Buoys halt trawlers

i may not be the architypal activist as i am an active spearfisherman on the south coast of England. although i make no apologies for my actions as a hunter and fisherman in our waters, i must make a point that as a responsible person, who takes the conservation of sea life in these waters seriously, i am apalled at what i see on a daily basis in this, a major breeding area for sea bream and bass. A single pair of trawlers whose actions are seemingly invisible to the authorities whose "JOB" it is to protect such areas, are devastating the breeding grounds of these fish to whom the reef off Bognor Regis is the main grounds to which they are attracted each year because of its natural topography. they are closely followed by large numbers of bass and pollack who follow the bream as they hollow out their nests on the sea bed thus uncovering an inordinate amount of natural prey in the process.
Each year, bream come to this oasis to spawn in their tens of thousands and each year they are persecuted earlier and earlier before they even get a chance to breed. I have witnessed the process of bream making a nest and it is a long winded process before a mating is succesfull and roe is released. Even though i enjoy catching a few bream for personal consumption over the summer period, i would support a complete ban on this species starting immediately in order to try and preserve remaining stocks for future generations. I recently contacted the fisheries by mobile phone as i witnessed a pair of trawlers 150 Mtrs from the beach actively fishing only to be told there was nothing they could do to stop this heinous practice due to some ridiculously outdated byelaw which to my mind ,as a byelaw can quite easily be overturned. Local fishermen in this area have now turned to potting as a means of earning a living as there are not enough fish to go around. How can it be right that the greed of a couple of skippers is allowed to destroy not only an entire eco system by overfishing, but the livelihood of a whole coastal region is put in jeopardy by the inaction of a body put in place to protect both of these factions! Yes this may seem like sour grapes as i am a spearfisherman, but i fish in a wholly sustainable way and i do not kill indescriminately and i do not dump tonnes of healthy fish, dead, back into the sea nor do i interfere with the local economy in any way by my actions. The same cannot be said of pair trawlers in this area who are out here every day from early May onwards sometimes within a stones throw of the beach, purely for profit with absolutely no regard for the future of the species that they target far too effectively. I also suspect that the visibility in this area is virtually nil due to nets being dragged along the bottom as apposed to mid water fishing as is the accepted policy. The scum on the surface which i have only witnessed after a dredger has been in the area seems to support my observations. What chance do future generations of breeding fish have if this continues nor indeed fishermen themselves. Nursery areas need protection from over exploitation for profit. Pair trawling is a wholly unacceptable practice in inshore waters and it is long overdue a total ban before it is too late although i fear we are maybe too late to be heard by the ungovorning, govorning powers that be!

i may not be the architypal activist as i am an active spearfisherman on the south coast of England. although i make no apologies for my actions as a hunter and fisherman in our waters, i must make a point that as a responsible person, who takes the conservation of sea life in these waters seriously, i am apalled at what i see on a daily basis in this, a major breeding area for sea bream and bass. A single pair of trawlers whose actions are seemingly invisible to the authorities whose "JOB" it is to protect such areas, are devastating the breeding grounds of these fish to whom the reef off Bognor Regis is the main grounds to which they are attracted each year because of its natural topography. they are closely followed by large numbers of bass and pollack who follow the bream as they hollow out their nests on the sea bed thus uncovering an inordinate amount of natural prey in the process. Each year, bream come to this oasis to spawn in their tens of thousands and each year they are persecuted earlier and earlier before they even get a chance to breed. I have witnessed the process of bream making a nest and it is a long winded process before a mating is succesfull and roe is released. Even though i enjoy catching a few bream for personal consumption over the summer period, i would support a complete ban on this species starting immediately in order to try and preserve remaining stocks for future generations. I recently contacted the fisheries by mobile phone as i witnessed a pair of trawlers 150 Mtrs from the beach actively fishing only to be told there was nothing they could do to stop this heinous practice due to some ridiculously outdated byelaw which to my mind ,as a byelaw can quite easily be overturned. Local fishermen in this area have now turned to potting as a means of earning a living as there are not enough fish to go around. How can it be right that the greed of a couple of skippers is allowed to destroy not only an entire eco system by overfishing, but the livelihood of a whole coastal region is put in jeopardy by the inaction of a body put in place to protect both of these factions! Yes this may seem like sour grapes as i am a spearfisherman, but i fish in a wholly sustainable way and i do not kill indescriminately and i do not dump tonnes of healthy fish, dead, back into the sea nor do i interfere with the local economy in any way by my actions. The same cannot be said of pair trawlers in this area who are out here every day from early May onwards sometimes within a stones throw of the beach, purely for profit with absolutely no regard for the future of the species that they target far too effectively. I also suspect that the visibility in this area is virtually nil due to nets being dragged along the bottom as apposed to mid water fishing as is the accepted policy. The scum on the surface which i have only witnessed after a dredger has been in the area seems to support my observations. What chance do future generations of breeding fish have if this continues nor indeed fishermen themselves. Nursery areas need protection from over exploitation for profit. Pair trawling is a wholly unacceptable practice in inshore waters and it is long overdue a total ban before it is too late although i fear we are maybe too late to be heard by the ungovorning, govorning powers that be!