dwindling stocks

I have been reading various discussions the last few months on the site since I joined . They all have much the same well-founded arguments.Our fish stocks are dwindling. I have only returned to sea fishing since my teens and then only a fun angler . I am amazed at the advanced techniques and equipment. But most of all the club structure and this site. So to my point .What are we to do about the stocks, I no we are minnows in the whole sea fishing infrasture. But there is always ways to fix things. First I thought Twinkel's idea was great [ creating an artificial reef ] I no it was too expensive and all that, but just say twenty clubs raised half the money and the fisheries board the rest . A friend of mine is a fisherman in south wexford and he told me a while back there was a sort of co-op formed and they put in x amount of money each, depending on the number of pots each had and they bought young lobsters after a few years the co-op broke up but this year the lobsters were plentifull and lasted much longer all accounts are its from the co-op. I dont no if sea fish can work from hatcheries ,if they do ,its built by the fisheries board maintained and ran by a levies from fishing boats [trawlers] We would have to put our bit in too how I dont no , each club buys x amount of stock from hatcheries or what ever . I dont suppose much if indeed any of this is feasible but I am certsin of one thing, this site and the club structure thats already in place is a powerfull resource to have to try and help. I am sure this is all nonsense but sure my heart is in the right place

i have a meeting to disscuss the cost of removing all harmful toxins from boats and derilects i cant see it been anything like 500.000 you could buy a new trawler for that lol

Marine artificial reefs are constructed in South Carolina primarily to enhance saltwater fishing opportunities for recreational anglers, and to provide additional locations of interest for the growing number of sport divers in the state. Nearly 20 square miles of ocean bottom have been permitted by the OFM for this purpose with the added benefits of adding to the amount of highly productive hard bottom off the coast as well as potentially enhancing fish stocks which are critically linked to this type of habitat.

Thousands of resident and nonresident anglers and sport divers take advantage of the numerous artificial reefs off the state each year. They pursue a wide range of year-round fishing and diving activities which might not be available off South Carolina were it not for artificial reefs. In the pursuit of their interests these individuals generate nearly 20 million dollars in total economic benefit to the state each year. While not the primary reason for building the state's marine artificial reefs, this economic benefit from their existence adds significant weight to the overall cost-effectiveness of the efforts involved in maintaining a reef system.

An additional benefit of the reef program is the fact that many artificial reefs are constructed from recycled materials following their original use. It is very expensive to place the materials in the limited space in the state's landfills. Many materials such as concrete pipe, concrete pilings, steel highway bridges and a variety of other bulky structures have no other practical use at the end of their service life. Utilizing these materials as substrate in the construction of artificial reefs not only saves landfill space, but it allows the structures to continue to serve in a productive capacity for hundreds of years past their originally intended use.


Fishing

ya see derek thats exat what im talkin about but a prop detailed plan and sub commitee needs to present it to the relivent people

ground work first then war plans

well heres how its done

BUSINESS leaders believe Europe's first artificial diving reef off Whitsand Bay has generated up to £30million in its first five years.

On the eve of the fifth anniversary of the sinking of the former HMS Scylla, Tim Jones, chairman of the Devon and Cornwall Business Council, said the wreck had created an "absolutely massive boost" to Plymouth's economy.

He also revealed that numerous business leaders in the South West region doubted the National Marine Aquarium-led project, believing it would fail.

But aquarium bosses say their figures show about 42,000 people have visited the wreck on 7,000 dive boats since its spectacular sinking on March 27, 2004.
"There were plenty of doubting Thomases at the time," Mr Jones said.

"A lot of people were supportive of the idea, but there was a great deal of doubt as to whether it would be a success.

"I'm delighted to say they have had to eat their words."

Mr Jones added: "In the last five years Scylla has contributed somewhere from £25million to £30million to the local economy, and will continue to do so.

"Scylla was one of the most bold, potentially risky, high-profile projects that we have seen in Plymouth for many years.

"Fortune favours the brave and it has been brilliant, not just for the city psychologically, but also for the fishermen, equipment and training providers and tourism."

Tourism and aquarium bosses have also hailed the success of the venture

Marine scientists believe the scuttled former Royal Navy frigate is now home to about 260 sea species.

"Scylla has surpassed our expectations both in terms of visitors and colonisation," said Deborah Snelling, a scientific officer at the National Marine Aquarium.
"The interest from the diving community and other visitors has been maintained throughout the whole five years.

"From a colonisation point of view Scylla has now turned into a wreck 'community'."
While Scylla has attracted many of the typical sea creatures associated with a shipwreck, such as conger eels, whiting, mussels and barnacles, queen scallops, cuttlefish and scorpion fish, Mrs Snelling said scientists had been "very interested" in some of the other visitors.

"We have had a nationally rare sea slug and Scylla has also attracted pink sea fans, which colonised in August 2007," Mrs Snelling added.

"They are very rare and protected."

Dr Keith Hiscock, of the Marine Biological Association, said: "Scylla has been a great attraction for divers, scientists and numerous species, and has been very worthwhile."

The National Marine Aquarium has been monitoring and logging the wreck for the last five years and will continue to do so for a further five.

Malcolm Bell, chief executive of South West Tourism, said: "There is no doubt that Scylla has been a success – and she continues to be.

"She has a unique selling proposition in that Scylla is Britain – and Europe's – only artificial diving reef.

"When divers visit they not only dive on Scylla, they visit other sites and stay and spend locally.

"It has a beneficial effect on the local economy."

HMS SCYLLA: factfile
The Leander Class frigate was the last warship ever to be built in Devonport and was the last of the Royal Navy's steam-powered frigates.

She was launched in 1968 and decommissioned in 1993, after which she was moored at Portsmouth and left to rust.

The Ministry of Defence put her on the market in 2000, attracting interest from groups who wished to preserve her as a museum or monument in Plymouth. A consortium aiming to turn the Scylla into Britain's first artificial dive reef at Whitsand Bay became the frontrunner to buy the vessel when it gained the backing of the National Marine Aquarium, which eventually took over the bid and bought the ship.

The project to turn the warship into a dive reef included a substantial clean-up to prevent pollution and cost in the region of £250,000.

HMS Scylla was scuttled a mile off the Cornish coast in Whitsand Bay on March 27, 2004, with a series of controlled detonations watched by thousands on the cliff tops. She became Europe's first artificial diving reef.

or try this www.ships2reefsireland.ie

they are looking to buy a decommisioned warship thats expensive already why not take 4 derilect ships and all the concrete waste divert it from local land fills and recycle like the one iv mentioned above

I read somewhere that obsolete railway rolling stock has been used to artificial reef construction.

One problem has been the movement of reef components during the years after placement, leading to the fragmentation of reefs. Strong currents and storms have caused large and heavy parts of reef to "drift", so research was ongoing to figure how to work with this for better results on new reefs in the future.