BSA MCZ News & Discussion

[artiz]

Artizan or whatever your name is.

The BSA is thriving with two new clubs starting up, many new members and a thriving Face Book page. I like many other divers don’t bother to look at Deeper Blue any more due to your constant negative comments. This page was set up to keep all spearos up to date on any breaking news, not as a platform for you to air your views, if you want to keep up your negative approach start your own thread.

Erica or whatever your name is.

The DB forum IS exactly that... a platform for everyone to air their views???
Which century are you living in? Yours and short-term views similar to yours will no doubt contribute in the coming years to unreasonable restriction and the uninformed regulation of spearfishing in the UK?

For many/most of us spearfishing is NOT a competitive sport... it's far more important than that! It's a way of life which now clearly necessitates a sustainable, ethical, progressive and thoughtful approach which may even secure a longer-term future for spearfishing in the UK... and in particular for our offspring, their offspring and so on?

Wake up mate... time for progress and change... this is OUR watch?

The British Spearfishing Association should now represent us ALL - whatever our views... but more importantly regarding the future of spearfishing in the UK.

 

[Kars]

I'm not a submitter to Facebook , and one of the reasons I have for that is the shielded nature of this company. I like the publicly accessible media such as Deeperblue.

Please do not use ad hominem and other fallacies. These will not change the reader's mind, but rather invokes defensive and offensive reactions. However such emotional attacks can block the receivers from thinking rationally, by stirring the fight-flight instinct.

About 'constant negative comments' and 'your negative approach'. Please try harder to see value in what is mend to be said. In the Netherlands we have a saying, "a good listener only needs half an ear". Focus on the gold and not the dust in people's comments, if you will please see the value and positives in people's contributions.

I know a few people that are whistle blowers, they are seen as bringers of bad news, pessimistic people. Learning their bases for their 'negative' world view, one often learns these actually are realistic views.

The difficulty is to build up a good army of resisters, especially with the overwhelming odds. To have this army one needs to sell the action of resistance, and to do this best to a wide group, one needs an optimistic view. Most will not get involved with a mission impossible. In a recruiting office for the army one does not hear the realism of war. So in conclusion I would say hear critical people, and if you feel it's not the right spot, have another spot where people can communicate their deep worries and insights.

I hope this helps all.

 

[mirror]

Hi !, to anyone at the BSA, or DB, recently in my local area ( S DEVON ) I have read several newspaper articles . , and saw a brief article on my regional news , about the decline in bass stocks ( 32% since 2009 , if I correctly recall !) Some organisations , in particular a bass angling society have suggested an increase to a MLS of 48cm, and a ban on netting in less than 10 metres of water , others have suggested a complete ban in all nursery areas , and also a maximum size restriction . Have members of the BSA ( who seem to be amongst the most prolific and experienced spearos ) noticed a significant drop in bass ( seen or caught ) ? Is there any potential new legislation being proposed ? and has anyone been consulted on this ? and what legislation do you think would be realistically acceptable ? I understand in Ireland a 2 fish bag limit is law , how , why , and when did this come about , and has it been a success ? Terry...

 

[Yeti]

Just my opinion but I've always thought it made more sense to have a max size than minimum. Big fish are big for a reason. Health and general ability to stay alive being a couple of reasons. Long may they breed that into future generations!

Unfortunately I do however think that it would be the hardest thing to introduce in a practical sense into net fishing for obvious reasons. For commercial fishing by kilo it would also simply mean more fish need to be caught per quota I guess?? Shame there is no simple solution.:waterwork

 

[eric aqua]

Hi
In the Sussex area there has been a real shortage of bass this year and we thought it might be that we had four pairs of Beam Trawlers working for three months as close as two hundred yards from the shore. It was only as the season progressed that we found the catches were down all around the south coast on the inshore marks but the offshore wrecks to 25mts were producing some big fish. We had a year in the eighties when no bass over
4lbs were caught by our club so as you see seasons do vary. The main culprit this year I think is the weather with a very cold spring keeping the water temperature below 7o right up until the end of May. Over the last few years huge beds of Jap weed have been increasing in size until they covered a two mile stretch of the shallows off Worthing in Sussex this year because of the cold spring it hardly started. This was a real nursery for small bass up to three pounds so if we lost this weed bank many more around the south coast may not have developed as well. I have kept records since I started spearfishing 50 years ago but it is still very hard to draw comparisons. I am catching as many bass (including this year) as others but my experience, knowledge and gear have improved dramatically over the years but I can honestly say there were many more bass about when I started. Lets see what happens next year before taking any knee jerk reactions.

