Blueys

In an age when we should all be reducing our carbon footprint, I find it incomprehensible that we are importing the small bait fish known as blueys from the pacific. What do we know about these fish? Do they come from a sustainable, well managed fishery? As anglers I believe it is our responsibilty to be aware of these issues. Having done an internet search to try and get some more information, all I could discover was that the world's longest living dog was called Bluey, aged 29. Very impressive.

blueys are the commercial name for Atlantic saury

not a pacific fish but as the name states from the Atlantic and is preyed upon by tunas, marlin bluefish and cod,pollock, dolphins and porpoises

more info about them here
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/Species ... hp?id=1084

I would have expected a "Fisheries Scientist" to know that :lol: :lol: :lol:

Your such a show off Steve 8) nice one! :twisted:

Tom.

Your such a show off Steve 8)

How is using Google and Wikipedia showing off?? :lol:

Seriously though, what about the Squid we use? How much does that add to our carbon footprint?

Your such a show off Steve 8)

How is using Google and Wikipedia showing off?? :lol:

Seriously though, what about the Squid we use? How much does that add to our carbon footprint?

Teacher...loosen your tie...Steve knows I was funning with him....your not a teacher here you know...we're not your pupils :lol: :lol: :lol:

More seriously...to come out swinging about the Bluey and how its managed when your picture is there for all to see holding a 10lb or 15lb Cod that clearly is dead sounds a bit hypocritical to me....not looking to pick a fight but lets get some facts right, as a fisheries scientist we would at least expect he get his ocean right let alone the species :lol: :lol: :lol:

Tom.

Tom.

In fact these are Pacific saurys Coloabis Saira. Atlantic saurys have a beak like a garfish. So I have the ocean right. Any other swipes? Cod is irrelevent in this, I didn't catch it on imported bait after all. Good point about the squid.

In fact these are Pacific saurys Coloabis Saira. Atlantic saurys have a beak like a garfish. So I have the ocean right. Any other swipes? Cod is irrelevent in this, I didn't catch it on imported bait after all. Good point about the squid.

Swipes? Facts....you come out talking about what you find "incomprehensible" and how we! as anglers should be aware of what species are managed or mismanaged and you have a photo of yourself standing with one of the most mismanaged species in our sea's and to top it off you say "Cod is irrelevent in this" I think not. I would suggest you read your post again, you sound like a scare monger trying to get anglers to rally round your flag....personally I think most members on this board are well aware of what is and is not under threat, without you finding anything incomprehensible that we dont!! and say in the same breath what comes down to the bait being more important than the species it catches...come on!! lures are made of plastic...that leaves a carbon footprint....not much man does on this earth that doesnt, it depends on what degree surely!

To my knowledge the Blueys that are being sold for bait come from the Atlantic, I was talking to Peter Thain in Iceland about it recently, the commercials over there have been using them for years without them being under any threat.

Tom.

Jesus this site is unreal sometimes!! :roll: Im nearly afraid to post anything anymore!! Next it will be what about the fuel used to boat fish !!Did you car pool to that Mark in Wexford!!!How much petrol for that trip?
Where did your Bait come from?. I want to fish, and not have to think where every last little thing come's from !! Talk about taking the fun out of it. :( Hey why dont we all not drive "Cycle". Holidays are out "Plane's to much fuel" unless it's a cycling Holidays!!Fruit and veg in that B&B dont forget to ask where it came from it could be flown here from Jamica!! That Boat fishing trip has to go, cant be very economical :!: Let's not forget the lead ! Poison our sea's.
Give me a break!! I turn power of at home, i Recycle, Walk wen i can. I dont have bonfire's on the beach!! I bring my rubbish home. I put back my fish 99% of the time.
P.S. Bluey's are useless.

Ive never seen blueys used as bait from the shore, are they? or who uses them?

OK OK. Don't take offence. Didn't mean to sound like a scare monger. Just asking questions, is that not allowed? All the anglers that I know are the most thoughtful, conservation minded people you could meet. Catching and eating a cod is hardly comparable to a mismanaged commercial fishery in my eyes. It would be great if all cod were line caught as then it wouldn't be a mismanaged fishery. I feel its kind of strange that I can't put a picture of myself holding a fish that I was particularly pleased with on an angling forum. Totally agree with you martin32, it does get silly, there's only so much each of us can do without a total lifestyle change. I also feel there's no harm in asking questions. The swipe I was really referring to was on me not knowing what I was talking about despite being a 'Fisheries scientist'. If I knew about blueys I wouldn't be asking about them.

OK OK. Don't take offence. Didn't mean to sound like a scare monger. Just asking questions, is that not allowed? All the anglers that I know are the most thoughtful, conservation minded people you could meet. Catching and eating a cod is hardly comparable to a mismanaged commercial fishery in my eyes. It would be great if all cod were line caught as then it wouldn't be a mismanaged fishery. I feel its kind of strange that I can't put a picture of myself holding a fish that I was particularly pleased with on an angling forum. Totally agree with you martin32, it does get silly, there's only so much each of can do without a total lifestyle change. I also feel there's no harm in asking questions. The swipe I was really referring to was on me not knowing what I was talking about despite being a 'Fisheries scientist'. If I knew about blueys I wouldn't be asking about them.

