trawlers spoted at ballygally head Co.Antrim

four trawlers were spotted of ballygally head in the past couple of days a taxi man that i know quite well and is a fellow fisher man was able to tell me that they were not locals judging by there flags they were more than likely from Russia. now this has to stop lads there has to be something done about this the damage there to the sea bed is colossal and will not be the same for at lest another 50 years or more.i would like to see the government getting of there big fat (removed by moderator - merv please keep an eye as to ensuring we do not get sued or hammered by bad publicity, one solicitors letter and we're finished; thanks m8) and then taking our fish home with them tiddlers and all how are the fish meant to survive if there is not a healthy supply of breeding fish.

Every Year I have to Watch the Area Just off Millisle and Donaghadee getting Dredged to Death.... It Sickens Me. :x

When I first started fishing some 15 years ago it was mostly from a boat. The favoured grounds where those off the north Antrim coast. For around 3 years running the french trawlers would come into the area and dredge the sea bed. After these three years of abuse the fishing in the area had went from have a 6+ bag per person of good fish per trip to boats returning to dock with not a fish on board. The fish stocks where so depleted that even the trawlers stopped coming back. I would hate to have this happen again. Its a sin. Does the fisheries board know about this and if so I wonder what its opinion of it is.

I remember it well drewk but it started about 20 years ago with Russian hoover ships,I have pics of me catching 18lb cod from portrush and hitting big shoals of coalies off the ridges, I fished all of the antrim coast and it was a cracking coast for bin lid size plaice etc but once the hoover ships came in our coast died.If we stand by there wont be anything left..I remember a skipper saying to me "evil wins when men stand silent"..Lazy

them trawlers would make you sick. it seems like there isnt one piece of coastline that they dont go! i remember clearly going up the coast for the day and catching bin lid size plaice and hitting shoals of big coalies that would keep you reeling all day! was driving past the ledge on saturday night and there was a big trawler just of it.. the goverment dosent give a s*** and the problem will only get worse

well gents - dont know what the rules are up north - but here in the south when we joined the EU we signed away 85% of our fisheries to the french on entry - they get to clean the place out totally legally

there is no law for the distance from shore - so they can do what they like

The trawlers off Ballygawley and Millisle are mainly from Annalong(NI) with one from the IOM and two from Scotland. They are dredging for scallops and fishing legally, just trying to make a living in a very hostile environment. The pair trawlers currently fishing for herring in Ballyholme Bay (Bangor) are also fishing quite legally so I don't see what all the fuss is about.

The trawlers off Ballygawley and Millisle are mainly from Annalong(NI) with one from the IOM and two from Scotland. They are dredging for scallops and fishing legally, just trying to make a living in a very hostile environment. The pair trawlers currently fishing for herring in Ballyholme Bay (Bangor) are also fishing quite legally so I don't see what all the fuss is about.

Yeah . Just. because its legal doesnt make it right though ?
Pity the goverment wouldnt protect our scallop beds like they did in the IOM
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe ... 424508.stm

Probably why theres an IOM boat here :roll:

Pair trawling one of the most destructive forms of commercial fishing. Hopefully it will be banned soon . Like it was on the south coast of england for bass
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/3694280.stm


Andy Elliott

The trawlers off Ballygawley and Millisle are mainly from Annalong(NI) with one from the IOM and two from Scotland. They are dredging for scallops and fishing legally, just trying to make a living in a very hostile environment. The pair trawlers currently fishing for herring in Ballyholme Bay (Bangor) are also fishing quite legally so I don't see what all the fuss is about.

i have no problem with trawlers from (n.i.) my big problem is all the foreigners coming over and takeing every thing they get no mater what the size that's my problem. i have sat and watched "foreign" trawlers throw the binoculars off red bay just trawl and take every thing and that makes me mad :x how can this be aloud to happen when i am fishing the shore i have a legal keep size do these people think there better than us do they think that the rules don't apply to them :x . if i keep a fish that is under size and was found out by the law i would be done right yet they get off scot free thats the law for you :evil: :evil: :evil:

Merv ... You dont have a legal size.. there is no legal size for shore anglers except for sportsfish
Commercials do have MLS's but unfortunatley its all killed by the net anyway, so the undersized fish etc are just discarded overboard

thats the way it works...
Corbyeire is indeed right ... we're in the EU "foreign" boats can fish in our waters and we can fish in theirs.

Until sea anglers start acting under one voice and are an effective lobbying group thats the way it will stay. But going by the responses on this forum to various threads, that isnt going to happen.
But hey what do I know .. apparently the Irish dont like being forced into things :roll:
Writings on the wall Merv , pity only a few can see it

Andy Elliott

Over zealous conservationist

it is so true andy, many people are prepared to complain about how 'the fishing was brilliant years ago etc etc' , but when it comes down to trying to get a lot of anglers all singing from the same sheet and lobbying our politicians north and south to try to get changes made.....they dont want to know... and with some, if you try to encourage them to do this it is seen as taking a hard line...???

lets take a look on a local level....portrush and causeway coast....

years back there was unbelievable boat fishing for rays, plaice, cod, ling, pollack and coalies all withing say 5 miles or so from land along the north coast...where is it now???....but then that would be nothing whatsoever to do with guys trawling, clamming etc in the area constantly now, would it??? over the years of good angling it has to be said, yes anglers took homwe their fair share too, probably more than what was required...but nowadays we have caught ourselves on and are trying to make a positive impact on once again uping our fish stocks by returning what we catch, bar a few for the table if you wish......what are the commercial fishermen doing to look after fish stocks for the future.........?????????

if they aint gonna change things themselves then we gotta try to get through to those who can make them do this...ie politians

