Funding announced for fishing projects

DESPITE constant talk of government cuts, funding is to be made  available to fishermen and fishing companies in England  who want to improve their businesses, it has been announced.

The Marine Management Organisation - or MMO - says that the Fisheries Challenge Fund, which it oversees, can offer financial support to fishermen and other interested parties who want to look into improvements in the fishing industry.

Applications must be made by September  24th, 2010 and proposed research should: support the development of sustainable fisheries  and explore a fisheries management issue that is relevant to the UK fishing industry.

Applications can include all types of research and analysis, and do not need to be limited to biological, social and economic studies. About £70,000 is available to fund successful projects. Priority will be given to applications supporting regional advisory councils’ work, and those projects that will be complete before March 2011. The MMO says it has about  £70,000 available for successful projects and priority will be given to quality projects that meet the broad criteria outlined below. Proposals should be consistent with our, Defra's and the Common Fisheries Policy objective of sustainable fisheries and address a fisheries management issue that is relevant to part of the UK fishing industry.

Proposals can include all types of research and analysis, and will not be limited to biological, social and economic studies;
The purpose of the Fisheries Challenge Fund is to help improve fisheries management and help fishermen and other members of the industry become involved in that process. Inquiries should be sent to:fcf.queries@marinemanagement.org.uk

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Sea fishing legend Alan Yates calls for saltwater rod licence

By Angling Times

General News

24 August 2010 12:29

“It’s time that narrow-minded sea anglers woke up and put their hands in their pockets!” This is the impassioned reaction of a former England sea fishing international following news that recent proposals for a sea angling rod licence have been rubbished by the Government.

As previously reported in Angling Times, the proposals for the introduction of a licence to fish the UK’s coasts were slammed by anglers as ‘unfair’, with fisheries minister Richard Benyon responding to this by stating that the licence might not be ‘the best way to encourage angling in the UK’ - an admission that almost certainly spells the end of the proposal.

However, former England captain and hugely respected sea angler Alan Yates believes this would be a big mistake for the state of the UK sea angling as a whole.

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“It’s time that British sea anglers woke up to the fact that something needs to be done about our fishing, and the best way to do that is to get our money on the table to give us a voice,” said Alan.

“A lot of anglers say they wouldn’t pay to fish the sea until the fishing gets better, but the truth is that won’t happen until we put our hands in our pockets and pay to have our say.

“A sea licence is inevitable, and the majority of ‘serious’ sea anglers I speak to agree that the sooner it happens, the better,” he added.

Speaking to the Angling Times about the situation, Combe Martin Sea Angling Club chairman, Wayne Thomas, said: “Most of our members are opposed to a licence. Anglers just can’t see the value of paying to fish water where commercial fishermen have decimated stocks. But if we saw things improve I’m sure anglers would be happy to pay much more than the price of a licence.” The Angling Trust said it was ‘very pleased’ by the news that the fisheries minister had made a ‘solid statement’ about the proposal.

US Fishing Back on Track as Louisiana Orders Immediate Opening of Waters

Today, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission ordered an immediate opening of all state inshore and offshore territorial waters to recreational angling, including charter boat angling.

The areas opened today by the commission do not include the recreational harvest of shrimp, crabs or oysters. Prior to today's action, approximately 862 square miles or 11 percent of saltwater areas of the state remained closed to all recreational fishing due to the impacts from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

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LDWF, in coordination with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is continuing to provide additional fish tissue samples for sensory testing and chemical analysis in preparation for re-opening areas currently closed to commercial crabbing and commercial fishing.

With today's action, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission also voted to submit a letter, urging the FDA and NOAA to expedite the required testing to re-open commercial fishing areas previously closed due to confirmed reports of oil.

LDWF guidelines for re-opening commercial fishing areas are as follows:

• Once visible signs of oil are no longer apparent in areas that were previously closed by LDWF to commercial fishing, LDWF will then submit an "intent to reopen" to NOAA and the FDA

• LDWF biologists will conduct thorough sampling of finfish, crabs and shrimp in the proposed reopening area

• Following the collection of the samples, biologists will immediately transfer specimens to be tested by the FDA and NOAA for signs of chemical contamination. This process is expected to take between seven and ten days

• After complete analysis the FDA and NOAA will render an opinion regarding proposed reopening

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/saltwater/news/story?id=5490064

Lough Lene Residents Out In Force for Fly Fishing Competition

LOUGH Lene in Co Westmeath came alive last weekend for the Flextec team fly-fishing championships. Now in its fourth year, the competition continues to attract a huge turnout of anglers from across Ireland. This year, 126 participated from 62 boats.

