West coast of Scotland - is it cruising friendly?

JumbleDuck said:
You think they'd stand for that in Cornwall?
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The water is likely too warm in Cornwall.
Sea lice and other parasites reproduce at a rate dictated by sea temperature.

As to your other comment about the fish poo killing off the loch... every day creel boats circle the farm I work on, they catch the best prawns as close to the cages as they dare go- the only problem for them is that their gear gets tangled up.

I'm no company man and I think there are many things that could be done better, but much of the negative portrayal of aquaculture is badly misinformed. For example, we are experiencing the lowest levels of sea lice seen in the last seven years, thanks mostly to the adoption of wrasse and lumpsucker fish, as well as mechanical treatment methods that have been developed recently.

There is also a drive to move farms into more open and deeper water, to reduce the impact on the environment. The limit here is trying to keep the moorings and cages intact in the sea conditions experienced offshore. It's not easy, and there are setbacks, but progress is being made and the results continue to improve.
 
Kelpie said:
The water is likely too warm in Cornwall.
Sea lice and other parasites reproduce at a rate dictated by sea temperature.

As to your other comment about the fish poo killing off the loch... every day creel boats circle the farm I work on, they catch the best prawns as close to the cages as they dare go- the only problem for them is that their gear gets tangled up.

I'm no company man and I think there are many things that could be done better, but much of the negative portrayal of aquaculture is badly misinformed. For example, we are experiencing the lowest levels of sea lice seen in the last seven years, thanks mostly to the adoption of wrasse and lumpsucker fish, as well as mechanical treatment methods that have been developed recently.

There is also a drive to move farms into more open and deeper water, to reduce the impact on the environment. The limit here is trying to keep the moorings and cages intact in the sea conditions experienced offshore. It's not easy, and there are setbacks, but progress is being made and the results continue to improve.
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:encouragement:
well put
 
Kelpie said:
The water is likely too warm in Cornwall.
Sea lice and other parasites reproduce at a rate dictated by sea temperature.

As to your other comment about the fish poo killing off the loch... every day creel boats circle the farm I work on, they catch the best prawns as close to the cages as they dare go- the only problem for them is that their gear gets tangled up.

I'm no company man and I think there are many things that could be done better, but much of the negative portrayal of aquaculture is badly misinformed. For example, we are experiencing the lowest levels of sea lice seen in the last seven years, thanks mostly to the adoption of wrasse and lumpsucker fish, as well as mechanical treatment methods that have been developed recently.

There is also a drive to move farms into more open and deeper water, to reduce the impact on the environment. The limit here is trying to keep the moorings and cages intact in the sea conditions experienced offshore. It's not easy, and there are setbacks, but progress is being made and the results continue to improve.
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Modern aquaculture practices are indeed much improved - the problem is you are blighted by the reputation gained by the malpractice of the past. That said - there are plenty of disbanded farms cluttering up lochs with not much in the way of intent either by the (probably bankrupt) owners or the authorities.
 
Kelpie said:
The water is likely too warm in Cornwall.
Sea lice and other parasites reproduce at a rate dictated by sea temperature.

As to your other comment about the fish poo killing off the loch... every day creel boats circle the farm I work on, they catch the best prawns as close to the cages as they dare go- the only problem for them is that their gear gets tangled up.

I'm no company man and I think there are many things that could be done better, but much of the negative portrayal of aquaculture is badly misinformed. For example, we are experiencing the lowest levels of sea lice seen in the last seven years, thanks mostly to the adoption of wrasse and lumpsucker fish, as well as mechanical treatment methods that have been developed recently.

There is also a drive to move farms into more open and deeper water, to reduce the impact on the environment. The limit here is trying to keep the moorings and cages intact in the sea conditions experienced offshore. It's not easy, and there are setbacks, but progress is being made and the results continue to improve.
Click to expand...

Kelpie
What do the cages look like underwater? Where I sail in Turkey we often pass fish farms in waters of 50 metres or so depth. We see the surface stuff but never what is happening below. Any diagrams?
Peter
 
The salmon cages in Glenarm Bay are well off shore, far enough to worry a navigator in poor visibility, the owners made a big thing of locating them so far out. One year, a cage was breached, I can not remember how but they were certainly vulnerable to a collision. The fish made for the Glenarm river, not a very large watercourse, every man and his dog around North Antrim headed for the river. The Dept. of Agricultures bailiffs turned up and started taking names and car registrations. Several people were prosecuted and fined, I am not sure why because the same bailiffs have always preached about the risk of farmed salmon getting in to the rivers and the folk extracting them were surely mitigating that. But in rural Ireland the landlord/serf relationship as never been better than paternal.
 
Quandary said:
The salmon cages in Glenarm Bay are well off shore, far enough to worry a navigator in poor visibility, the owners made a big thing of locating them so far out. One year, a cage was breached, I can not remember how but they were certainly vulnerable to a collision. The fish made for the Glenarm river, not a very large watercourse, every man and his dog around North Antrim headed for the river. The Dept. of Agricultures bailiffs turned up and started taking names and car registrations. Several people were prosecuted and fined, I am not sure why because the same bailiffs have always preached about the risk of farmed salmon getting in to the rivers and the folk extracting them were surely mitigating that. But in rural Ireland the landlord/serf relationship as never been better than paternal.
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Alas the Salmon belong to some one and to take them is illegal , just like taking fallen wood from a farmers field
 
moomba said:
Alas the Salmon belong to some one and to take them is illegal , just like taking fallen wood from a farmers field
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If they were taken from the sea on their way to the river, who owns them there, once they are out of the cage they are fair game, why prosecute folk for doing something that the bailiffs should have done in the first place, they would have been better employed getting a net across the river mouth though that might not have been as much fun for them.
 
