate permission the same way as I would for a mooring or a muscle farm would for their ropes? I've only knowingly seen pots stored on the pier but its possible I've just assumed some were catching rather than storing elsewhere.

 

[fisherman]

They need the same perm at sea as they do for lobster fishing pots, ie, none.
They keep to the same spots more or less, a bit of shelter, not rough ground, bit of tidal clearing.
I used to keep tons of spider crab in the harbour at Hayle, just in front of the sluice from Carnsew Pool. Before I did it wasn't done at all, now everyone does, so things change. That might need perm from the harbour co.
St Ives and Newlyn used carbs, floating wooden boxes, to keep out of the mud or sand.

 

[Kelpie]

Do fisher folk who keep their store pots in the same location all season/year need Crown Estate permission the same way as I would for a mooring or a muscle farm would for their ropes? I've only knowingly seen pots stored on the pier but its possible I've just assumed some were catching rather than storing elsewhere.

Haha very good.
Most people or companies wanting to put something in the sea- a mooring, a fish farm pen, a buoy for a wave energy measurement, etc etc, need to pay crown estate fees, lodge a notice in the paper, possibly get planning permission, in some cases add a light.
Fishermen don't need to do any of that. They can put anything they want anywhere they can get away with it. Quite recently a requirement was introduced to force them to adequately mark their gear for identification but there's still a lot of badly marked great with excessively long floating ropes.

 

[dunedin]

Haha very good.
Most people or companies wanting to put something in the sea- a mooring, a fish farm pen, a buoy for a wave energy measurement, etc etc, need to pay crown estate fees, lodge a notice in the paper, possibly get planning permission, in some cases add a light.
Fishermen don't need to do any of that. They can put anything they want anywhere they can get away with it. Quite recently a requirement was introduced to force them to adequately mark their gear for identification but there's still a lot of badly marked great with excessively long floating ropes.

I think the rules on pot marking only apply in Scotland. Most fishermen were very diligent in applying the new markings.
But in some places - eg W side of Sound of Harris, Vatersay, and many others - less diligent people just ignore the rules, and as far as I can tell there is zero enforcement by the Scottish Government.

 

[ylop]

I think the rules on pot marking only apply in Scotland. Most fishermen were very diligent in applying the new markings.

Were they? I think I’ve only seen one properly marked pot all year, and I’ve seen plenty of pots.

But in some places - eg W side of Sound of Harris, Vatersay, and many others - less diligent people just ignore the rules, and as far as I can tell there is zero enforcement by the Scottish Government.

Well as you will know there is a Marine Scotland RIB based at Largs (and I suspect elsewhere) and it does seem to go out fairly frequently although I’m not sure what it actually does. I assume they would be the enforcement authority? they seem to have people and assets - it’s obviously not a high priority. They would only need to take action against a few for a message to quickly get round.

 

[penfold]

Ministerial photo-ops?

Well as you will know there is a Marine Scotland RIB based at Largs (and I suspect elsewhere) and it does seem to go out fairly frequently although I’m not sure what it actually does. I assume they would be the enforcement authority? they seem to have people and assets - it’s obviously not a high priority. They would only need to take action against a few for a message to quickly get round.

 

[Kelpie]

I suppose it's quite hard to prosecute somebody for badly marked gear if you can't work out whose gear it is

 

[dunedin]

I suppose it's quite hard to prosecute somebody for badly marked gear if you can't work out whose gear it is

But you can remove it. AFAIK this has never been done following the new laws, though a FOI request might clarify.

 

[ylop]

Ministerial photo-ops?

I’ve never seen a minister near it.

I suppose it's quite hard to prosecute somebody for badly marked gear if you can't work out whose gear it is

As Dunedin says you could remove it (or even politely tag it if your mission is education rather than enforcement to start with). But there’s a finite number of pot boats around, you don’t need to catch every one, just watch them either dropping or recovering pots. Helpfully they are even registered. Anyone unregistered operating near registered boats on any significant scale is probably risking far more serious issues when they come ashore anyway!

However I just went to check the rules and it seems I was remembering incorrectly - I thought they were all to have dhan but it seems that’s not actually a requirement just no milk cartons and must have the boat number on them. So may not be non compliant (I give them a wide enough berth not to look for numbers).

 

[fisherman]

Last time I looked dahns were required outside twelve miles. Inside, boat id is needed, but it can vary amongst local authorities.
The rules

Marking of fishing gear, retrieval and notification of lost gear

Note: "To attach the buoys to the passive gear you must use cords of submersible material or they must be weighted down so that they do not float to the surface."

 

[dunedin]

Last time I looked dahns were required outside twelve miles. Inside, boat id is needed, but it can vary amongst local authorities.
The rules

Marking of fishing gear, retrieval and notification of lost gear

Note: "To attach the buoys to the passive gear you must use cords of submersible material or they must be weighted down so that they do not float to the surface."

Different laws in Scotland vs England ..... Scotland's order for marking lobster pot buoys leaves CA urging rest of UK to follow suit - Marine Industry News

 

[fisherman]

The MMO and IFCA are very good at chasing fishermen for much less critical stuff than this issue. They have even gone to the trouble of hoisting store pots to see what's in them. They patrol amongst the inshore boats all the time. They could easily lift a few unmarked gears, they have done in the past with illegal nets. Then the pros will quickly comply and the pikeys will have to put up with the losses. If they are caught with illicitly caught fish they can lose their boats.
In my last 11 seasons I had 65 or so end markers, some in line between Newlyn and the Lizard. They were three footballs in a net, on leaded rope, so they stood upright. I never had any evidence that one had been chopped or tangled. I claim to have started this trend in 1981, and I notice they are much used now. (You get the buoyancy of three balls with the water resistance of one, they come up sooner in tide.)

 

[karl.e]

Automatic routing also works.

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