 

[artiz]

Recent publication (16.7.2013) of the Government's (DEFRA's) 'final response' to proposals for the new 127 MCZ's (here or click image below)...



It is a big read but if you can be bothered give it a go for a better understanding of the issues which will affect us in the near and longer term future... particularly regarding Labour getting into power next year... they financed/sponsored the original 127 MCZ proposal's?

It would be interesting to hear the BSA's official take/response to the Governments final responses here please?

P.S. Marine Conservation Society Response Press Release here

 

[artiz]

My motives here have always been for a unified association which can represent spearfishing at the highest political, public and social levels.
Currently the BSA is definitely making progress on some fronts and so far so good. They responded appropriately for recognition as a National/British stakeholder in the MCZ process.(see Annex A, DEFRA document above) Why was this important… spearfishing in our island’s coastal seas could now be facing direct/indirect regulation for the first time ever… making intelligent representation critical for every single one of us… including the youngster who has just bought his/her first gun to the old bloke retiring to his hard-earned bolt hole next to an MCZ by-the-sea!
To achieve the best possible outcomes for all spearo’s in the UK 'WE' now need to be a coherent, unified body which clearly projects not only ethical, sustainable practices but also accommodates ALL forms of spearfishing from beginner to competitor. Officially recognised association training facilities wouldn’t go amiss either?
However for as long as competitive spearfishing has the total dominance it currently enjoys over the BSA… how, what & where we can spearfish will be the unforgivable future loss for all of us and our sons/daughters and even more so if we continue to do nothing about our increasingly precarious situation!
The sticking point as always is powerful individuals refusing to adapt and accept change… you know who you are and so does everyone else now… it’s also more than obvious what you should be doing with your somewhat short sighted but considerable influence?
The current situation is clear; our coastal seas have recently become political capital via European legislation and international public opinion and accordingly at the mercy and whim of an uninformed majority vote... as well as our own time-wasting disharmony. A unified British Spearfishing Association which has representatives from Wales, Scotland and the whole of England, (N.I, Channel Islands etc?) rather than just the south and south-west is clearly now, and for the future of UK spearfishing, extremely important.
Consequently a more explicit partnership with Deeperblue, its moderators and its regular contributors is just one progressive way forward. Not only regarding increasingly important public and social representations but also as a powerful publicly accessible media resource (HD underwater video links, digital written accounts/observations/species counts etc.) which could be brought to future MCZ 'management' negotiating tables.
I became a paid up member of the BSA as well as a DB site supporter because I very much want to see effective change regarding the representation of spearfishing at the highest and most influential levels which could ensure my 16 year old son would/can also enjoy 35+ years of unregulated, unhindered, ethical/sustainable marine hunting/caretaking as well as a voluntary underwater researcher perhaps?
There’s still time for a unique, unified association to approach DEFRA and the marine protection management process/science requesting a more influential role or perhaps a willing research resource regarding under & some above water observation of marine life in the UK’s coastal waters… at night and all year round for some... we are far and away the most practical, specialised, geographically spread and experiencially qualified marine divers to do so. Our (+ freedivers) HD video observations of marine life are not negated by underwater breathing equipment and therefore vastly superior regarding marine life observation and its natural behaviour/s within its natural habitat/s... marine research gold dust!
Conversely there’s also room for an appropriate competitive sector which should now take a brave step backwards out of the limelight for not only current political/public perceptions sake but more importantly for the long term future of spearfishing in OUR coastal waters.

The 31 probable sites which will be designated/implemented in England (only) later this year are here in red… as for Wales and Scotland???