Proposed Scallop ban in Falmouth Bay

[dave]

After several years of trying to dodge their responsibilities, DEFRA and Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee are finally bringing in a byelaw banning scallop dredging in the Falmouth and Helford Special Area of Conservation in order to protect the maerl beds and other sensitive benthic habitats (HOORAY!) This has only finally happened because of the threat of legal action from Europe

The only slight fly in the ointment, is that there is a further proposal to ban the take of scallops by ALL methods within the area
Cornwall County Council - Sea Fisheries News

This would shut off most of the scallop beds in Cornwall accessible to divers, and all those available to freedivers, which to me seems grossly unfair.

The DEFRA consultation for the dredging ban is here
Defra, UK - Consultations - Consultation on measures to protect the Fal and Helford Special Area of Conservation (SAC) from the impacts of fishing with dredges and other towed gear

If you feel strongly about this, I would suggest replying to the DEFRA consultation, supporting the dredge ban, but objecting to a blanket ban on the take of scallops.
The contact email for Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee, who will be discussing the scallop ban at their next meeting is Enquiries.seafisheries@cornwall.gov.uk

The dredging ban is coming anyway, objecting to the blanket ban will NOT jeopardise the dredge ban.

cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

 

[Spaniard]

Thanks for info. Dave, I will be sending email!

 

[Old Man Dave]

Dredgers wrecked our scallop beds. They've never fully recovered. Dredging like trawling shouldn't be alowed inshore.

Dave

 

[dave]

According to this article from "Fishing News" it is actually divers , not dredgers who are the threat to scallop stocks:head
The article would be quite funny, were it not being apparently taken seriously by DEFRA. It is actually cited as a reference on the announcement on the Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee website. (I have never heard of an opinion piece from a trade paper being used to justify a byelaw before)
The writer of the article, Mike Kaiser is a fisheries scientist who has spent a lot of time cosying up to the scallop dredgers, and has recently been appointed as a DEFRA advisor. He attended the inaugural meeting of the South West Inshore Scallopers Association (a dredgers organisation formed to fight the closure of areas of Lyme Bay to dredging) where he was described in their press release as "a friendly fisheries scientist"
The Radio 4 Food Programme about scallop diving mentioned in the article can be found here BBC - Radio 4 - The Food Programme and is quite interesting
Jim Portus of the Inshore Scallopers Association does not come across well (to say the least....) again claiming divers are a threat to scallop stocks. You can see why he was straight on the phone afterwards to "a friendly fisheries scientist" to try and do some damage limitation

cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

 

[Pastor]

According to this article from "Fishing News" it is actually divers , not dredgers who are the threat to scallop stocks:head

These fishing dudes actually believe this! Did you guys read that argument I had on that fishing forum that tecdave linked too in the North Wales thread? They truly believe that we can sit on the bottom and take a whole shoal of Mullet just like that. I don't want in any way to re start an old argument but what is needed is to try and bring the responsible and selective gathering side of underwater hunting to the general public.

 

[Marwan]

Pastor, time for that biscuit cutter after all.. stingray scallops for you mate
i hate it when this Sh*t happens

 

[Old Man Dave]

A brief history of scallop diving in Guernsey. Well my version of it anyway. http://forums.deeperblue.net/537407-post12.html

Dave

 

[devondave]

Dredgers wrecked our scallop beds. They've never fully recovered. Dredging like trawling shouldn't be alowed inshore.

Dave

Ageed !:rcard

 

[devondave]

oops spell checker off , meant areeed

 

[dave]

These fishing dudes actually believe this! Did you guys read that argument I had on that fishing forum that tecdave linked too in the North Wales thread? They truly believe that we can sit on the bottom and take a whole shoal of Mullet just like that.

At least fishermen have the excuse of ignorance. Mike Kaiser, the writer of the Fishing News article is a highly qualified fisheries scientist, who must know most of what he has written in that article is rubbish. He also knows all about the damage done to the sea bed by scallop dredgers, having done some very well known research off Start Point comparing dredged and undredged areas. Despite this he allies himself very closely with the dredging lobby, I am sure he has his reasons.............

cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

 

[James T]

My letter:

Dear Sir or Madam,

I would like to lend my support for the ban on scallop dredging/trawling by towed methods. However I completely disagree with the banning of freedived scallops. I am an active spearfisherman and freediver and as such am completely selective about the fish and shellfish I take for my own table.

