On-line petition - potmarkers

[My Alibi]

In case anyone wants to sign. A subject quite dear to me having been caught on several occasions by poorly marked pots.

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Click this link to sign the petition "Lobster Pots and Small Craft Safety – time to change the rules!"

https://petition.parliament.uk/signatures/37881748/verify?token=6aLbEZzLkfunhTogu4ic

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The Petitions team
UK Government and Parliament

Cheers

[watto]

pot markers

pay more attention and keep away from them,i know too well party boats love to fish around pots or gill nets,full time fisherman face the danger of hooks/jiggers etc every summer with gear lost over there gear

[lingking]

pay more attention and keep away from them,i know too well party boats love to fish around pots or gill nets,full time fisherman face the danger of hooks/jiggers etc every summer with gear lost over there gear

no skipper with half a brain,or boat owner likes to go anywhere near them!!!! why--because of poorly marked situations 5 gallon drums,flags lying in the water instead of been upright,yards of rope floating loose, all fine to see on a flat day but not too many of those

[My Alibi]

pay more attention and keep away from them,i know too well party boats love to fish around pots or gill nets,full time fisherman face the danger of hooks/jiggers etc every summer with gear lost over there gear

Mate, there are some seriously badly marked pots out there that are a great danger to other water users. And it's not just bad marking that gets me angry. I took these photos on the 24th June 2018, just three days before your reply.

It's a beautifully marked pot, but if you look closely, you will see a FLOATING LINE which is totally irresponsible!!

This line stretches at least 60 feet away from the marker. I'm not talking about fishing beside the marker, I'm talking about RUNNING OVER the rope, which is exactly what I did. Fortunately, my engine stalled first before it wrapped itself around my prop.

Usually, I give these markers a safe distance, and this one was well marked, but there are so many that are held up by empty 5 litre drums or whatever floats. In a strong tide they are often dragged under the water and you only know about them when you shoot by. It's literally a minefield in places, and is a menace.

I agree with you about staying clear when fishing, but that's not always possible either. Sometimes the drift just carries you over the line when you are busy doing something else such as sorting out a tangle. You sometimes need eyes in the back of your head. It's a live and let live situation out there. We anglers try to avoid ropes as best we can, but we do hook them occasionally. Worse still, we hook discarded ropes. It happens, we get mad, but it's usually nobody's fault. But poorly marked pots and floating lines are unforgiveable.