[Bagpuss]

Thought you guys might like to see this that is currently causing a lot of controversy on the Isle of Man. Apparently 8 retired commercial fishermen do this for some pocket money & it's legal. The youngest is 69 years old the oldest in his 80's. I have it on good authority 270 boxes of mullet were netted over a couple of days off the beach. 110 boxes went to Fleetwood fish market for human consumption, 160 boxes were sold for lobster & crab pot bait. The mullet were all in the 2.5lb to 5lb range.
Local anglers are up in arms about it.
http://www.flyforums.co.uk/saltwater-fly-fishing/60940-mullet-murder-isle-man.html

 

[Mike Kennard]

That looks like somebody is making a lot of money. Is there an equivalent of the Inland Revenue on IOM?

 

[Alex Jordan]

IOM is a tax haven :/
Saddens me to the core - the lessons will be learnt when it is too late ... simple as ... just read an article in the new thisisfly.com by the director of End of the Line - just reinforces the point.

Just posted on my friend's facebook page - he was having Monkfish for tea which is on my list of fish not to eat as they are not sustainable (takes 14 years for a monkfish to mature and they are being raped as our appetite grows - like bass there are no quotas)

50p a kilo? wholesale slaughter ...

 

[Bagpuss]

We still pay income tax here, it's just gone up from 18% to 20%, so I'm thinking of moving to Jersey.

 

[Tim Murphy]

We were having a right ole rant about this today Nige. A mullet is one fish I would dearly like to catch on a lure: there's a whole lot less chance of that for a few years... The way they just see them as easy pickings makes my blood boil, supppose the old gits aren't worried about the future though.

 

[Mick Ward]

We still pay income tax here, it's just gone up from 18% to 20%, so I'm thinking of moving to Jersey.

Tax may be low here Nige but they screw you in other ways.

It is gobsmacking that so much of those mullet went for pot bait!! What a waste of beautiful fish.

 

[trev richardson]

I agree what a disgusting waste of a beautiful fish.

Nigel I assume that these retired fishermen do this every year?? Is this a normal catch for them?

 

[Bagpuss]

We were having a right ole rant about this today Nige. A mullet is one fish I would dearly like to catch on a lure: there's a whole lot less chance of that for a few years... The way they just see them as easy pickings makes my blood boil, supppose the old gits aren't worried about the future though.

Tim

Luckily I'm not from that end of the island otherwise I think I would be plotting something. I wouldn't mind so much if these fish were eaten, but with the majority going as pot bait it's disgusting. Obviously these old guys don't give a damn. It's greed. They know when & where these fish shoal up & can be netted easily & just do it. Port Erin beach & the southern end of Laxey beach are the only places that they can net like this due to the restrictions in place to protect sea trout & salmon. Maybe some pressure may come to bear this year & this may be an end to it.

 

[Bagpuss]

I agree what a disgusting waste of a beautiful fish.

Nigel I assume that these retired fishermen do this every year?? Is this a normal catch for them?

Trevor

Yes it's an annual thing. It appears that more people complain about the sheer waste of such fish these days as years ago the sea was stuffed with fish, now we know it isn't & this amount of slaughter affects future mullet stocks.

 

[Nick Phillips]

I find this whole thing both tragic and 'sickening'.

What a waste.

These tossers that do this "for a few quid" obviously dont care about the enviroment at all so they just use it for their own ends.

Its acts like this that get me really mad.

Dont you just hate some people for what they do.

 

[Ian Morris]

Hi Nige,
And there was I thinking netting was banned on the IOM. Doesnt look like the usual gillnetting we get across here tho - from the pics them fish look like theyve been coralled into a bag end in the same way sandeels are harvested.
I guess if its legal, the only thing you can do is complain to "that man in the electirical shop", about why it is allowed to continue, and then see how much tax is getting paid on them fish.

Some "Visit sunny Port Erin for your holidays" posters c/w pics of the slaughter on the beach might apply some pressure?

 

[Keith White]

I find this whole thing both tragic and 'sickening'.

What a waste.

These tossers that do this "for a few quid" obviously dont care about the enviroment at all so they just use it for their own ends.

Its acts like this that get me really mad.

Dont you just hate some people for what they do.

Because I dare not write my feelings here I'll use your quote Nick if you don't mind.

 

[Simon L]

The whole thing just seems so chronically outdated and inappropriate - which in an odd kind of way is a good thing, and a sign that the general consensus is shifting. Let's hope that things can fully change before it's too late though eh ? Feels like the clock is ticking somehow . . . . . . . .

 

[Tim Murphy]

Tax may be low here Nige but they screw you in other ways.

It is gobsmacking that so much of those mullet went for pot bait!! What a waste of beautiful fish.

It's the pot bait bit that really gets to me Mick. Obviously the merchants didn't want that many...

I agree what a disgusting waste of a beautiful fish.

Nigel I assume that these retired fishermen do this every year?? Is this a normal catch for them?

If they do this every year why've not heard about it? I've lived in Port Erin most of my life and it's the first I've heard of it, Ii know all of them.

