Sandy
Well-known member
Does anybody know what the pots about 30 miles offshore in about 50 meters of water are trying to catch? Found them as I crossed the Wash and the Firth of Forth and just a tad surprised to see them.
Pots 30 nm offshore in 50 meters of water!
- Thread starter Sandy
- Start date
capnsensible
Well-known member
Yacht Propellors.
capnsensible
Well-known member
Or more probably, octopus and similar. Around the Iberian Peninsular, not unusual to find pot markers 100m plus in depth.
DJE
Well-known member
Seen them many times mid-channel in depths over 70m. Could be lobsters.
Lobsters are caught using baited one-way traps with a color-coded marker buoy to mark cages. Lobster is fished in water between 2 and 900 metres (1 and 500 fathoms), although some lobsters live at 3,700 metres (2,000 fathoms). Cages are of plastic-coated galvanized steel or wood. A lobster fisher may tend as many as 2,000 traps.
Lobsters are caught using baited one-way traps with a color-coded marker buoy to mark cages. Lobster is fished in water between 2 and 900 metres (1 and 500 fathoms), although some lobsters live at 3,700 metres (2,000 fathoms). Cages are of plastic-coated galvanized steel or wood. A lobster fisher may tend as many as 2,000 traps.
dunedin
Well-known member
I managed to go over an isolated one 12 miles West of Harris - and spotted another over 30 miles out, on the direct route to St Kilda. How the heck could anybody ever check that string of pots?
And regularly come across them in up to 120m on the West Coast of Scotland, e.g. in the Minch.
PS. I noticed that the Ullapool / Stornoway ferry skipper had a healthy disrespect for pot buoys laid directly across the main ferry route outside Ullapool. He/she went straight through them.
And regularly come across them in up to 120m on the West Coast of Scotland, e.g. in the Minch.
PS. I noticed that the Ullapool / Stornoway ferry skipper had a healthy disrespect for pot buoys laid directly across the main ferry route outside Ullapool. He/she went straight through them.
Tranona
Well-known member
Lobsters and crabs. Bridlington claims to be the lobster capital of the UK! GPS makes locating them to harvest relatively easy.
matt1
Well-known member
Came across one last week just on the northern edge of the TSS in the channel. Have previously snagged on one doing a channel crossing but fortunately it was a buoy and line that had broken free of the pot so I was able to get loose from it. Didn't expect to find it in the shipping lanes though at night!
Gary Fox
N/A
I was warned from the horse's mouth to be careful and even wear knife gloves when pulling them up. Due to feuds or casual theft, razor blades get spliced into the lines. Impossible to spot, and imagine a filthy razor blade dragged across the palm of your hand. Take care chaps
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oldmanofthehills
Well-known member
What is properly marked? I think a large brightly coloured buoy with distinct pickup buoy is ok. You would be wilfully rendering unusable another persons property and depriving them of a livelihood.
It is certain that fishing needs more regulation as the hunter gatherer approach eventually leads to resource depletion, but in the scheme of things pot nuisance is not the presenting issue - and yes, I have been potted.
Modern GPS, pot haulers and large diesel engines are the initial culprits.
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Boathook
Well-known member
I've seen them between the shipping lanes in the channel.
Lightwave395
Well-known member
I passed a couple North of Roscoff recently just as I was entering the Eastbound shipping lane
capnsensible
Well-known member
What will you do about all the stuff left on the seabed that can't be recovered? And the rest of the line?
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Scillypete
Well-known member
They could be pots or they could be nets that are set beside wrecks or other good bits of fishing ground. Usually the marker buoys are quite large and fairly obvious so if you don’t see one and snag it I would assume you’re not keeping a proper lookout. The large buoy will most likely have a pick up line with a smaller float attached, that’s the bit to avoid .
Don’t go cutting them off that gear will continue to ghost fish and do a lot of damage to the environment
Don’t go cutting them off that gear will continue to ghost fish and do a lot of damage to the environment
Gary Fox
N/A
And after dark?
Scillypete
Well-known member
if they worry you that much stick to daylight sailing. The offshore deep gear markers are invariably quite large and visible even at night albeit somewhat closer than during the day.
it should be noted that a fairly large number of racing yachts recently did the fastnet many with spindly keels and rudders etc I don’t recall any mention of any that got snagged but I could have missed that
LONG_KEELER
Well-known member
Are you a fisherman ? Or do you have fishermen attachments ?
It would help to understand your responses.
westhinder
Well-known member
I think the culprits are fishermen who are careless and choose not to make use of modern technology. I’ve seen pot markers with long poles not just with substantial flags but also very bright led lights. Some of the boats in St Vaast use them. If not more vessels adopt them voluntarily they ought to be made compulsory
oldmanofthehills
Well-known member
One problem is the weak design of most yachts rudder and prop arrangements. Our old westerly was a classic example: Prop just sticking out with no skeg, semi balance rudder with a semi skeg coming alf way down it so any rope goes right in the slot between rudder and semi skeg, - and it did both on moorings and from pots off padstow.
Our present boat is much superior in that respect in that there is simple bar from bottom of keel to bottom of rudder. It cant completely prevent a rope getting to prop but it makes it much less likely so we sail less nervously in poor visbility.
If you look at any lifeboat and many fishing or work boats you will see similar arrangement of skegs, bars or even tunnels
Of course the racing boys will say their boats are optimised for performance not rope tangle avoidance, but they have been sold a dream. Bright sunshine, brisk winds and open untroubled waters - brocure stuff and certainly not constant for a cruising lad or lass.
But lurching along in the haze of Start Point there were many a floating thing that could impede the unprepared, and the F5 chop didnt make them any easier to see.
So before we criticise the fishing folk how about wondering about the yacht designers?
Our present boat is much superior in that respect in that there is simple bar from bottom of keel to bottom of rudder. It cant completely prevent a rope getting to prop but it makes it much less likely so we sail less nervously in poor visbility.
If you look at any lifeboat and many fishing or work boats you will see similar arrangement of skegs, bars or even tunnels
Of course the racing boys will say their boats are optimised for performance not rope tangle avoidance, but they have been sold a dream. Bright sunshine, brisk winds and open untroubled waters - brocure stuff and certainly not constant for a cruising lad or lass.
But lurching along in the haze of Start Point there were many a floating thing that could impede the unprepared, and the F5 chop didnt make them any easier to see.
So before we criticise the fishing folk how about wondering about the yacht designers?
Snowgoose-1
Well-known member
If British commercial fisherman were reasonable people you would not have to make them compulsory . With led technology it.s very cheap to do.
Gary Fox
N/A
Harsh but totally fair.