Lenny

Sounds like you have every reason to rant. Recreational spear fishing is such a low volume, low impact, highly selective, sustainable form of fishing. It seems often govts. & commissions seem to make the rules by consulting only the professional, commercial fisherman - the (only) ones that are a real threat to fish & sea foods stocks & environment . That's not to say all pros. are bad, just that they are the ones equipped to do most damage - and history tells us that the professionals have an insatiable desire to increase their fleets & catch, even to the point of their own destruction by exterminating all the fish (e.g. UK herring fleets, UK pilchard industry, Med. tuna fleets) or their environment (e.g. scallop dredging, Yorkshire Blue fin tuna fishing, sandeels).

Wembury (S. Devon) not Woolacombe (N. Devon). Pity, my brother knows somebody with a holiday home for rent in Woolacombe. Typical!

Hi Lenny, not yet but hopefully in the coming season. Although I think there are a few large saltwater crays (I believe a guy is trying to re-establish them somewhere in S. Devon, Woolacombe maybe?) and a lot of small freshwater American Signal crays (which are considered vermin, unlike the smaller native species, and tasty) we mainly have crab (spider & edible/brown) and lobster. Lots of limpets too. I also got new lobster/crab trap for Christmas to try out, it is square & flat; supposedly can catch flatties in it too, as it has a wide, slot opening.

Been thinking of using bait/chumming more in the coming season.