MULLET

I am only a recent convert to saltwater fly fishing - after a lifetime of salmon fishing. What I can see with crystal clarity is that the humble mullet is going to become a major player in saltwatering fly fishing in the future and a vast tourism moneyspinner. In commercial fishing terms the mullet doesn't register AS YET as a saleable species - so won't be missed (which is fortunate given that the long life cycle of the mullet makes it an unsustainable species anyway) I am wondering how long it is going to take for the sea angling fraternity to apply pressure to have the mullet (both grey and golden grey) protected along the lines of the bass.

Don't hold your breath expecting the sea angler fraternity to apply pressure for anything related to their sport.

One or two individuals, a very few, make any kind of effort at all.

Oh alright, more than one or two. But you could total them up with the fingers of both hands and probably still have fingers left over.

log every catch of your mullet in here as a starting point

http://records.biodiversityireland.ie/s ... saFishSite

Don't hold your breath expecting the sea angler fraternity to apply pressure for anything related to their sport.

One or two individuals, a very few, make any kind of effort at all.

Oh alright, more than one or two. But you could total them up with the fingers of both hands and probably still have fingers left over.

That is a shame.

Mullet fishing on the fly OR with a match-type rod and a waggler float is as good as it gets in angling.
Therefore its worth looking after and looking after before we get to our usual position in Ireland of trying to close the stable door after the horse is long gone.

On another thread I was told as to how astute or current minister Coveney has been at negotiating better terms with regards fish quotas. I would argue that as Minister for Ireland, that is called doing the job for which you are paid.

On the other hand, protecting mullet with a stroke of the pen - and without causing any hassle would be done by a minister with vision. I won't be holding my breath.

Mullet could be a rariety in the Cork area after netting of 10's of 1000's of them , in late 2013, along with a 1000 or bass.
It's a type of fishing Ive set myself up for the coming months and years.
Thanks for the link, Corbyeire
http://records.biodiversityireland.ie/s ... saFishSite

Thanks for the positive feedback Dave78 - we need to know what we are losing!

In commercial fishing terms the mullet doesn't register AS YET as a saleable species .

True. But inshore "pollock" nets and tangle nets catch and kill everything, saleable ot not. Since the ban on drift netting, salmon in the rivers have gone up but inshore saltwater species are declining up here now the small boats have changed targets and submerged their nets. Mullet will be among many victims.

In commercial fishing terms the mullet doesn't register AS YET as a saleable species .

True. But inshore "pollock" nets and tangle nets catch and kill everything, saleable ot not. Since the ban on drift netting, salmon in the rivers have gone up but inshore saltwater species are declining up here now the small boats have changed targets and submerged their nets. Mullet will be among many victims.

Tangle nets or 'driftnets' of varying mesh sizes anchored to the bottom rather than drifting at the surfacehave been around for at least 4 decades. I don't expect that there will be a sudden decine in the population because of tangle nets. Not an ecologically sound way of fishing because lots of them get lost in bad weather and because of their synthetic construction, they often continue fishing indiscriminately for months.

On the other hand if mullet suddenly got a commercial value - from my experience in a previous life in the commercial fishing sector I would know EXACTLY how to target them. Their life style makes them extremely easy to catch by the boatload with crude gear and even cruder extertise.
To avoid this almost inevitable outcome - a commonsense ploy by the state would be to protect them. However, Ireland , fisheries and commonsense are not words that necessarily fit together comfortably.

The market for fish has changed rapidly - and continues to change - as some of the traditional species become harder to acquire.

You can walk by any fish-stall now both here and abroad and see several fish species - accompanied by outrageously high price tags - which I recall a very short time ago you could not give away for free.

You can make a sure bet on it - that mullet - particularly golden greys - will be joining them some time soon - thereafter followed by rapid and catastrophic crash in stocks due to their slow recruitment cycle.