Mind you, I was surfing about last night at work and read about a Cornish family who do it regularly as well.

Hi Nige,
And there was I thinking netting was banned on the IOM. Doesnt look like the usual gillnetting we get across here tho - from the pics them fish look like theyve been coralled into a bag end in the same way sandeels are harvested.
I guess if its legal, the only thing you can do is complain to "that man in the electirical shop", about why it is allowed to continue, and then see how much tax is getting paid on them fish.

Some "Visit sunny Port Erin for your holidays" posters c/w pics of the slaughter on the beach might apply some pressure?

Good idea, but there's a load of fuss going on, the militant young Manx speakers are on the rampage again at the mo! Civil unrest!

:horsesword::laserswords::horsesword:

 

[Tim Murphy]

The whole thing just seems so chronically outdated and inappropriate - which in an odd kind of way is a good thing, and a sign that the general consensus is shifting. Let's hope that things can fully change before it's too late though eh ? Feels like the clock is ticking somehow . . . . . . . .

Apparently it's something with Mullet not being a pressured fish so they're allowed to do it this way. Don't quote me on that, I'm going to find out more.

 

[Dr.Thomas k]

isnt it just so, we anglers are catching all them fish preventing them from breeding? EU will for shure stop us! Thats what these dumbheads in Brussels are discussing about! The lobbyists of the fishing industries are doing fine work for them Fishkillers...


good posting from the flyforums:

I was gob smacked and shocked at the photo, but should we be surprised ? When you watch and listen to any documentary about trawlers, netting for profit, you can see em emptying the seas and in between all this are their statements that stocks are not what they used to be and that their lively hood is threatened. They blame the seals, the gannets, the cormorants for the demise and well, the blame lies squarely at their own feet. These profiteerers are wiping out fish stocks at an alarming rate, buying bigger and bigger boats with more efficient ways of cleaning out the fish stocks as though it's an endless commodity and don't even contemplate a sea without fish. It's not that they are too thick to know what they are doing, but they just do not care. All that they think about is the next ton of fish they can make a profit on at the markets and sod the lot of yer. They are not people that care about the welfare of anything except themselves, their own families and close friend. They are the type that would tell you or I to f..... off

Cheers
Thomas

PS nice motorbikehelmet, Ian,

 

[Bagpuss]

Tim, Ian, Guys

Basicallty netting from the beach or boat is illegal from Peel breakwater to Ramsey breakwater, in effect all the sand/shingle beaches of the island, unless you are licensed for sandeel netting etc (& that is only angling clubs) from 800 metres from the high water mark out to sea. Netting is illegal 500 metres either side of any freshwater course that enters the sea (to protect salmon & sea trout). Most of the little beaches south of Ramsey & Peel have a fresh water stream running to them therefore making them illegal to net. Port Erin is different & that is why the guys net there, plus it is fairly sheltered so not much weed.
The rules are that they can net but it has all got to be done by hand, no mechanical means of laying or recovering the net. I am informed that a couple of years ago they had so many mullet that they had to use a tractor to recover the net from the water.
I've never heard of this until now but there has been such a fuss kicked up about it this year that it is common knowledge now & in the past it seems that it was either just accepted as normal fishing practice.

 

[Tim Murphy]

Tim, Ian, Guys

Basicallty netting from the beach or boat is illegal from Peel breakwater to Ramsey breakwater, in effect all the sand/shingle beaches of the island, unless you are licensed for sandeel netting etc (& that is only angling clubs) from 800 metres from the high water mark out to sea. Netting is illegal 500 metres either side of any freshwater course that enters the sea (to protect salmon & sea trout). Most of the little beaches south of Ramsey & Peel have a fresh water stream running to them therefore making them illegal to net. Port Erin is different & that is why the guys net there, plus it is fairly sheltered so not much weed.
The rules are that they can net but it has all got to be done by hand, no mechanical means of laying or recovering the net. I am informed that a couple of years ago they had so many mullet that they had to use a tractor to recover the net from the water.
I've never heard of this until now but there has been such a fuss kicked up about it this year that it is common knowledge now & in the past it seems that it was either just accepted as normal fishing practice.

But there's a stream on Port Erin beach???



That's what I'm guessing, standard practice...

 

[Bagpuss]

Tim

I don't think that water course counts for some reason (well it musn't do obviously). Maybe sea trout & salmon do not run up it, or it's just a drainage stream for rain water from Port Erin, in other words man made & not suitable for migratory fish. I'm not sure, it's just what I have been told.

 

[Bagpuss]

Hi Nige,
And there was I thinking netting was banned on the IOM. Doesnt look like the usual gillnetting we get across here tho - from the pics them fish look like theyve been coralled into a bag end in the same way sandeels are harvested.
I guess if its legal, the only thing you can do is complain to "that man in the electirical shop", about why it is allowed to continue, and then see how much tax is getting paid on them fish.

Some "Visit sunny Port Erin for your holidays" posters c/w pics of the slaughter on the beach might apply some pressure?

I guess you mean Mr. Tony Brown the Chief electrician err I mean Minister :wackit: