Guernsey 2015

[ep_haury]

Hello again. More questions.

How often does it rain in Guernsey in the winter? How often are they big storms, how often gentle?

Are there any seaweeds there that could be woven into a workable net to catch fish? Doesn't have to be a big net, just serviceable. I could imagine that if there were any good seaweed nets, they're probably not made now outside of crafts projects, but could they be made?

Since I haven't posted for a while, for those who don't know, I'm this guy: https://forums.deeperblue.com/threa...bout-mermaids-not-a-mermaid-who-writes.77768/

 

[Donald Fraser]

How often does it rain in Guernsey in the winter? How often are they big storms, how often gentle?

Well that's like asking what mood will my wife be in when I get home?
Every year seems to be changing with last year's "Indian summer" who knows what this year will bring. So far its been a very mild winter and an early spring.
We tend to have high winds over winter, but not necessarily associated with a storm like what you get in US. I would say it rains 50% of the time but you'd be better looking up the statistics. Guernsey have been very good at collecting met data for years now and annual reports can be found at: www dot metoffice dot gov dot gg / annualwxreports dot html

Are there any seaweeds there that could be woven into a workable net to catch fish? Doesn't have to be a big net, just serviceable. I could imagine that if there were any good seaweed nets, they're probably not made now outside of crafts projects, but could they be made?

There are a few kelp forests around the coast which might be possible to make into a net. Not really my area of expertise only to say I have seen them whilst diving. The easiest one to find is near Castle Cornet on the entry into Havelet Bay.

Anyone else got better answers?

 

[Donald Fraser]

I'm new to this forum and haven't been diving for a few years now but have come here to ask questions, which I can see have been asked before. Unfortunately the threads are so old that I don't see any answers.

My questions are related to scallops and yes I have dived for them on the odd occasion and have enjoyed the mouth watering enjoyment of eating them fresh that day!

I enjoyed reading Old Man Dave's April 26 2005 history of scallops in Guernsey and from that and my own experiences it would seem the conditions for them to thrive here in Guernsey are good.

So can anyone tell me why scallops are not farmed here in Guernsey?

Cheers
Don

 

[foxfish]

Hi Donald, welcome to the forum.
You could say scallops and lobsters are in fact farmed but in the open sae rather than in enclosed environments.
The local supply is easily catered for by the numerous scuba divers that harvest scallops year round, taking size specimens and returning or leaving any small one for another day!
Lobsters and crabs are even more intensively farmed because they are effectively fed with pot bait until large enough to be taken.
There are many thousands of pots in the surrounding sea that are baited each day & many captured lobsters are returned to get bigger after they have eaten the bait.
The biggest threat to our seas are the huge English trawlers & dredgers that work the West coast & destroy the breeding grounds!

 

[foxfish]

Hello again. More questions

Are there any seaweeds there that could be woven into a workable net to catch fish? Doesn't have to be a big net, just serviceable. I could imagine that if there were any good seaweed nets, they're probably not made now outside of crafts projects, but could they be mad

I guese in a fictitious way it might be possible to weave a large net in one of the kelp beds & chase fish into it!

 

[Donald Fraser]

The biggest threat to our seas are the huge English trawlers & dredgers that work the West coast & destroy the breeding grounds!

Well tell me if I am wrong, however I believe that you can have dedicated areas for commercial farming and such areas would make it illegal for dredges, trawlers and recreational divers to operate in those zones. These areas can be secured by obtaining a "Several Fishery Order" via DEFRA gov.uk. Therefore even if commercial farming techniques are not deployed one could protect those critical areas.
Do the waters outside our 3 mile limits come under UK territory ? That would be the key to securing such sites.

 

[Donald Fraser]

Finally if the waters do not come under UK territory there are such things as anti-dredging devices - massive concrete structures that snag dredging devices. Maybe the States (of Guernsey) would consider that as an investment into the future protection of our resources?

