Straits of Gibraltar Tuna nets.

[capnsensible]

They are out, smaller than in the past, but a big hazard!

South of Cabo Roche, a few miles up from Trafalgar, off Barbatte, off Zahara and close inshore west of Tarifa.

Drive safely!

 

[Downsman]

The old trawler hull that they were using rigged up as the West mark off Barbate, was about half a mile inside !!! the extreme Western edge of the Tuna net in 2010. Which I have to say in foggy conditions got me very excited and jumping up and down when I found out there was a bleedin' great net West of the West Cardinal mark..

 

[GrahamM376]

They are out, smaller than in the past, but a big hazard!

South of Cabo Roche, a few miles up from Trafalgar, off Barbatte, off Zahara and close inshore west of Tarifa.

Drive safely!

Last summer, I couldn't spot the one which used to be between Cabo Roche and Trafalgar so stayed further out. Has it been moved? Do you have a position?

 

[capnsensible]

Last summer, I couldn't spot the one which used to be between Cabo Roche and Trafalgar so stayed further out. Has it been moved? Do you have a position?

Its about a couple of miles south of Conil running from near the beach to a couple of miles out. Not very well marked. we had to take a big detour to round it and as previous poster mentioned, there was still a lot of net to the west of the west cardinal.

Other traps for the unwary are the ODAS buoys off Cadiz and Tarifa. Not yellow, almost seethrough, no topmark. PITA.

 

[GrahamM376]

Other traps for the unwary are the ODAS buoys off Cadiz and Tarifa. Not yellow, almost seethrough, no topmark. PITA.

Yep, I've nearly hit the one off Cadiz a couple of times, must alter my waypoint slightly this summer to give it a wider berth. Not seen the one off Tarifa (yet!), last time we passed there were going quite quickly with Levante up the chuff.

 

[Sea Devil]

I kept Paw Paw in Barbate last year which is one of the main tuna net bases.

From the fishermen I discovered that there are some basic tunny net areas, as marked on the charts, but as the fish start to 'run' they move the nets around.

There is no fixed place for a net and it can vary week to week... You just need to be very aware of the hazard and avoid transiting at night if possible in the netting areas

michael

 

[binch]

Counter attack.

Of course one tries to keep clear but it isn't always easy, and it used to be much more difficult because so many were unmarked.
I welded a handsaw blade down the leading edge of my keel. (steel boat).
It worked.
Coming from a deep-sea fishing family I knew it was the best answer to unmarked nets.
Better to give them a clean cut to repair than a screw tangled mess.

 

[capnsensible]

You will need an oxy acetylene torch to get through these ones. Massively built, anchored to prevent drifting. Can stand strong current and gales.

Hacksaw blade....nah!

 

[[27631]]

tuna nets

.......those tuna nets could prrobably stop a medium sized coaster type ship....definately not a hacksaw blade job!!

 

[Conachair]

Do they catch much? Didn´t think there were many big tuna left

 

[capnsensible]

The nets are much reduced from previous years, both on the Spanish and Maroc sides. A couple of years ago, there were no nets set at all for a season to encourage stocks. Problem is that further along the Barbary Coast, other nations dont seem to care. I think generally blue fin tuna are in rapid decline, sadly, and certainly not the size they used to be caught at.

Noticably, the Japanese Reefer that used to sit in Barbatte for the season has been absent for 5 or more years.

Also in Barbatte, there is now a Tuna Museum(!) by the marina. Unfortunately, its never open when I use the harbour, but Im really interested in having a look. Will be there at end of month en passant, so may get in.

I do know from the other week that the seasonal beachfont restaurants are open and in full swing, tuna (delicious) on the menus and beer wine and a feed for 4 is not much more than a tenner a head! Viva Barbatte!!