Decimation of bait collecting areas.

Ask any angler what he thinks is the most serious angling related issue and he will most likely say declining fish stocks; and rightly so. We as anglers are very conscious of how easily a finite resource can be pushed to the point of no return.

Strange how even in conversation; the subject of pressure on bait stocks never seems to get the attention it deserves. Maybe as anglers we fail to attach any real level of importance to the subject of sustainable bait collection.

I have collected bait locally for almost 30 years. The area where i collect my baits is well known to anglers and angling clubs alike (in particular for its quality stocks of Ragworm).
I the last 2 years I have seen a large increase in the number of anglers using this area for collecting baits. Unscrupulous anglers are using aggressive digging methods digging down 2 foot or more and leaving behind a 10 foot square, 2 foot deep crater that is duly scoured out by the tide leaving behind bare bedrock in places.

Some parts of the estuary along the channel have been scoured away so badly that they will never recover.
Ragworm beds that have produced top quality king Ragworm for generations of anglers; destroyed in a couple of hours by some irresponsible dimwit.

I know the powers that be and all angling clubs around the country support a sustainable approach to bait collecting and that these sustainable methods of fishing and bait collecting peculate down to the general hobby anglers of our sport.
But somewhere along the line, I feel the level of importance that should be attached to the subject of sustainable bait collecting has somewhat diminished.

We spend so much time thinking about fishing and how we can improve our sport that we have lost sight of the fact that our bait collection areas have now come under increasing threat.
And unlike the collapse of fish stocks where our hands were tied and all we could do was stand idly by and watch; with regard to protection of our bait collection areas; we can do something.
We as anglers and the methods we employ to collecting bait; have a very significant impact on the tidal eco systems right around the country.

By using a sustainable approach to bait collecting, sending out the right message to others anglers and encouraging sustainability; we can help conserve our bait collection areas.
If we are the single biggest factor affecting the sustainability of our bait collection areas and we fail to take steps to ensure these areas are protected and nurtured; well then we will have only ourselves to blame when we have exhausted this finite resource.

A few simple things is all we have to do to ensure we all have a plentiful supply of bait for future generations of anglers.

1. AVOID USING AGRESSIVE DEEP DIGGING METHODS (this practice destroys worm beds)
2. BACK FILL ALL TRENCHES YOU DIG (this allows the area you have dug to regenerate)
3. GRADE WORMS AND RETURN YOUNG WORMS TO HELP RE-POPULATION OF THE STOCK
4. DON'T DIG RAGWORMS OUT OF SEASON (Dec, Jan, Feb,)
5. AVOID DIGGING IN WEEDED AREAS THAT SUPPORT POPULATIONS OF SHORE CRAB (No habitat/no peeler crab)
6. HAVE RESPECT FOR YOUR ENVIRONMENT AND LEAD BY EXAMPLE.

Take care of nature and she will take care of you!

Last edited by Deleted User 3488 on Wed Apr 23, 2014 4:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

The Foyle has miles of rag area and no one ever digs it or goes collecting there , I usually fill a tub in 15 mins though I've seen this practice at fahan a few times