[Media] Government proposes ban on eel fishing

Government proposes ban on eel fishing

THE GOVERNMENT has submitted its proposals on banning all eel fishing in State waters to the European Commission for approval.

Minister of State Seán Power said yesterday that the ban must be implemented from July 1st if approved by the EU. The European eel stock was now "outside safe biological limits", he said, and focus was on conservation.

More...
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ire ... 67757.html

I watched a documentary yesterday evening about fish conservation measures implemented by the EU and their member countries and one fact clearly sprang to mind afterwards: There is no distinction made between commercial and recreational fishing!
Would it not be the wiser decision to restrict the bans to the fishing industry only and leave us anglers alone?
We are not doing harm to indigenous fish stocks, quite contrary, we actually take care of preservation and follow a code of honour as anglers, and, most important, we are not driven by financial aspects.
This is a fact which needs to be addressed and defended by our representatives.

[KENNYTHEJOINER]

I remember reading about the ell stocks crashing in there breeding grounds, I take it this will be part of it.

I found these links it seems there population could be down 99%

http://marinebiologyoceanography.suite1 ... opean_eels
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/InNews/warning2004.html

Last edited by KENNYTHEJOINER on Sat Jan 10, 2009 11:23 am, edited 1 time in total.

I disagree and support stock management that's workable. There should be quotas for anglers.

Anglers do have an impact on fish stocks, even if it's small in comparison in this country, and they have a role to play in conservation. They should come to the negotiation with clean hands. There is a good deal of sanctimonious hypocrisy in the angling community when it comes to the killing of large aged bass, cod (way more endangered than bass), and large spawning flounder, for example.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opi ... 67148.html

"The recreational (fishing) sector is now so large in Europe – and stocks so stressed – that catches by anglers are affecting endangered species. In some instances, undersized fish are being sold to commercial outlets. Because of this trend, licensing and catch controls already apply to pleasure angling in the US and Australia. Initial proposals from the EU Commission affecting anglers appear to be unworkable, but they can be modified to ensure compliance and ease of enforcement. All fishermen have a duty to co-operate."

i think if some species are vulnerable to having their nursery areas overfished - then shore angling could have an affect perharps

its very hard to say anything concrete without some scientific evidence on rod and line catches in irish waters

personally im getting tired of people praying for cod for months on end - and then 1 turns up and its all about chips!!!

which is it lads - want to catch a few more of them - or fill your belly!!!

well said uvox and corbyeire,excellent points well made.

I disagree and support stock management that's workable. There should be quotas for anglers.

Anglers do have an impact on fish stocks, even if it's small in comparison in this country, and they have a role to play in conservation.

says the man who filled the kitchen sink with whiting and a flounder. i have no problem with anglers keeping a fish or too for the pan, i do it myself, but to come out all conservationist like after doing so is nothing short of uber hypocritical isnt it?? i believe the way forward for us to do our part is to introduce bag limits and minimum/maximum sizes for all fish. but sure when the maths is added up there is the logistical nightmare of policing such laws and that will never happen will it. maybe one day in angling utopia we will all have farsightedness to do the right thing without thinking,second nature if you may. only then will problem cease to arise.

I agree that if bans are introduced for conservation of species, they should apply equally to anglers and commercial fishermen. I think most anglers that are intrested saving a species would not want to fish it anyway, I definately wouldn't. I also agree with eric, I can understand anglers keeping the odd fish for the pan, in the grand scheme of things, an odd one here and there will have little or no impact on the species in comparison to the effect that the commercial sector and illegal gill netting have on particular species. For instance, a good few years ago, the market was flooded with cod on numerous occasions. This should not have been allowed. I was informed that hundreds of boxes of cod were litterally thrown out in one co-op because there was such a surplus, no-one would buy them. A local skipper down here also wrote an article in the Irish Times about certain foreign trawlers fishing around the Irish coast that had reached their quota for cod, but still had a quota for cod roe. They caught the cod, gutted them, took the roe, and dumped the cod over the side! I wonder did Patrick Neary regulate the fisheries industry at any stage before taking up the post of Financial regulator