Mackerel

[Stan]

Been out solidly for the last week. 3 mackerel in total from boat . Seems to be the case in many parts of the E & S coast. I wonder is there any reason for this

[donal domeney]

read all about it here http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0716/462676 ... l-iceland/

[garymaxima]

it's very worrying. the way things are on certain parts of the east coast, i'm finding it easier to locate and hook tope than macks.....

[The Austrian]

overfishing from Iceland and the Faroe Islands is the cause: http://www.sea-angling-ireland.org/bull ... 12&t=43715

"Mr Coveney said foreign trawlers have been brought in by the Faroese to catch the fish “because their own fleet couldn’t cope”.
He said Iceland and the Faroe Islands had decided to “help themselves” to as much mackerel as they can catch “by unilateraly setting their own quotas”. Mr Coveney said the stock, which is shared between several countries, was now being put at risk.
“They have simply refused to negotiate anykind of a reasonable settlement and so we have been forced to take tougher action,” he said."

[donal domeney]

Reported here first http://www.sea-angling-ireland.org/bull ... IC#p275926

[Ashley Hayden]

overfishing from Iceland and the Faroe Islands is the cause

Not true Austrian if one accepts that the North East Atlantic mackerel resource is publicly owned, no single country, trade configuration, individual, or commercial entity owns the resource. Countries, people, and businesses lay claim to it but that's a different dynamic.

It is not correct to blame Iceland and the Faroe Islands for the wholesale destruction of a key biological resource, what right does the EU have to remove upwards of 500,000 tonne a year out of the resource and dig their heels in while the other guys remove 300,000 tonne.

Playing brinksmanship with mackerel as piggy in the middle is morally wrong especially when the scientific evidence pre 2012 put the N.E. Atlantic mackerel stock at between 2.5 and 3 million tonne. Between 2012 and year end 2013 upwards of 1.5 million tonne will have been removed from that aforementioned stock, and that's the reason mackerel are scarce around the Irish coast.

One maybe two years more of this without radical change in current practices and you are looking at a collapse.

See, http://www.anirishanglersworld.com/inde ... -mackerel/, written August 2012.

[Stephen8wood]

Could there be any truth to the water temperature argument though? The Buoy M5 temp today is 17.5c. Correct me if I'm wrong but macks like it a bit cooler than that? 13 -14 c?

[Holeopen]

The water was plenty cool in April, May and well into June and there was not a Mackerel to be had around the coastline around Kinsale.
To my mind this defeats the temp argument.

Overfishing by the Faroese and Icelanders is the most probable cause.

[fishonit]

its was just on the news today. the iceland and faroe island have expanded there quota by 40 % this year, selling massive stocks to russia, ITS OVER FISHING SIMPLE AS! u can tell me other wise but my mind is made up

[Ashley Hayden]

Of course it's over fishing, however your not going to solve the problem by pointing the finger and saying it's them and not us. The EU take half a million tonne, Iceland and the Faroe Islands 300,000 tonne, and who do they sell a percentage of it to, the EU of course so lets get real here.

This stand off over mackerel has being going on for four years, it's not hot off the press and at this stage is a moral issue.

By the way the temp' thesis is bogus, yes the mackerel now migrate further north, however their southerly range still holds.

The solution; split the accepted scientific quota, which at the present time will be less than the 500,000 tonne agreed pre 2012 between all interested parties and work to over time increase the target biomass to 3 - 4 million tonnes so enabling a larger cut to be creamed off in later years. That however is too logical for the average fishing industry decision maker.

[Stan]

Thanks for the replies. Overfishing would appear to be the problem.

This will have a huge knock-on effect on many other species. Mackerel are very much part of the food chain and so other species that feed on them will no doubt struggle to replace them as a source of food or even survive.

Mackerel favour temperatures above 13C but have no problem coping with warmer or colder temperatures.

In fact I fished in Redbay last year early in the year and the temp was 7C but there were shoals of mackerel to be caught.

It is typical of commercial fishing worldwide to keep fishing a species out of existence. Legislation is the only way forward with regards to this matter. Sustainable quotas must be imposed immediately. Should Iceland and the Faroes refuse to cooperate then sanctions should be imposed on them immediately.

[The Austrian]

Sorry Ashley, I find it a bit difficult to follow your logic in relation to a publicly owned resource when I compare these figures:

Faroe Islands
Population: 48,863

Iceland
Population: 319,014

European Union
Population: 507,890,191

Iceland and the Faroe Islands have simply "decided" to expand their quota to 50% of the entire NA mackerel stocks. This is way above their previous outtakes, utterly unfair when compared by population and simply so not acceptable.
And the water temperature argument is nothing short of cynical or does this automatically imply the right to just kill them all because they happen to be there? Selling the surplus for a juicy profit to Russia with no regards for stock recovery? This is morally wrong for sure.
To prevent damage to future stocks is the main reason why a quota regulation is in place and it should be enforced now!
The EU needs to show its teeth by imposing sanctions and force the Icelandic government into an agreed mackerel quota system!
On a side note, to further emphasise my point of how much these 2 small nations care for sustainability - Iceland has officially resumed its commercial hunting of fin whales after a two-year suspension by landing the first of an expected 180 whales in Hvalfjördur.

Here are some recent undercover pictures taken by Greenpeace, which show a harpooned whale being cut up for meat, most likely to be exported to Japan:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2 ... greenpeace

Furthermore, over 467 pilot whales were killed in Faroe Islands in 2012 because they believe the whale hunt is of cultural and traditional significance.
Read more: http://digitaljournal.com/article/330455#ixzz2ZEJ88hc0

Caring and environmental conscious nations? I don't think so!

[Tanglerat]

The mackeral were never traditionally in their waters. Now they are. What gives us the right to dictate to other soverign nations how they exploit their resources? Where will that end? It's economic imperialism and bully-boying.

We need to take a good long look at ourselves first, get a grip and cop ourselves on.

[fishonit]

yea the E.U sure cant point the finger as they are the worst if u ask me, but something has to be done! iceland and europe need to make an agreement and reduce the quota before its to late, if u cant fish a few macs, very sad stuff indeed

[Creep]

erm just to add to this thread, (great inputs everyone!) But my concern Is based on a selfish point of view of I only take home what i need, with these new Quotas, Im looking at the figures that various others posters put up, thinking to myself seriously how many tonnes of these fish will go to waste?

Theres also the knock on effects to marine Wildlife that this will also have. In the old days the trawlers didnt have the systems they do now which can land them on the fish in a heart beat, in the old days they relied on the skippers knowledge and luck, giving the all species of fish a fighting chance. after being out several times looking for Macs, I will be taking a few home BUT after that I wont be targeting them again, not until I see them come in a good numbers

[samo]

there was a bloke fishing for Mackerel off the back of the east harbour in Dun Laoghaire yesterday. swear to god.

[The Austrian]

there was a bloke fishing for Mackerel off the back of the east harbour in Dun Laoghaire yesterday. swear to god.

poor sod, might have been kicked out with no money for drink by TOWHTBO