Quote:
| Originally Posted by drysuit repair dave This is not going to be a very popular viewpoint, but here goes..................
Potting for cuttlefish has been going on in Babbacombe (and many other areas along the coast) for a long time. Babbacombe does not represent a coming together of cuttlefish from a wide area, cuttlefish gather to mate in a huge number of places, it is just that Babbacombe is a popular shore dive site so they get seen.
Potting mainly catches cuttlefish after they have spawned (which they only do once in their lifetime, they die soon afterwards) so is unlikely to have any great effect on populations.
There are a great many huge problems in the sea, with overfishing, pollution etc. Cuttlefish may be cute, but a few boats setting a few pots for cuttle is really not that important in the grand scheme of things.
Have their been any cases of these number 10 e petitions actually changing things? In the case of a ban on a particular type of fishing gear inside the 6 mile limit, it is a matter for the local Sea Fisheries Committee (in this case Devon Sea Fisheries Committee) not central Government anyway
cheers
dave drysuitrepair.co.uk |
Dave,
TBH I partially agree with you. But having talked to a few of the divers/photographers that have been going there for years (Alan James for one), it has become obvious that the potting has dramatically increased over the last 3 or 4 years. I don't think anyone is really against sustainable fishing, but in Babbacombe Bay itself it seems to have gone too far. The practices employed means that most of those caught are male, and if you wipe out one sex then there will be no-reproduction. Some get through, but I've been told you see far less eggs nowadays, so it is having a real effect.
I agree with you that BB is most visible to us divers and it probably is just the tip of the iceberg. But just consider that the population has visably collapsed to many divers in a very short period of time.
Rob