| Author |
 Topic  |
|
n/a
deleted
24 Posts |
 Posted - 07/03/2002 : 13:45:52
|
Can anyone suggest any way in which we can halt the decline in West Highland and Island salmon and sea-trout, please?
Bruce Sandison
|
|
|
Andy.C.Wren
Member
272 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2002 : 03:36:05
|
there is no simple answer /answers but here is my bit which you can laugh at should you wish , refuse to eat farmed salmon,(farmed salmon are connected with major lice infection of young salmon /seatrout ) ,either dont fish those rivers and lochs or practice a careful catch and return policy .
O n every occaision you can speak loudly against the foreign money that runs alarge part of the salmon farming industry , a good place is the supermarket fish counter .
I regularly point to the display farmed fish and in a loud voice talk with my 9 year old about the sea lice and the poisonig of the shellfish beds
I am not over welcome by the fish staff but often end up with some debate and some say that they wont buy the sad imitations of the real fish .
Agitate with your MSP support the Orkney associations fight against more fish farms and be a bit noisy
And replace the farmed salmon in your diet with British meat
Andy rambling a bit
A.C.W |
 |
|
|
Paul King
Junior Member
81 Posts |
 Posted - 08/03/2002 : 05:16:38
|
Bruce,
I sympathise with you. I live in Wales where we are not "blessed" with estuarial fish farming on any great scale, we never had the cataclysmic crashes in population that you and our Irish friends have suffered and our sea trout have largely recovered from the "dip" in the early 1990's.
What can you do? Very little I suspect until the environmental lobby turns its full attention to the matter - I could suggest that you try to re-focus the anti-hunting brigade as the Government seems to want to listen to them but they will probably want to ban fishing as well!
The only crum of comfort that I can offer is that the sea trout will probably not become literally extinct as there will always be browns that opt for the migratory life but whether this will result in harvestable runs in our lifetime - who knows?
It's a very sad state of affairs, even for us not directly affected when faced with so much very strong circumstantial evidence the Government still refuse to fully accept the role of fish farming in destroying migratory runs and decimating the marine life in close proximity.
Paul King |
|
|
|
n/a
deleted
24 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2002 : 15:08:48
|
Thanks, Andy, couldn't agree more. If Joe Public knew exactly what he/she was buying, and how it was 'reared', they would be outraged. I do the same in supermarkets I visit. Partiularly ASDA who have a mock fishmonger stall in some of their stores. There is always a notice board saying "Ask the Fishmonger!" Been there, done that, the ASDA fishmongers haven't a clue where the fish they sell come from. One ray of hope I have noticed over the past year or so is the fact that fewer and fewer salmon products are on display/sale. Think we are begining to impact. How can supermarkets justify selling a product that is destroying wild fish species and polluting Scotland's coastal environment? They can't, and they are starting to understand how exposed they are. I'm planning an A5 hand-out outlining our concerns in simple terms, that I can distribute to customers at supermarket fish counters. Visit me in clink. In the meantime, you are so right, we have to do something to try to save our wild fish.
Bruce Sandison |
|
|
|
DAN
Starting Member
24 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2002 : 23:09:11
|
Hi there,
I cannot claim to be as knowledgeable about this topic as some.However the only way fish farming is going to reduce or be eliminated around our coastline is if people stop buying the product.
I think many people see fish as a healthy diet and that is given lots of support and publicity by dieticians etc.
People would probably be less enthusiastic if they knew just what these fish were fed on and the levels of highly toxic chemicals used in the rearing process.
There is some evidence that some of these chemicals can be linked to certain types of cancer.
I for one would not feed my baby with any farmed fish and would not consider eating these genetically modified trout stocked into our stillwater fisheries.
I still enjoy the occasional wild brownie smoked by the side of unstocked lochs in Scotland.
The answer is to try and get some public awareness of the situation.Who knows we may be facing some kind of MAD TROUT/SALMON DISEASE and not even know it.
This would certainly put off the buying public and force some review of fish farming practices round our coasts.
As for our MSP's what a waste of space and public money.They only seem interested in criminalising people for diciplining thier kids or beating England to the drop on banning hunting(all five of them)
Maybe the BBC or Scottish television would be interested in running something on this afterall it is an enviromental issue.
