R.Y.A. Fishing Pots

[BrendanS]

Re: right of passage

I suspect Charles may have missed many of the posts that kicked these discussions off, about the proliferation in the UK of amateur pots in fairways and main routes.

Pro's used to put them where boats didn't typically go, or at least in places where peopl expected them.

Now they appear in areas where they interfere with safe passage. Even within the past two years they have sprung up in areas where they really should not be, and are set with floating lines and buoys which are too small to be seen in the tide conditions in which they are set.

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[zefender]

Re: right of passage

Agree with your point about potters off Portugal. There are a great many of them. But the difference is that I saw none at the entrance to channels and nearly all had flags on poles of around 1.5 metres.

It's not hitting the plastic buoy that bothers me (or its moonlighting brother, the 5litre oilcan) but the rope that's attached to it. If it tangles the prop in the wrong place, then my boat and crew are imperiled (eg Portland Bill). If I go over the side to try and clear it, I'm putting myself at some risk.

It seems perverse to pass responsibility for avoiding the pots to leisure boaters.

It's plainly daft that there are no regs at all to stipulate the size, marking and colour of the buoy, the need for a pole and a flag (preferably two, each of a different colour). A lookout might be OK on nice sunny days but we don't get many of these.

If you can pick up a pot on the radar in all seas at .125m and still have time to avoid it, then I'm impressed. But are you saying all boaters should now carry radar to avoid dangerous objects in the sea, deliberately put there by others? That seems a little harsh and amounts to a weird kind of stealth tax.

The sea is not a free-for-all. We have colregs, TSS, speed limits, anchoring restrictions, gunneries etc etc. Why on earth should potters-by-day-mini-cabers-by-night be able to excercise complete unrestricticted access to it in order to make a few extra quid? We should be protecting the dwindling stock of what is left living in the water surely?

Going back to the original post, I'm not sure how long the RYA intends to be in 'consult/investigation' mode. I think RNLI stats should give a pretty good indication of whether pots are a problem or not. We need them to argue for designated pot-free zones, proper registration and rules on flag size and colour.



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[sailorman]

Re: Of course it was bound to happen

Mr M Jackson perhaps

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