Getting worse.

[Seafisher]

Well, It seems that every year the fish get harder to find,! It's a real sad situation that year after year it gets worse? I can remember about 35 years ago standing on north shields jetty with my dad catching Haddock and cod out of the tyne, Yes Haddock! Which it's very rare that you even get one on the boat miles out. Even if you dropped a handline over the side your bait was surrounded by about 20 small coalies, not these days! The way it's going it looks as if the same thing will happen to Cod as has happened to Haddock.

 

[Red5]

Talking to a lad yesterday who'd been out on a trawler 16 miles out. Said they'd trawled for 6 hours and had 5 cod of size to show for it. Even he say's it's knackered.

 

[Stores]

I go back 35 years and I can't remember getting haddock from the shore. Off in the boat, yes, but not from the shore. Agree about the coalies though.

 

[john/r]

hi i go back about 35yrs and one of my first sessions was off roker pier i got trapped on with some of my dads friends i was very new to fishing but these days if the sea is rough i am one of the first ones off,anyway this day as well as large cod being caught there was also loads of haddocks, i caught a haddock off dawdon blast about 3yrs ago small though and also there was quite a few getting caught off south shields pier according to andy rutherford, but all said and done i think a bit like stores haddocks are rare off the shore, roll on next winters fishing
old fart john

 

[Steve115]

Lads,

Can you imagine what I'll be saying to my young lad in 20 years time?

Firstly - Rising sea levels may mean that we'll be fishing new marks. Places like Corbridge Skeer, The edges at Barnard Castle or Ponteland Hole!!!

Secondly - There will be no fish or a new variety of fish looking for warmer climates!

Thirdly - A sea fishing license will cost £60 a year ..... each!!!

Anyway - youll be able to bluetooth the fish out of tha water by then, no need for rods, line or reels!

Just a thought - not that I'm a pessamist!!!! lol

Steve

Secondly

 

[tonytaylor]

I can remember the year of the haddock! Actually it was 2 years where there were loads of haddock . I cant remember which years but it was at least 40 years ago. They were everywhere, especially from Whitley pipe and even a few off Whitley beach. The top spot was the dolphins in the river Tyne where one day I took 35 up to 3lbs. I remember fishing from a boat the same year in Browns Well just off Crawlies point and landing over 100. Unfortunately this rare event has never been repeated.
This season has been one of the worst for codling that I can remember. Certainly on a personal level I have done poorly. I have had the odd decent catch but it has only been when conditions have been perfect.
Personally I don't think global warming has anything to do with our current problems and lay the blame with commercial exploitation. You just have to see the effects of properly managed fisheries like those in Iceland and Norway where cod are still plentiful. Everyone has heard this before but the quota system is so wasteful. We have to have no go areas where fish of all sizes can live and breed.
I am one of the lucky ones who has experienced the good times but sadly I don't think they will come back .

 

[tony.codling]

I agree with you Tony, it's got to be commercial fishing.
Every morning, I leave the house 6.30 and look out to sea and all I can
see is loads of lights, all trawlers.
They might be on the prawns this time of year, but they still get the cod
in their nets, they can shout "it's our livelihood" but the way it's going they
won't have one.
I've been fishing the rocks for 15 year now, and I've never known a season half as bad as this for me personaly.

 

[Marty.E.]

Ther is another reason why I think that the fishing is so poor off our coast now. The increase in the seal population in the north sea. Some years ago they used to have a seal cull at the farnes, but not any more.The numbers in our rivers are greater than they have ever been before and speaking to commercial fisherman they have never seen as many about as there are now. All of these seals eat a healthy diet of fish. This alone wouldn't account for the deteriation in stocks, but coupled with overfishing it means less fish to go round for everyone. This is only my view for what its worth and I hope it doesn't offend anyone reading it.
Marty

 

[SIXFOOTSTEVE]

Strange that this should come up ,I had a conversation with Mel on Saturday night ,he was recounting fishing at North Shields fish Quay with his Dad and brother many years ago ( he's 60 now ) ,his Dad with a Scarborough reel and Greenheart rod and him and Malcolm his brother with handlines ......... all catching Haddock !

 

[SIXFOOTSTEVE]

Some very good points raised by Tony ,Marty and Steve ,all contributory factors I would think .

 

[jamcod]

i think everyone has to hold their hands up and take part of the blame when i think back to some of the just size fish i kept while match fishing just for a bag make,s ya think that it did,ent help fishing . just look at some of the bags in the match results to see that nothing has changed, just my view on things , jamcod.

 

[Penn525]

i think everyone has to hold their hands up and take part of the blame when i think back to some of the just size fish i kept while match fishing just for a bag make,s ya think that it did,ent help fishing . just look at some of the bags in the match results to see that nothing has changed, just my view on things , jamcod.

I know exactly where you're coming from mate...but don't beat yourself up about it...rod and line anglers barely scratch the surface of fish stocks - what a trawler lands in one haul - we'd be lucky to catch in a year...the blame lies totally with commercial pressure on stocks.

Do away with quotas, and have a closed season... thats the only way forward in my opinion...