 

[foxfish]

Hmmm good ideas ... good luck getting them in motion!
If you can get the states of Guernsey to do anything for the benefit of our local waters - or even more difficult, the States sea fisheries - then there will be crown of cheering supporters following you around

 

[Rouge Moullet]

Just a quick heads up guys......... BBc2 @ 9.00pm tonight ....." hunters of the south seas"
Looks like some awesome breathholds might be on show.

 

[little sarge]

Just a quick heads up guys......... BBc2 @ 9.00pm tonight ....." hunters of the south seas"
Looks like some awesome breathholds might be on show.

Thanks for posting this. It was a interesting and eye opening watch.

 

[foxfish]

Just goes to show how fish stocks are under pressure everywhere in the world!
The presenter was on the One Show last week and mentioned how devoid of life the sea was, he said there were no big fish to be seen!

 

[ep_haury]

Turns out there are seaweed ropes. Native people from British Colombia made it, at least. It's fine in water, but brittle when dry. Pity I can't get a good view now, but if ropes are doable, nets should be, too. Oarweed, I'd guess.

I have another question, filed probably in the "mermaids would more likely do this than human beings" category. And I have a terminology problem. Here's hoping I'm describing this well. So, those. . . well, they're rocky reefs when underwater. But at low tide, when they're above water, are they small islands? Rocks? Anyway, those rocky things near your islands' shore.

Are there any reefs/rocks that could be comfortable for groups to sit upon at low tide when they're exposed to the air? To work, a reef/rock would also have to be large enough for a group of a dozen or more to sit on. Maybe instead of one such rock, a bunch of close rocks would work to hold them all. Also it has to be practical to safely swim to such a rock, otherwise they could;t get there.. I'd like to set a conversation set on such a rock/reef/thing, but I can't tell if the environment will cooperate. From a distance, a lot of those rocks seem narrow and with a lot of sharp corners and edges to sit on. Even scales might not be enough protection. Are these rocks/reefs safer that they appear?

I'm willing to create a convenient environment for this scene, but only if its plausible in the Chanel Islands.

 

[foxfish]

There are thousands of exposed reefs at low tide, every shape & size you can imagine - they are still called reefs whether underwater or above water, some are very large some have beacons or lighthouses on them but there are just so many I don't see how you could count them!
Look for a Guernsey chart & you will be able to work out which ones are covered at high water, many hundreds have names...
It might help you if you owned a Guernsey chart?
https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=guernsey+sea+chart+pictures

 

[ep_haury]

Well, if they are every size and shape I can imagine, that makes it easier for me. And there are fairly smooth ones, I'm assuming. That would be where they choose to sit.

 

[Magpie]

The attached picture shows the same stretch of coastline Eric. Low tide on the left, high tide on the right. The whole shot is about a mile top to bottom.

As you can see, and as Foxfish says, there are exposed reefs of all sizes. Some of them you could comfortably fit hundreds of people on. You couldn't call them smooth, these aren't flat rocks, but there's always somewhere to park yerself if you want to.

 

[ep_haury]

Well, I reviewed some of Sue Daly's videos (always good to do a few times a year) and her books as well as some useful YouTube videos about kayaking around Sark. It looks like some of the reefs are, above the waterline, fairly bare, which is good. Is that accurate?

 

[Magpie]

Yes, pretty bare. If they're above the high tide line but not large enough to have soil on they will be bare rock with usually a healthy dose of gull cr*p. Below high tide line they'd be mostly bare, save for barnacles and limpets, until you get to near the low tide line where may be covered in weed.

 

[ep_haury]

Good, that should work. Thank you all. By the way, the thing that I call "the ring around the island," does that mark have a distinct texture?

 

[little sarge]

Went west today and can confirm 3 things:
1. The viz is pretty good.
2. There are plenty of bass around.
3. My aim is very rusty!

Good to get in and hopefully some good signs for the season ahead. Except the rusty aim of course.

 

[little sarge]

Another trip out west with Jonny today. Vis was good again except in the odd patch. Started to feel the cold by the end of the dive. Glad to be taking a bass home for tea after waking up at 4am this morning thinking about missed bass from yesterday's dive. Plus the wife would have given me a right ribbing about all the gear no idea if I went home fish less again.