Quandary said:
If they were taken from the sea on their way to the river, who owns them there, once they are out of the cage they are fair game, why prosecute folk for doing something that the bailiffs should have done in the first place, they would have been better employed getting a net across the river mouth though that might not have been as much fun for them.
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That would like be saying all sheep that wander across the Scottish mountains are free game ,if they wander outwith the farmers land
The law will clearly state that they are not wild Salmon and they have escaped , also their may have been fishing rights on the river , again this is the law , It would be hard to prosecute in open Sea but as the Salmon would be easily identifiable against wild salmon and heading fr a river , were lots of people were gathering to grab them , kinda gives the game away.
Someone some were owns something and the law is pretty clear on that
 
rotrax said:
For those unfortunate enough to find a tick has become attached to their skin and dont have a removal device about their person the following might help. Working dog people cover said offensive insect with vaseline when found on their dogs. Ticks breath through their bodies-cover the breathing ports and they die. After half an hour or so, detach with tweezers, twisting slightly as you pull to ensure the head comes away. If the head-or any part-remains-it can go septic quite quickly.
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Do not deal with ticks by coating them with vaseline. It will kill them and they will drop off. The crucial thing however, is to get rid of them in a way which does not cause them to disgorge their contents into you. Physical removal with special tick removal tools is the recommended method. I've done it with fingernails when no tweezers available. I gather that a thread around the tick as close to the skin as possible is a makeshift alternative. A problem when sailing is that we don't really get that much chance to strip off for a tick inspection.

The good news - I met a chap last year who said he had about 80 ticks in 2017 and no lyme disease.

But, just to stress, medical advice is STRONGLY against the vaseline method as it encourages disgorging of saliva and stomach contents.
 
Amulet said:
Do not deal with ticks by coating them with vaseline. It will kill them and they will drop off. The crucial thing however, is to get rid of them in a way which does not cause them to disgorge their contents into you. Physical removal with special tick removal tools is the recommended method. I've done it with fingernails when no tweezers available. I gather that a thread around the tick as close to the skin as possible is a makeshift alternative. A problem when sailing is that we don't really get that much chance to strip off for a tick inspection.

The good news - I met a chap last year who said he had about 80 ticks in 2017 and no lyme disease.

But, just to stress, medical advice is STRONGLY against the vaseline method as it encourages disgorging of saliva and stomach contents.
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ohhhhhhh i was eating my dinner when I read this , but good advice :D
 
Resolution said:
Kelpie
What do the cages look like underwater? Where I sail in Turkey we often pass fish farms in waters of 50 metres or so depth. We see the surface stuff but never what is happening below. Any diagrams?
Peter
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I don't have a diagram but will try to describe the cages I am familiar with.
Each one is about 33m in diameter, and forms a cylindrical shape with a maximum depth of about 25m. About six metres underwater, a mooring grid connects all of them together, with chains leading off to moorings surrounding the farm- these are generally marked by buoys. Best practise for any boats in the area is to stay outside of these buoys. Whilst it is deep water right up to the cages, there can be various bits of rope on the surface which the guys on the farm will know about but which will be invisible to anybody who isn't looking for them.
There are also plastic pipes connecting the cages together, these carry mains voltage electricity and also the air-blown feed for each pen- best not to hit these in a boat! They are generally located right within the group of cages so anybody simply passing by wouldn't have anything to worry about.
 
JumbleDuck said:
But do escaped farmed salmon belong to the farmer or to the owners of the fishing rights in the river to which they escape?
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Bit of a moot point in my experience... fish that have spent their whole lives feeding inert pellets are going to struggle to catch food in the wild, and there are plenty of seals circling every farm just waiting for an easy meal... I would be amazed if escaped salmon lasted even one week in the wild...
 
moomba said:
Alas the Salmon belong to some one and to take them is illegal , just like taking fallen wood from a farmers field
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I very much doubt that.
Wood on his property is his, just like pheasants. Removal from there is theft. Off his property is another matter entirely.
These things only belong to someone whilst they remain on his property. When my neighbour's pheasants come onto my land they become mine, not his.
Those bailiffs couldn't prove who, if anyone the escaped salmon once belonged to unless they were tagged so theft cannot be an issue. However they probably did have the power to deal with illegal/unlicenced taking of fish which is somewhat different.
 
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A fish farmer was overheard "I call my dog SEPA because he does what I tell him.

*SEPA Scottish Environment Protection Agency"
 
My point is not really about ownership, the Dept. that did the arresting and prosecuting declare that farmed fish are a real danger to wild fish and to their habitat if they escape, perhaps they overstate their case? The folk who removed the farmed fish were providing a service to the community and the environment though I doubt if that was their primary motive.
Just had lunch of hot smoked salmon and salad, very tasty, (salmon trimmings from the smokery, great value) so I would be a hypocrite to oppose salmon farming.
 
Quandary said:
My point is not really about ownership, the Dept. that did the arresting and prosecuting declare that farmed fish are a real danger to wild fish and to their habitat if they escape, perhaps they overstate their case? The folk who removed the farmed fish were providing a service to the community and the environment though I doubt if that was their primary motive.
Just had lunch of hot smoked salmon and salad, very tasty, (salmon trimmings from the smokery, great value) so I would be a hypocrite to oppose salmon farming.
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I suppose in that case the fish farm need to be prosecuted for allowing their fish to escape and pollute he river .
Salmon are very unique in that they return to the river they were spawned, so it would be unusual for them to try and get into a fresh river after being in the sea.
Maybe there GPS was wonky
 
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