dogfish slaughter

[doggie3131]

I was down at old head in louisburgh with the girlfriend and the dogs,there was a small trawler fishing up and down the coastjust outside the bay, as we were about to go the trawler came in.I wandered down to see what he had,4 boxes of doggies one box of flounder,and two thornback ray, and hidden under an other box a bass i think, cant swear on the bass! I played innocent and asked whither the doggies could be eaten,the reply, na we just use them for the crab pots, No wonder there are no doggies been caught anywhere if this is what all the small boats are doing!

[wayne riley]

from what i was told of a local on wickkow peir a while ago they seem 2 be doin the same there 2 as its a cheap bait

[kenf41]

what a waste hopefully we wont go back to the days when they were weighed after a competition and then dumped in a skip

[doggie3131]

Its so wrong,the one fish that has saved many a blank,we treat them well,get them in quick,a fast photo and back in the water to be enjoyed again,just for those ba*****ds to do that,it sickens me!!

[fishingquinn]

the swilly has been the same nearly devoid of doggies and from what i hear the crabbers are targeting wrasse and other really none table fish just to bait there fecking pots excuse my tone of voice

[gfkelly1969]

maybe this is why Article 47 and a few more Articles might not be a bad idea
any trawler caught with none table fish and under size fish or bass should be fined very heavy,so heavy that they would think twice about breaking the rules

[anthony2carr]

On Blacktock pier in Killybegs, on one occassion I saw 6 fish boxes full of thornbacks.

I ask you how that kind of fishing could be sustainable.

[slowarm]

The thing that annoys the sh*t out of me about this is that 1/2 a can of chunky cat food in an old stocking tied in a pot will do the job - probably better than doggie or wrasse. Lidl/Aldi cat food at someting like 20c a tin would more than make up the trawling costs. Even the bits and pieces from a butchers bin would do the job.

[BASS POINT]

Dunmore co Waterford the same have seen up to a doz box,s waiting to be picked on the dock.
Pictures on Rinnashark sac web site did not get much reaction seems we can not stop them collecting cheap bait for the crab pots.
under size fish also used

http://i41.servimg.com/u/f41/12/11/71/27/fish213.jpg

[dunner]

Plus ... all the good fish being dumped at sea because their over quota......it will all end in tears...no fish no jobs no future....and someone else will always be to blame......

[tazdogue]

Thats a pity if thats the way things are going to go!!! Doggies have saved many a blank session.

[captain AHAB]

Hi lads,this has been going on for a couple of years now with devestating effect but thankfully there is hope.the sfpa/dept of marine have slashed the days at sea for bottom trawling the irish sea.given that 99% of boats fishing the irish sea target prawns this effects them all.28 days was the most allocated with alot of boats only receiving 9/10 days to be used by end april.this comes directly from the E.U and britain are expected to follow suit.thankfully the sfpa seem to have finally found a backbone and apparently are not budging,this is part of an overall stock recovery plan and should it fail the irish sea will be closed to bottom trawling completely.in my opinion this will fail so i expect the irish sea to be closed to bottom trawling within 3 years.

[doggie3131]

Hi lads,this has been going on for a couple of years now with devestating effect but thankfully there is hope.the sfpa/dept of marine have slashed the days at sea for bottom trawling the irish sea.given that 99% of boats fishing the irish sea target prawns this effects them all.28 days was the most allocated with alot of boats only receiving 9/10 days to be used by end april.this comes directly from the E.U and britain are expected to follow suit.thankfully the sfpa seem to have finally found a backbone and apparently are not budging,this is part of an overall stock recovery plan and should it fail the irish sea will be closed to bottom trawling completely.in my opinion this will fail so i expect the irish sea to be closed to bottom trawling within 3 years.

hi capt ahab,This particular boat has being doing this since october,have witnessed this a few times,same boat,same lads,so unless this is policed,then this directive seems a waste of time!!

[captain AHAB]

these measures came into effect in january and all boats must have a vms unit onboard which is basically a tracking device which tells where the boat is at all times.it is an offence to disconnect the unit and the boat will be contacted immediately should the signal dissapear,for obvious reasons.

[Tanglerat]

Aren't potters obliged by law to buy their bait now? I thought they were no longer allowed to catch their own.

I seem to remember reading in the latest Irish Skipper about some of them whinging at the price of bait - €700 a tonne, I think - and the wanted to be allowed to carry one or two trammel nets to catch Ballan Wrasse (because they're non-quota!) for bait.

Might be worthwhile following that up.

[captain AHAB]

your right man,but these boats are selling their catch for bait(some privately but mostly to large processors).it is still illegal for a potter to catch their own bait.btw dogs and crab bodies are mostly used for whelk pots which is another unsustainable fishery and part of the reason for the lack of adult cod in the irish sea as the whelk along with the prawn make up a major part of their diet.

[rustyhookthomas]

Thats a pity if thats the way things are going to go!!! Doggies have saved many a blank session.

whiting will be next! i just found a pic of me with a fine arklow plaice from the '80's.
it is hitting home now!...
back then my dad was telling me about the salmon he used to catch as a kid in the avoca river! literally across the road from his house.

[eric]

just on a side note, surely its plausible that a sythetic, scenty bait (gulp for instace) could be experimented with for whelk pots. im sure it could be done on a cheap basis

[captain AHAB]

dogs cost about 38cent/kilo and seem to be the best bait as they take a very long time to rot.

[oneillphil]

They have een doing it in Wicklow for years, fish box upon fish box of doggies
for the whelk pots.
Doesn't matter how many are out practices like this that kill large numbers
of any species will cut numbers