Sonaghan,

Your question "I find it incomprehensible that we are importing the small bait fish known as blueys from the pacific. What do we know about these fish? Do they come from a sustainable, well managed fishery?" then you add to that what sounds like a rant "As anglers I believe it is our responsibilty to be aware of these issues." I think I speak for quite a few anglers on this board who would ask "do they catch fish" long before they ask about the welfare of the bait they use...right or wrong I am being honest here. To add to what Martin said, with all of this political correctness thats around today its our sport that in bigger threat than the fish we try to catch...as anglers we dont need anyone giving us more guilt to contend with :lol: least of all one of our own 8)

Fishing is fishing! some (that organisation beginning with P) call it barbaric....what we do is legal, until that changes then as anglers we need to stick together as much as possible....personally I dont class a Bass any different to a Cod, Coalie or a Mackerel even...they are fish, I fish and try to catch them LEGALLY without conscience....so that must mean to some I am a barbarian!! ...now I'm getting into a rant!!! fecking fishing!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Tom.

Leaving aside C&R for a moment (those debates never end happily) surely it's reasonable to question how we might fish in a more enfironmentally friendly way.

I don't wear sandals and I don't eat musili and I'm not a not especially politically correct (see prejudicial stereotype at start of sentence!!) but I think it's fair to ask if by doing things slightly differently we can make even a small difference.

Martin32 mentioned "car pooling" but maybe its something that we should think about. If you're travelling a few hundred KMs, why not give someone a lift on your way? If you're using a bait imported from another ocean, is there an alternative that works just as well? After all, do you think it's better to buy, say, strawberries from America or from Ireland (assuming you're already in Ireland).

ok to answer a few questions.. Atlantic/pacific saury which ever.. both have a population doubling rate of approx 1.5 years.. so they seem to be able to sustain their population by them selves...

atlantic saury is used more commercially than pacific due to higher availability(do you really think they leave the beak on to add extra packing??)and its cheaper to fish for them than the pacific ones...


what are they used for.. they were used mainly as pike baits and tuna baits (like as if we are going to catch tuna on them from a beach) because they have a higher oil content and it is released slower through the flesh than most other oily fish, which makes them an ideal bait for leaving out in the water for longer..

I would have expected a "Fisheries Scientist" to know that
Your such a show off Steve

no offense taken(i dont get offended easily)... fishbase.org is my bible (girlfriend is slowly accepting my religion)

I dont really think that the angling industry accounts for a big enough proportion of small bait fish to be noticeable... stuff like sandeels which are obviousy used for bait - the massive bulk of the amount caught will go into feed etc. no?

I think, yeah we should be aware of where are bait comes from but I dont think its that important so long as it catches fish.

Mind you, that dog must have been well looked after...29yrs old :lol: :lol: :lol: Did they say what it died of....hope it didnt get run over :twisted:

In all honesty I think humans will be barking about most of the same issuse as we do in 200years time.....its in mans nature to panic :lol: :lol:

Tom.

Mind you, that dog must have been well looked after...29yrs old :lol: :lol: :lol: Did they say what it died of....hope it didnt get run over :twisted:

dont know about old bluey.. but Old Yeller got shot :shock: :twisted:


shoot first and ask questions later.. and if you get the wrong answer PANIC
pretty much sums up human nature :wink:

Elvis never was a very good shot.....or was it Shep who he shot :lol: :lol: :lol: nah! Shep was a frog :lol: :lol: :lol:

I can see us getting wrong for having fun here.....you started it..trouble maker :roll: :roll:

Tom.

Good point K. Probably of far greater issue is fish being used for fish meal, pet food etc. and that is obviously a different issue and irrelevent to angling.

I think fishbase is a great resource too Steve. Regarding the population doubling time, cod is 1.4 years, herring is 1.4 years. I don't think the sustainability of a species is quite that clear cut when overfishing is involved BUT I was also looking further into into the Pacific saury, and they are apparently regarded as highly resilient with a population doubling time of less than 15 months, so part of my original question is probably groundless anyway! (Atlantic saury are classed as having medium resistence). Shoot first and ask questions later is right.

Sadly, Bluey the dog was put to sleep at the age of 29 years and 5 months. This was in Australia in 1939 so 'put to sleep' may well have involved a lead slug.

Fishing is fishing! some (that organisation beginning with P) call it barbaric....what we do is legal, until that changes then as anglers we need to stick together as much as possible

I'm with you on that one Rockhopper. These sorts of disscusions do seem to cause more problems than they're worth, I'm only learning how the forum works and will be more careful how I phrase things from now on.

Ed.

Sonaghan - all the same give your opinion and start discussions that you think need starting

otherwise this place decends into a back slapping club

this part of the forum - Angling News, Issues, Comments and Opinions - is for just exactly that

if new people dont come in - maybe find their feet - thats true - but also may ask many valid questions

some people may not trawl the search function - and may not find what they are looking for - so new posters should be encouraged to ask questions

sure you may get a heated debate that has gone before - but thats a good thing

Slap all you like.....I normally have someone on my back, for one reason or another so I wont feel it :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Corby is right Sonaghan.....ask away! thats what this section is for :)

Tom.