Ecological impact of covid lockdown

[Xiucutil]

When the lockdown first came in fish sales and prices hit the floor but they have steadily came back up again, not to their usual level but as I said before the low fuel price has offset this for the beam trawlers that burn loads of fuel.

Interestingly the price of the prime fish ( sole, turbot, bass) are low but the lower value fish ( pollack, plaice, whiting) have held up so hopefully this may signal a change in the eating habits of the British public and they will realise there is a wealth of really good cheaper fish on their doorstep and not so much will be exported to the continent.

I just checked Marinetraffic again and I don't think I've seen so many fishing boats out, all the big trawlers from Brixham,Plymouth and Newlyn are at sea. All except me in my little boat. Got up at 4 o clock to go spider crabbing after being tied up for weeks due to strong onshore easterly winds, picked up the first set of gear, got it up alongside can see a nice bit of crab in it thinking at last here we go, glanced in the wheelhouse to be welcomed by the lovely sight of a split hydraulic hose emptying the tank on to the floor. Had to drop the gear away and steam in for repairs without even getting a crab on board.

One day my luck will change...

[devon TWiG]

thanks for the industry insight , media only reports when bad things happen !!  Good to hear the industry is up and running again ..  however I have little doubt that less fish have been caught and landed in the past few months than normal .  Where do you fish out of ?

[Stubby]

7 hours ago, Xiucutil said:

When the lockdown first came in fish sales and prices hit the floor but they have steadily came back up again, not to their usual level but as I said before the low fuel price has offset this for the beam trawlers that burn loads of fuel.

Interestingly the price of the prime fish ( sole, turbot, bass) are low but the lower value fish ( pollack, plaice, whiting) have held up so hopefully this may signal a change in the eating habits of the British public and they will realise there is a wealth of really good cheaper fish on their doorstep and not so much will be exported to the continent.

I just checked Marinetraffic again and I don't think I've seen so many fishing boats out, all the big trawlers from Brixham,Plymouth and Newlyn are at sea. All except me in my little boat. Got up at 4 o clock to go spider crabbing after being tied up for weeks due to strong onshore easterly winds, picked up the first set of gear, got it up alongside can see a nice bit of crab in it thinking at last here we go, glanced in the wheelhouse to be welcomed by the lovely sight of a split hydraulic hose emptying the tank on to the floor. Had to drop the gear away and steam in for repairs without even getting a crab on board.

One day my luck will change...

To be honest when I did a bit of wreck fishing I could not tell much difference between the taste of Cod , Ling , Pollack or Conger . All white fish .

[Xiucutil]

1 hour ago, devon TWiG said:

thanks for the industry insight , media only reports when bad things happen !!  Good to hear the industry is up and running again ..  however I have little doubt that less fish have been caught and landed in the past few months than normal .  Where do you fish out of ?

You are right, less fish has been landed. A lot of the smaller boats haven't been going so much due to the uncertainty and general strangeness of the times. I have been out a couple of times and not seen another boat all day which is quite odd and disconcerting and not very safe.

I run a 30' Cygnus Cyclone single handed from Dartmouth. Spiders now until August, tangle netting for soles in the summer, red mullet and a bit of line fishing for bass and pollack in autumn, potting for prawns and concentrate on the oyster farming in the winter and spring. Used to do a lot of ray netting but the price of them has been very poor for the last couple of years and I can't bring myself to kill beautiful big blondies for next to nothing so I don't do it any more.

I used to skipper big crabbers in the channel and for ten years off the Orkneys and Hebrides. Bought my own boat 20 years ago and have been poor ever since!

 

I also do this which is why I am here.

[Xiucutil]

1 hour ago, Stubby said:

To be honest when I did a bit of wreck fishing I could not tell much difference between the taste of Cod , Ling , Pollack or Conger . All white fish .

Very true, most people couldn't tell the difference especially with a bit of batter or sauce round it. It's a shame people don't buy much of the cheaper white fish like whiting and pouting, they are delicious and cost next to nothing.

[HuntingHicap]

12 hours ago, Xiucutil said:

You are right, less fish has been landed. A lot of the smaller boats haven't been going so much due to the uncertainty and general strangeness of the times. I have been out a couple of times and not seen another boat all day which is quite odd and disconcerting and not very safe.

I run a 30' Cygnus Cyclone single handed from Dartmouth. Spiders now until August, tangle netting for soles in the summer, red mullet and a bit of line fishing for bass and pollack in autumn, potting for prawns and concentrate on the oyster farming in the winter and spring. Used to do a lot of ray netting but the price of them has been very poor for the last couple of years and I can't bring myself to kill beautiful big blondies for next to nothing so I don't do it any more.

I used to skipper big crabbers in the channel and for ten years off the Orkneys and Hebrides. Bought my own boat 20 years ago and have been poor ever since!

 

I also do this which is why I am here.

South Hams is probably one of the most beautiful parts of the country, sounds an idyllic existance! Admittedly Salcombe is a bit like Surrey on sea, I used to live round the corner in Torbay for 10 years.

[Alex O]

South Hams is probably one of the most beautiful parts of the country, sounds an idyllic existance! Admittedly Salcombe is a bit like Surrey on sea, I used to live round the corner in Torbay for 10 years.

Ahhh the English riviera, many years back the company I worked for, we had the Torbay and Exeter contracts so I got to see some nasty stuff. As you say the South Hams is stunning just a bit of a nightmare to work in at times

[Peasgood]

On 17/05/2020 at 13:56, MattyF said:

The roads and streets are not littered with tons of shit from McDonald’s which is nice...

I had noticed but dismayed to see it replaced with surgical masks and disposable gloves.

[HuntingHicap]

19 minutes ago, Alex O said:

Ahhh the English riviera, many years back the company I worked for, we had the Torbay and Exeter contracts so I got to see some nasty stuff. As you say the South Hams is stunning just a bit of a nightmare to work in at times

Nasty stuff? In Devon? ??

[Alex O]

Nasty stuff? In Devon? [emoji44][emoji23]

Haha, I was amazed of the amount of homeless people and drug dealers in Torquay. Was far worse there than Exeter and Plymouth. I lived in Plymouth for 16yrs and really liked living there as I spent a lot of it up on Dartmoor cycling and walking and working, was much better than Northampton where I was originally from.