A flat calm morning gave me an opportunity to asses the mullet population in my usual spot. Its about 10% of what it should be. You cant take a 120,000 mullet in a shot out of the stock and send it for fishmeal without an effect. Mullet, unlike herring and mackerel, are not a sustainable species for commercial fishing.

Get it through your heads that mullet need the same protection as bass.

I've been keeping an eye on their movements around cork harbour over the last few weeks, mullet have been moving around the harbour in small numbers, this week however I've seen a major increase in their numbers around the harbour, the furthest i've seen them is around the Glanmire roundabout but only in groups of three or four, I will be taking a look from the city centre back down to the harbour over the coming days, if I remember right they were already sitting in the North channel of the river lee this time last year up by the merchants quay in their hundreds. And you are right salar they should be getting the same protection as Bass,Salmon and sea trout.

And it gets worse....

Today I arrived at my usual spot to find it being netted and cleared of the few mullet in residence.
I gather a market has opened up for mullet. (Dont say I didn't tell you so)

And so it begins and it goes something like this...
The price will be at a sufficiently measly scale to ensure that the fishery is viable only if mullet are caught in very big numbers. The Mullet's conspicuous behaviour ensures that any moron with monofilament net can easily catch them. Therefore the stock will very quickly crash and the fishery become unviable. Slow recruitment means that it will take years and years to make even a partial recovery.

Seen it all before

And it gets worse....

Today I arrived at my usual spot to find it being netted and cleared of the few mullet in residence.
I gather a market has opened up for mullet. (Dont say I didn't tell you so)

And so it begins and it goes something like this...
The price will be at a sufficiently measly scale to ensure that the fishery is viable only if mullet are caught in very big numbers. The Mullet's conspicuous behaviour ensures that any moron with monofilament net can easily catch them. Therefore the stock will very quickly crash and the fishery become unviable. Slow recruitment means that it will take years and years to make even a partial recovery.

Seen it all before

have seen it only the other day where i fish for them...not a bother in the world with the buckos netting...only too proud to walk over and tell me about it too while i was fly fishing for them...to be sold for human consumption.he wasnt long leaving id say he could hear my teeth grinding over the waves...
i must say i agree with you salar,giving the weight for the age of mullet,they grow slowly..so in my book if it keeps going on like this they will be decimated in no time and without protection by law might never recover...
well said salar.
it takes an angler to catch them with a rod...a moron with a net...

I've seen 3 lads fishing for them with treble hooks the size of a childs fist last week with a weight attached casting under them and trying to puck them out, really sad but I wasnt going to challenge them on my own.
I don't know one single person who eats them, so to me that means there is no point in even keeping them take a snap put them back.

This is heartbreaking stuff. Is it legal? Can anyone just decide to start inshore netting for mullet? Licence needed?

well sure arent they just netting mullet when they are after the other silver fellas...

Unfortunately Mullet make good eating. People outside Ireland have been aware of this for a long time. I keep the odd one and have always felt relaxed that the perception here that they eat s**t etc might keep them protected. I fear for them also as an awareness comes how valuable they might be. Also how easy to net them it is when they gather into big shoals. To me the best fish in the sea to catch with a fly rod. Unfortunately unless something is done they will be the stories we will be telling the next generations what will seem like far fetched folklore of how plentiful they were.

Unfortunately Mullet make good eating. People outside Ireland have been aware of this for a long time. I keep the odd one and have always felt relaxed that the perception here that they eat s**t etc might keep them protected. I fear for them also as an awareness comes how valuable they might be. Also how easy to net them it is when they gather into big shoals. To me the best fish in the sea to catch with a fly rod. Unfortunately unless something is done they will be the stories we will be telling the next generations what will seem like far fetched folklore of how plentiful they were.

well said pat

This is heartbreaking stuff. Is it legal? Can anyone just decide to start inshore netting for mullet? Licence needed?

I'm afraid my friend the net seems to be the liscense.