Hosted by the Irish Trout Fly-Fishing Association (ITFFA), Flextec is a fundraiser to send teams to home international championships. Scotland will host next year’s competition,

Lene is near Collinstown and Castlepollard, covers an area of 1,062 acres and reaches depths of 20m. The lake holds a good head of wild trout and is complemented by regular stocking of brown and rainbow trout. Jet skis are prohibited.

“I have lived beside the lake all my life and look after about 140 angling boats,” said the legendary Tommy Fagan (he hires them at 086-1691231).

The “gin-clear” and pollution-free lake was the first in Ireland to receive the EU Blue Flag for water quality. The award is testament to the local angling club and to the farming community in the area.

Flextec is an English-based online discount fishing tackle and equipment stockist. The company sponsors ITFFA fundraising events and donates a range of top quality rods and reels as prizes. (See www.tacklediscounts.co.uk)

Conservation was the watchword for the competition and all trout caught were measured, recorded and returned. A minimum size-limit of 13 inches pertained.

Conditions were good, with plenty of cloud cover and fair winds. I was paired with Alan Delaney from Wicklow Anglers and together we tested the areas close to Winters Point and Madam’s Island with some success.

At close of play, it was the Brosna team, led by the invincible Denis Goulding, who emerged clear winners with 16 fish. Denis accounted for 11! Noel Shiels, Michael McCormack and Andrew Duncan completed the team.

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“Pearly Stimulator, Black Dabbler, Cormorant and Boobie fly patterns accounted for most of the catch,” according to top fly-tyer Noel Shiels. The longest trout, at 56cm, was recorded by Peter Roche (Ballina/Cloghans).

There was one extraordinary moment. Fishing with four flies, one lucky angler managed to boat five trout on the one cast, four of which measured in. Seemingly, as he unhooked each fish, a fifth grabbed the vacant fly that overhung the boat! Well done to the ITFFA committee and, in particular, to Greg White, for organising a competition of this size.

Results: 1, Brosna; 2, Galway/Corrib A; 3, Mallow Game; 4, Mallow Trout; 5, Galway/Corrib B; 6, Conn/Cullin; 7, Ballina/Cloghans; 8, Kilbride-1.

Fisheries manager Colin Folan will host a fly-fishing weekend at Lough Inagh Lodge Hotel, Recess, Co Galway, from September 17th. The course is suitable for beginners, with a maximum of 10 people, and will include casting techniques and fly-tying. The package costs €700 and includes 3BB+D. For booking details, call Colin at 086-8679459 or inagh@iol.ie.

One for the diary. Hugh Bonner, of Mara Media, is running an Irish Fly Fair in Galway in November. The Irish Angler magazine is the media partner. See irishflyfair.com.

Mary Donnelly, mother of well-known angler and entrepreneur Betty Hayes, passed away on August 11th. She was in her 94th year. Mary spent the final six days in the care of Hazel Hall Nursing Home, Clane, Co Kildare.

Source: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0823/1224277376181.html

Doubt Cast Over Eel Record Claim

Record eel claim has been thrown into doubt

The angling community has this week been buzzing with rumours of a new British record eel.

Reported to weigh in at a monstrous 13lb 9oz, the big fish is thought to have come from a Colne Valley stillwater and, if genuine, would dwarf the current record that has stood for 32 years, by an unprecedented 2lb 7oz.

Further speculation points to the fish being a big eel thought to have been caught from a water in Harefield, Herts, five years ago. The fish was not submitted for the record at the time due to angling club politics, but the angler has now been given the green light.

However history is littered with dubious big eel captures. And with details of the catch shrouded in mystery, along with further rumours that suggest the fish looks much smaller than the claimed size, Angling Times spoke to a number of well-respected eel experts to add some reality to the hype.

“I would say it’s probably a mistake,” said eel angler Steve Ricketts. “I’ve been speaking to all my contacts, the big names in the eel world, and they have heard nothing. If I’d caught a potential record eel, I’d tell as many people as I could. No-one in the eel community seems to know anything about it.

“Having said that, the Colne Valley is definitely capable of producing a fish of that size, but you have to be careful with eels. I’ve seen people miss-guess weights, weigh fish wrongly and even bring conger eels to the side of waters to take photos and claim a record.

“It could well be the fish caught five years ago, though. That might explain a few things and why people have not heard anything.”

Rumours also indicate that the fish could well have been taken by a tench angler who caught the big ‘snake’ by accident - a detail which, according to captor of numerous big UK eels, Barry McConnell, is fairly unlikely.

“I’ve caught eels of that weight and bigger in New Zealand and they fight a lot differently to smaller eels. They can just lie on the bottom and you have to work very hard to move them, so it would have had to have been caught by design on big tackle or it was one very lucky angler,” said Barry.

