Is cod in decline?

[ne-fishing]

I am fairly new to sea fishing. I fact I have only been in the sport for two years now. However, I don’t know if it’s me or there is a huge decrease in number of cod caught this year and last year. It’ has now been 6 months since my last cod and I do fish regularly.

What are your opinions?

 

[dean_1]

Keep fishing try different marks at diffferent times and at different tides also use a variaty of bait

 

[Davyred]

They\'ve been in decline for years now. Whats even more worrying is the lack of 1-2lb fish. The fact that there are so many big fish being caught this year has IMHO been down to the lack of competion for food from these smaller fish, and an abundance of whiting, a mature cod\'s staple diet.

Something is very amiss in the North sea, and all sea anglers can see it. Unfortunately, the fisheries minister is unlikely to be seen standing on a freezing Cod mark during a big sea, so he hasn\'t a clue. :casstet:

I caught a 10 inch codling yesterday and treat the thing like it was gold, walked down the steps and placed it in the water instead of the normal drop it from the top of the pier - seems to me that the poor things need all the help we can give them.

 

[STEVO]

I totaly agree davy it annoys me if I see undersized codling caught and kept especially if its some youngin on the pier !!!ya try and explain this to them and they look at ya like ya some kind of d**k !!!I definately think the size issue needs to be addressed!!!

 

[BILLYB]

NOT BE LONG before the only place you can see a cod is in handcocks museum stuffed and in a big glass case

 

[dean_1]

I you might be right there billy

 

[ne-fishing]

I hardly ever keep any fish now unless they are a really good size.

What about the sea rod licence? Do you think that would improve the cod fishing or will there be less people fishing for them?

 

[DaveMason]

I was reading an article recently where the guy put forward the opinion taking the BIG cod is more of a problem than the little ones . I think he meant they were of spawning age and would not get the chance to breed .

 

[jason]

I still blame the trawlers dont know the figure but they throw back tonnes of dead undersized fish for each quota - may be its just an idea why dont they lower the size of fish that the trawlers land and they then will have to land the quota and the quota only meaning they would have to catch and land land say 10 tons instead of catching 14 tons and thrown 4 back dead.

sounds daft but would it work - debate please!!!!

 

[darren]

Theres no way a rod licence would help.Anglers dont make enough impact to justifie a rod licence its like jason says it the trarwlers that are doing the damage have you seen the wasted fish when thay are after prawns!!! i couldnt belive it when i saw what thay tossed aside just 4 a few prawns. the stocks need time to recouprat and breed i no there is poeples jobs to think about but there gana be out of a job permently if thay dont stop and give the fish a break thay need but thats just my opinion

 

[alan]

Seen them unloading the prawns at Blyth,there is alot of fish chucked overboard but they do have alot of full fish boxes,these undersize fish are killed regardless if they are fishing for prawns or not.The undesize fish dont have a chance lying around in the boats,think some of these Anti\'s want to have a look at commercial fishermen before they start knocking on our door.

 

[darren]

Another thing you might see them hoying a few fish away at the harbour but thay hoy a load whilst out at sea.Thay pick the prawns out and leave th fish on the deck and then hoy them over board once thay are dead and then its out with the nets again it boils my p**s :casstet:

 

[Stores]

I think you\'re dead right Dave. If we all kept the 2 lbers and put back the well publicised 20 lbers this year then the spawning potential would increase dramatically. I\'ve fished once this winter - in the tsunami comp and I caught one fish. So did Rod and so did countless others and its well documented here that there have been very few good bags of fish, more some very good individuals. We\'ve probably done more damage to fish stocks this year than for donkeys simply because of the number of doubles that have been kept (that\'s not a criticism as I think I\'ve kept every double I\'ve caught) but it\'s food for thought. As more anglers carry cameras so more may eventually go back, hopefully

 

[alan]

Exactly Darren we probably dont see half what goes on,would\'nt you think they would realise the damage they are causing to there own industry though

 

[jordy]

Think money comes into it more than thought\'s for the future !!!!!

 

[darren]

But lets face it lads there not a great lot we can do about it but return the fish we catch but are we just returning the fish 4 them to catch and either waste or profit from plus us anglers spend alot of money time and effort to catch fish we cant put every one back!! I like cod.At lesst the fish we catch get used and not throne in to the sea dead

 

[willywetegg]

As you say Darren there is nothing you can do about it. Just keep doing what you do, that way you will sleep easy at night mate.

Jim.

 

[TC]

\"Is cod in decline?\"..........only 1 answer, isn\'t there?

I remember seeing a piece on the N.E. news (about 2 years ago).....they were interviewing a trawlerman about quota restrictions, net sizes and the like.
Despite the research and the figures, he refused to acknowledge that there was ANY decline in cod stocks and didn\'t see any need for any further imposition of restrictions..........talk about Ostriches burying their head in the sand :exclam:

With THAT sort of attitude is it any wonder that stocks of cod are at crisis level. Personally, when I hear trawlermen bleating on about having to sell their boats, give up the business and the dire consequences for the local fishing community, I find it VERY difficult to have any sympathy for them. They have raked the sea for everything they could get for years, without ANY thought of the future fish population.
As has been previously said, the amount of \"wastage\" that is thrown back dead is sickening. Yes angling does have some \"wastage\", but when you\'re putting back 1 dead, undersized codling, it pales into insignificance to the amount of damage 1 trawler can do.

The time for them to be looking at their operating practices has long since past.......they have plundered the sea for all they could get and now they are reaping the consequesnces.

I don\'t think Billy\'s far wrong in his prediction that within a few years the only place you\'ll see a Cod is either in somewhere like the Sea Life Centres (or whatever they are called now), or in a museum.

Ofcourse, all of what I\'ve said above is only the way I feel.........I\'m quite happy to be \"put straight\" if I\'ve come to the wrong conclusion.

[Edited on 8/3/2005 by TC]

 

[TC]

Taking on board the views that the bigger fish should be released, on the grounds that THEY are the breeders.........should there be a MAXIMUM size limit imposed aswel as the minimun sizes we\'re all familiar with ??

 

[dazzer]

Well Said TC.

My Dad was a full time fisherman working out of Blyth with a coble using cod nets (trammels) and lobster pots and also the salmon drift nets obviously during the salmon season.
I used to go to sea with him when I was still at school and started to work on the boat when I first left school.

I have personally seen the decline in fish stocks in inshore waters over the years by working in the fishing industry.
In the late seventies/early eighties we were getting a lot of cod in the nets and also a lot of salmon/sea trout during the season, filling about 4 7stone boxes per day of cod.
By the time I actually left school & started work on the boat these numbers were down to about 2 boxes per day.
It got that bad with the cod that within a couple of year of me starting working out there we were lucky to get half a box per day.
The salmon/sea trout situation was the same, the numbers of fish caught was hardly worth putting to sea for, just managing to pay for the running of the boat and not much in the pocket.
The boat ended up getting decommissioned because the payment for decommissioning the boat at least guaranteed some money.

The price of cod when I worked at sea was only quarter of what it is now.
Cod is now dearer than what the salmon is.
We used to look forward to the salmon season cos thats when most of the money was made, not now though.
More boats are now handing their salmon licences in and not bothering.

To be totally honest I\'m pleased I don\'t work out there any more because obviously I still know a lot of the full time lads & know how bad it has got out there now.


Sorry for the long waffle lads...

Dazzer