 

[jamcod]

i agree their should be some kind of close season or close the area,s that are over fished, jamcod

 

[STEVO]

and artificial reefs that would create breeding grounds ...why don't we do that in this country?? it works in the states

 

[Penn525]

and artificial reefs that would create breeding grounds ...why don't we do that in this country?? it works in the states

Great point mate.....

 

[Charlie_Thompson]

Let's face it lad and lasses your 1970's were the swansong for NE UK Cod anglers. The Pit's got fecked and the water cleaned up. No more blackwater off the Durham beaches lifting with fish. The Commercials really sorted their acts out and began milking the oceans with untold effenciency. It's all gone, gone!!1

And Brittany Spears proves it as well

 

[Steve115]

I was talking to an old guy who I dive with in the summer. He was saying to me that 35+ years ago the sea water was filthy.

You couldnt see your hand in front of your face when diving - with all the coal deposits kicking about. This in turn meant that the kelp/weed didnt grow any bigger than 8" as the light didnt penetrate the water far enough.

Nowadays the kelp is thick and grows to 3 meters and the sea is clear on a still day!

There were no pipe fish kicking about - when you see these things in the water you realise how easy they are as a meal for a fish.... sitting there doing nowt!

I dont know exactly how filthy water would cause fish populations to thrive - maybe it gave em more confidence to feed?

The pipe fish thing - they really boil my p#ss! Every cod I've had this season (not many) have been stuffed with the blighters. If the cod are swimming about eating these easy pickings all day then they will be harder to tempt because they are all full!

The pipe fish population explosion is down to the clean seas and kelp forests by the way. We all seen it on the beaches last week following the heavy seas.

Its like going to the Indians - you would never eat 3 nan breads followed by your main course!

Just a thought!

Obviously commercial fishing has a massive impact as will sea temperatures.

Somthing should be done about it otherwise the cod will be lost from our shores forever....

There are other species of course but its a tradition here in the north east to catch cod...

Steve

 

[Red5]

Everything that has been mentioned is a contributing factor. Commercial fishing, especially trawling is the single biggest factor in offshore fisheries and total breeding stock, but with regard inshore fisheries, more anglers are targetting less fish, especially from pleasure boats in the summer. I've observed dozens of boats on the same day off Boulmer and Longhoughton Steels last year jiggin for hours literally 1/2 mile off shore. Times that by 7 days a week for a season lasting a couple of months then it makes a hell of an impact. Then think off that up and down the coast. I've also noticed a massive difference in the quantity of flatfish caught in our club. Think I've seen 2 weighed in this year compared to dozens over previous years (all kept alive in bait buckets and then released). Any explanations for that? My personal opinion is the amount targetted during 'opens', with the pressure on to get as much weight as possible for the top prize money. Not fished an open in years so am n ot sure if people bring them back in buckets or not, so that theory may be co-incidental if someone who regularly attends 'opens' especially the weigh-ins could comment.
Pipefish I'm unsure of, yes I've seen a couple this year though all of the fish I've had this season have had crab, squat lobster or differing small fish in them.
Again seals have been a bug bear of fisherfolk since time eternal, but any thing that competes with man for food is going to cause conflict. Nature is self sustaining, so if there were hardly any fish then the seal population would be affected also, but from what I can see the seal population is growing and the health of the colonies are in good condition. If there were no fish the seals would be dying of starvation in their hundreds.
The haddock stories mentioned of 30 years ago is a possible explanation of why they are probably not seen in the quantities they once were. sessions where hundreds were caught. If one guy was going out catching dozens of fish,then chances are there were hundreds, possibly thousands of anglers out doing the same.
Crappy weather hasn't helped this year either.

 

[john/r]

yes some good valuble points and yes i agree with jamcod as we do have to put our hands up ourselves, but we all know this year conditions for this winters coding has been awful,were are the north easterlies we used to get and the south easterlys, plenty of codling in the tyne this year if you wanted cod this season without doubt this was the place to go, as soon as any sea has come away there has been cod around but conditions have just not materialised this year in 35 years of fishing i have never known a season like this.if the pits were working like years ago the colliery beaches would of fished there backsides off, ask tony taylor the bags of fish he and his mates got off dawdon blast years ago,holderness coast has fished realy well this winter and i believe its because of the muddy water coming down the muddy banks and colouring the water. years ago i said when the pits closed it woulkd spoil the fishing in calm conditions many disagreed but jim dobie agreed with me.but on the plus points we have now got more bass showing ,mullet, thornies how long will it be before we have the smoothounds up here bob gasgoinge says to me in a couple of years john

 

[Penn525]

, how long will it be before we have the smoothounds up here john

Smoothounds follow food, and if the population explosion in the past couple of years of velvet crabs is anything to go by, then smuts will be with us very soon!
...And when they do turn up - I just hope all the clowns who keep anything for the cat (a tenner on bait - a tin of cat food 30p!!!), don't knock these fine fish on the head! They are fantastic sport fish from the shore, and some of the runs they give are heart stopping!

Great way to spend a summers evening on the beach.