I believe the active engagement of amateur divers and spearfishermen in selectively taking food from the sea encourages positive and informed stewardship of the sea and its resources and should not be included as part of the ban of the indiscriminate and destructive practice of dredging/trawling for scallops.

The amount of damage done by scallop dredging to the sea environment is truly staggering and would be criminal in performed above the water line. I dive regularly in the Lyme Bay area and have witnessed first hand the massive scale of destruction to the marine environment by scallop dredgers. Much of this will never recover to the past state as it relied on underwater soft rock structures which have been levelled by the dredgers. There is absolutely no comparison between this kind of scalloping and that associated with hand caught scalloping performed by freedivers.

Please ban scallop dredging in the Falmouth Bay area but please do not include hand caught scalloping in these measures.

Best regards,

James

 

[SurfnSpear]

I would like to wholly register my support towards the measures being taken against the despicable dredging and towing methods to catch scallops in this area. I do however wish to ask that you employ some reasoned sense with regard to banning scallop taking by hand. I am a freediver who uses his lungs to collect some for my personal consumption and I cannot see what you would achieve by penalising recreational hand divers. You know full well that it is commercial entities stripping the UK waters of fish and shellfish on a detrimental scale.:rcard

 

[spaghetti]

At least fishermen have the excuse of ignorance. Mike Kaiser, the writer of the Fishing News article is a highly qualified fisheries scientist, who must know most of what he has written in that article is rubbish. He also knows all about the damage done to the sea bed by scallop dredgers, having done some very well known research off Start Point comparing dredged and undredged areas. Despite this he allies himself very closely with the dredging lobby, I am sure he has his reasons.............
[/url]

He must be somehow "embedded" with fisheries organization? We have lots of those "scientists" on our media.
Now why accuse divers?
1) They're just spoiling the discourse from pointing out the objective responsabilities.
2) this way they will gain some more years of "free hands" to be free to continue doing what they're doing.
3) when finally they'll have the disaster completed, they'll ask for subsidies to reconvert their activities in something different and, no doubt, as "environment friendly" as the previous.
You have my solidarity, boys. Stand up and speak clear to your people! DIVERS UNITED!!!

 

[James T]

Nice one - just send your emails to the link provided by Dave at the beginning of this thread - if you feel strongly about it. (Enquiries.seafisheries@cornwall.gov.uk)

 

[dave]

Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee are meeting this Friday, April 18, at 10am in the main council chamber of New County Hall in Truro
The byelaw banning all take of scallops in Falmouth Bay will be voted on at this meeting.
The public are allowed to attend the meeting, but not to speak at it.
If anyone fancies seeing "democracy in action" I will see you there!
cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

 

[UK Spearo]

let us know the feed back Dave..... hope it ends up as a sensible vote!

 

[dave]

If anyone fancies doing some more emailing, here is a list of Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee members

Committees: Committee Membership

If you click on the names you get email address etc for each member
Since the councillors on the committee are elected officials, emails from concerned members of the public may just make a difference
I think the big issue here is the complete lack of public consultation before closing off a huge area to recreational users.
If anyone wants suggestions of what to write, email or pm me

cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

 

[dave]

Went to the Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee meeting today. Possibly one of the most depressing experiences of my life. The motion to ban all scallop collection in Falmouth Bay was carried
I still cannot believe that this bunch of ignorant, mouthbreathing cretins (and others like them around the country) are in charge of our inshore fisheries.
Despite some excellent points from the Cornwall Wildlife Trust and Environment Agency reps, everyone else seemed to think that if scallop dredging is banned, it would not be fair to allow anyone else to collect scallops (the fact that dredging is being banned because it destroys seabed features seemed not to compute) Out of the 25 committee members present, I think 14 had direct commercial fishing connections, and 2 of the County Councillor members admitted during the debate that they know nothing about the fishing industry or fisheries issues.
Recreational users were not just disregarded, they weren't even mentioned. As far as the Committee were concerned, the seas around Cornwall exist only for the benefit of the commercial fishing industry
The next stage is the public consultation, which is led by DEFRA. Hopefully something can be salvaged at that stage

cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

 

[fearthespear]

Dave, thanks for your efforts...:head

 

[devondave]

Yeah Dave thanks , i fear laws and by-laws promoting sustainable and ecologically sound methods of taking fish & shellfish are a long way off , sad indeed .