“As far as the rumours about the fish not looking the weight, a big eel like that would be very impressive, even the worst pictures would show it as a monster ¬ you couldn’t mistake the size of a fish that big.”

Source: http://www.gofishing.co.uk/Angling-Times/Section/News--Catches/Catch-Reports/August-2010/Record-eel-claim-has-been-thrown-into-doubt/

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Eleven Year Old Schoolboy Lands Seven Foot Blue Shark

His opponent may have been a stone heavier and 2ft taller. But Tom Baslington was far from out of his depth in this battle of man, or rather boy, versus killing machine.

The 11-year-old was out seafishing off Cornwall with his grandfather when he caught the blue shark, which at 7ft 1in dwarfed the 4ft 8in schoolboy.

Under strict rules about landing catches unaided, he had to reel in the big fish alone. Weighing 4st 10lb, he needed an adult to hold on to him while he used both hands to catch the 80lb shark during a 20-minute battle.

'The skipper said the birds fly up in the air because they're scared when they see a mouthful of teeth under the water. This is how we could tell there was a shark around,' said Tom, from Earls Colne, Essex.

'We started getting very excited - my grandad won't stop telling everyone about the catch.'

Tom was fishing with his grandfather, Don Turner, uncle Craig Turner and some friends off the coast of Looe in Cornwall when he spotted the shark on August 11.

His mother Nicci, 50, who is married to engineer Andy, 52, said: 'His uncle Craig is a deep sea fisherman and he got Tom interested in river fishing when he was four. Tom has been badgering us to let him go out to sea for years but we said not until he was older as it gets very rough. His grandparents have paid for him for the last three years to go on an annual sea fishing trip.

'He was so excited when he caught the shark. His uncle has not even caught a shark that big and none of the crew had either. They tag the shark and throw it back after weighing and measuring it but when a shark is caught they put a red flag on the mast.

'If it is above 70lb a dark blue flag is put above the red flag. So when they came into harbour, people were cheering and asking who caught the shark.'

The catch was an inch over the qualifying length to join the Shark Angling Club of Great Britain - but Tom missed out because the minimum age for members is 12.

In the meantime he has been allowed to become an associate member but he has vowed to repeat the feat next year so that he can become a fully-fledged member.

Club secretary Linda Reynolds said: 'It's unusual for a lad of his age to catch such a big one.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1304194/Catch-day-Eleven-year-old-schoolboy-shocked-reel-seven-foot-Blue-shark.html?ITO=1490#ixzz0x7k7ZdWH

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River Wensum's Improved Access a Benefit to Anglers

A picturesque stretch of the River Wensum has been made more accessible to anglers after a completed environmental project was formally unveiled yesterday.

The riverbanks at Burgh Common in Swanton Morley, near Dereham, had previously been unreachable from the road until the project was completed to build six new fishing platforms.

Three of the platforms are connected by a boardwalk, made from sturdy recycled plastic, which was built and funded by the Environment Agency (EA) at a cost of £30,000 to ensure access for wheelchair users.

Habitat enhancements within the river included raising the river bed with a series of gravel glides and riffles to improve spawning habitat for fish such as chub, brown trout and dace.

As common land, owned by Swanton Morley Parish Council, the area is one of the few parts of the Wensum which are not in private ownership, and anyone with a rod licence will be allowed to fish there for free.

The completed project has been developed in partnership with the parish council, which will manage the new fishing berths for the benefit of local people.

Council chairman Roger Atterwill said: “Swanton Morley is blessed with many natural beauty spots and we are pleased that the EA has chosen to invest in one of them.

“Burgh Common is a quiet corner of the parish where local people can come to enjoy the tranquility of the river. We wanted to make this part of the river accessible for local people, whether they are anglers or not.”

From its original concept, the scheme has taken about three years to complete through from its design phase, through a lengthy planning approval process and finally the construction.

The improvements are the culmination of a wider project as part of the EA's River Wensum Restoration Strategy to improve habitats and angling on this stretch of water.

Dr Rob Dryden, the EA's technical specialist for fisheries, recreation and biodiversity, said: “We are delighted to be working with Swanton Morley Parish Council to improve angling along this part of the Wensum.

“Poor access to the river is one of the issues highlighted by the Wensum Fisheries Action Plan Group and this project represents a significant step in redressing the situation.

“There are very few parts of the river which are accessible - there is a section at Drayton and one at Fakenham, but apart from that there is very little. 

“Apart from the angling aspects we recognised that access to the river is very important, and the opportunities for it along the river are quite limited. This was an opportunity we didn't want to miss.”

Source: http://www.edp24.co.uk/content/edp24/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=EDPOnline&tCategory=xDefault&itemid=NOED17%20Aug%202010%2018:46:57:423

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