I am also concerned about the spread of some of these fish farms into Scottish freshwater lochs.
One loch I have fished for over 25 years now houses several cages.I presume it is for rearing fish to smolt stage?
Whilst this is a very large loch on the west coast some strange things have happened since thier introduction.
Firstly,the trout seemed to have developed an internal worm infection and the Char are growing to unbelievable proportions.
These char used to be 3/4 - 1 lb now fish of 6-7 are being caught!
The trout fishing has also declined dramatically although the farms may have nothing to do with this it is an amazing coincidence.
Certainly the amount of toxins and pollution in previously pure lake is very worrying.
As I said earlier,I don't claim to be to knowledgeable in this area but these are my views for what thier worth.
What a sad state of affairs.
Dan Smith
|
|
|
|
Andy.C.Wren
Member
272 Posts |
Posted - 09/03/2002 : 03:48:18
|
Dan , we dont need the experts ,we the anglers spend more time by the water than the fishery scientests and we actually SEE what is happening ,fish covered with lice smaller fish coming back , catches decimated ect ect .
make your observation s clear to people you meet , in the pub ,in the shops any where you can talk most of the british public is sadly uninformed
have a good weekend
A.C.W |
|
|
|
DAN
Starting Member
24 Posts |
Posted - 09/03/2002 : 08:26:10
|
Hi Andy,
I agree with you but sadly at the end of the day a large percentage of the public don't care.Fish are not warm and cuddly and they rarely see them.(not that foxes are cuddly either but to most they look that way)The scenery stays the same on the surface and for many thats fine.
Sadly, we need to try to find ways to reduce demand for these farmed fish. If the demand disappears so to does the commercial attraction for farming them.
The downside of the arguement is that there is a danger that demand for wild fish would rise possibly eliminating what little remains of our stock.
We know how hopeless catch quotas are. There is a large black market out there of illegally caught seafish.
I suspect the fate of our salmon and seatrout would be no better served with such measures were farming to disappear.
As I said earlier, we need somehow to create a concern in the minds of the general public about the wisdom of eating this stuff,what with toxin's,food additives to artificially give colour to the flesh and goodness knows what chemical based hormones to speed growth.
People are already getting nervous about meat,poultry, eggs & GM modified crops maybe we need to add fish somehow.
But I will continue to spread the word as I have been doing fruitlessly now for the past 10 years.
|
|
|
|
Fluke
Member
164 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2002 : 11:52:41
|
Word of mouth never spread as fast as it does on the internet... as much as I am ashamed of the tactic, e-mailing friends in and out of the office with links to News sites which run articles on environmental issues - like the Independent's one about Sea Bass and Dolphins recently is having a much bigger effect than standing on a soap box in the park used to.
Those of us with friends and relatives who are on the net and have access to e-mail can do exactly the same.
A tip: Don't send your own rhetoric without qualification - i.e. send a link to "Health Scare over Farmed Salmon" in the IndeGuardiTimes and add your observations to it - but just sending your own observations doesn't have anything like the same effect ;-)
Cheers,
Fluke!
"Don't take life too seriously... it ain't permanent!" Attribute to Joe Pearlstein. |
|
|
|
n/a
deleted
24 Posts |
Posted - 14/03/2002 : 14:22:25
|
Has anyone noticed that the "independent scientific advisors" appointed by the Scottish Executive (SE) to advise the Scottish Parliament's rolling inquiry into aquaculture are SE place-men?
SAMS (Scottish Association of Marine Sciences), now appointed, is a government funded body. Board members include Dr Goodlad, advisor to the Shetland Salmon Farmers Association, Ms J Twelves, a Uist fish farmer, Prof Tony Hawkins, head of the SE fisheries research lab in Aberdeen... and so on. All of them about as "independent" as I am the world's greatest angler. With friends like these, Scotland's wild salmonids should simply pack up and go. Can someone send me a sick-bag. please?
Bruce Sandison |
|
|
|
Fluke
Member
164 Posts |
Posted - 15/03/2002 : 10:03:53
|
Sadly... this isn't the best place to "blow the whistle"
Anyone else up to writing to a few reporters and politicians etc. to try and get them to expose the sorry sad... err.. tale... that this is?