Well said BigPhil and nice to see something sensible when the conservation issue raises its head.... Fair play and I echo the above views.

i have been giving this some consideration over the past day or so would it not be an idea for sea angling clubs to get there members to sine a partition all the clubs in northern Ireland do it link up with Scotland England and Wales and get a rep from each of the 4 regions to deliverer them to no.10 that way they have to do something about it just an idea

moderator - merv please keep an eye as to ensuring we do not get sued or hammered by bad publicity, one solicitors letter and we're finished; thanks mate 8)

OK i will calm it down OK and i wouldn't want to wreck the forum as it is a source of good info and crack to all of us

excellent idea merv, this is something that would have to be taken up by the likes of the ifsa and be in contact to arrange similar with sfsa, nfsa, and wfsa, plus the likes of efsa, samf, etc etc.

the sea angling liason committee is the body responsible for organising home nations competitions etc so the avenue is there to perhaps get something going on this issue

i will try to have a chat around with the powers to be and see what is required to get such a thing up and running

i do know that some anglers are already involved in talks/negoiations with government bodies here in the north as regards to the needs of recreational sea anglers, like terry jackson (Irish Angler magazine) and gary gregg on behalf on the Ulster Provincial Council of the IFSA.

the online survey carried out by SACN has already got some info that would help to open the governments eyes but like you say, a petition sometimes works well too

Merv ... You dont have a legal size.. there is no legal size for shore anglers except for sportsfish

i was talking about bass relay and i only would keep a fish that are over the 40cm mark 45cm for bass that's just me now i have only ever had one bass for the table but if i catch anymore they will be going str8 back in to the water unless its a 13lb monster

Phil your wasting your time with the IFSA .. their so called Conservation officer is more interested in finding out which club your in, than addressing conservation issues. However free to email him, just dont be holding your breath for a reply.
Im talking the head conservation officer here, not the provincial ones, some of whome I know do sterling work .

Andy Elliott

Over zealous conservationist

There are no foreign trawlers fishing in N.I waters as they would have to :Be licensed
:Have an entitlement
:Have a quota
As none have I can only assume that they do not consider it worthwhile!
Anyone who has any concerns about what they may consider illegal fishing etc should contact: Fisheries Division,
Dept of Agriculture and Rural Development
Dundonald House
Upper Newtownards Road
Belfast BT4 3SB
Phone 028 9052 0100

I have had cause to ask for advice regarding alleged illegal sea fishing practices in the past and have found them to be very helpful.

hate to break the news to you lads,but in this country north or south any boat that has a fishing licence is entitled to fish where they want.it seems to me anglers seem to want the whole sea to themselves.you must remember lads,just because you want to spend an hour or two fishing a dozen times a year,it dosnt mean fishermen are not entitled to make a living from the sea.these guys spend 12 months a year on the water and its a tough way to make a living,trust me im an ex fisherman i know.i also like to spend an odd weekend fishing from the beach,its time the blame for all our fishing woes being laid at the feet of the fishing industry stops.some anglers are no angels either,visit kilmore quay any weekend in the summer and see the bags of fish being heaved into the back of anglers cars.its time everyone who uses the sea,be it for pleasure or otherwise pulls together.belive me lads it may seem like a victory to have this banned and that banned,but the time may not be to far away when our so called friendly marine dept will have anglers as well as commercial fishermen in its sights.

I don't aim to get in anybody's face over the rights and wrongs of commercial fishing practices, but for anyone to say that the current sorry state of fish stocks is anyone but commercial fishermens fault is, frankly, stupid. I too have done my time in the industry in a number of different fisheries and I know the realities. As I have said time and time again, it's the fault of the man with the net - not the government or the CFP or whatever. If you can't make a business pay without grants, handouts, sympathy or destroying the place, you can always quit. Nobody is twisting your arm. Just don't come to me with your sob story about how hard times are in the fishing industry - rampant greed and stupidity has made it what it is. And I'm not talking angler here.

Basically, and I can say this with no word of a lie, even a small trawler will lift more in one tow than I am likely to lift in a decade. It's not that I'm a poor angler, or that I don't get out often enough - it's just that compared to a trawler or gill-netter, what you average angler lands in a year is nothing.

Long ago, I predicted that as the price of diesel rose, we would see more and more boats fishing nearer to shore. I think time has proven me right.

I said years ago that the introduction of salmon tagging would see the eventual end of drift netting and a compensation package based on previous tag returns. This too has come to pass.

I also said that the day would come when the deep water fishery would be curtailed for a number of reasons; this weeks announcements have also borne this out.

I have also said that one day, the commercial lobby would get organised and upon that day, anglers could basically kiss any chance of having a say in fisheries management goodbye unless they were similarly organised.

For anyone who thinks its a doddle to just claim that they said in that past what is now fact, here's my next prediction. Time will tell on this, but mark these words. Within three to or at the outside five years, we will see the reintroduction of a commercial bass fishery. The regional fisheries boards seem confident that there has been a massive upturn in bass numbers and based on that view, I have no doubt whatsoever that a directed commercial fishery will soon be resumed.

My intention here is not to scaremonger, never has been. But I seem to have a track record of predicting the next change in commercial fisheries accurately and it's not down to luck. It's based on a lot of time and effort spent in research.

As regards remarks about it being legal to fish pretty much anywhere, that is broadly true. However, whether a thing being legal as opposed to right or prudent, that is another matter. We all know the story of the goose that laid the golden egg and while it wasn't illegal to kill the goose, it wasn't the smartest move either, was it? Similarly, trawling the backside out of spawning or nursery areas around the shore, or having bizzare quotas or minimum landing sizes below first spawning size isn't the smartest either....