If anyone knows anyone in the newspaper trade, I'd be delighted to hear from you... and I'm more than happy to follow this through.
I'm afraid Angling press won't do the trick as there just aren't enough Anglers to make a difference :-<
Cheers,
Fluke!
"Don't take life too seriously... it ain't permanent!" Attribute to Joe Pearlstein. |
|
|
|
wantwetwitch
Starting Member
29 Posts |
Posted - 15/03/2002 : 11:44:39
|
reversed/para/usd |
|
|
|
wantwetwitch
Starting Member
29 Posts |
Posted - 15/03/2002 : 11:48:45
|
Sorry 'bout the above...
Anyhow I have a reasonably large dissemination network, has anyone got a link to a website I can direct the droves to????
please forward same to
wantwetwitch@yahoo.co.uk
reversed/para/usd |
|
|
|
Fluke
Member
164 Posts |
Posted - 15/03/2002 : 12:43:22
|
Sorry... I don't have one... hopefully Sandison can come up with something...
I'll drop a letter to my local MP, telling him how disgraced I feel about the treatment our fish stocks are getting - trouble is he's a Labour bloke and as such unlikely to rock the MSP's boat too much. What we really need is the addresses of a few (or more than a few even) conservative back benchers with an axe to grind over Scotland... there'd be some questions asked about the MSP's conduct then and no mistake. Once mention has been made in public, by a public figure the general/public media tends to get off its elbows and make a mountain out of a molehill.
If I can find anything, I'll post it here... unless anyone has any objections?
Heh... and I don't even fish for Salmon! ;-D
Fluke!
"Don't take life too seriously... it ain't permanent!" Attribute to Joe Pearlstein. |
|
|
|
Andy.C.Wren
Member
272 Posts |
Posted - 15/03/2002 : 16:56:44
|
Adanm aka fluke you are set to go salmon fishing with me and my boyHugh some time soon , no excuses , I fancy the brora can get asuper cottage room or us boys and handsome a rake of good food and wine and a river to die for ,
Ps Eddie Mcarthy needs all our support at this time
Andy W
A.C.W |
|
|
|
Hamish Young
Starting Member
14 Posts |
 Posted - 18/03/2002 : 21:53:19
|
Hmmm, I refer everyone to Julian Pettifers programme last year (year before?) and a letter I had published in another illustrious game angling magazine. When it boils down to the nitty gritty I firmly believe that PART of the solution is the disbandment of District Fishery Boards,the setting up of an independant inquiry (remember Alan Berrys petition to the Scottish Parliament?) into the practice of salmon farming and an investigation into the granting of leases of seabed in sensitive areas. This is a very political subject that won't get a lot of coverage as, believe it or not, the jobs provided by salmon farming are more important than the environment in which the fish are 'reared' in. I come from a fisheries background, the potential for environmental damage by salmon farming has been well known and documented for over 20 years but as long as this issue is seen as a minortiy concern sod all will be done about it. I would hesitate to suggest that a cure lies in these suggestions, but it might be a start.
|
|
|
|
n/a
deleted
24 Posts |
Posted - 19/03/2002 : 14:44:42
|
The last remaining justification for the Scottish Executive's ridiculous support of salmon farming is the 'creating jobs' card.
The SE lost the scientific battle when they ran scared from the prospect of an independent public inquiry into the industry, aka Allan Berry's PE 96, two years ago.
The 'jobs' thing is a house of cards. Some salmon farming companies (Marine Harvest) retain on their employment files the names of ex-employees - just in case they shoud decide to return to salmon farming.
Nobody, least of all the Scottish Executive, let alone MSP's, knows how many jobs the idustry supports.
Try this. The industry suffered the ISA outbreak, with massive staff lay-offs. The number of active fish farms has diminished from more than 320 to less than 200.
Further job losses have happened because of the introduction of less labour intensive feeding methods.
And yet, surprise, surprise, employment in the industry has risen from 6,500 to 7,000!
Pull the other one, go on...
Bruce Sandison |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
Scottish sea-trout face almost certain extinction
