Potential Scallop ban in Falmouth Bay

[MarkP]

Originally Posted by Okeanos

...They do a lot of damage, I've seen it within minutes of them dredging.

You did well. I've been several hundred yards away from a dredge and the vis where I was dropped to a couple of inches.

Mind you, diving a freshly dredged site a few weeks later is like floating over a moonscape. Even five or six years after the event the seabed still suffers, with completely different animals to what you'd expect to see in an area.

[drysuit repair dave]

Originally Posted by Okeanos

DEFRA have been talking to local divers about diving for scallops and are looking into the matter. Somewhere there's an old English law that states something like 'It's every Englishman's right to take food from the sea'.

That is what is normally referred to as Magna Carta rights, however once you start using a powered vessel, that no longer applies, so shore diving for scallops might be difficult to ban, but boat diving, no problem. I also think if you are protecting a species for "conservation" reasons magna carta would not apply
The proposed byelaw to ban the take of scallops in the SAC by any means has been written and will be discussed by Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee at their next meeting in April. This in itself is very unusual, the normal procedure is for CSFC to discuss an issue, then vote on whether a byelaw is needed. The byelaw is then written to be discussed at the next quarterly meeting, so this proposal has already skipped one step. CSFC is primarily composed of commercial fishing interests, so I dont think preventing divers gathering a few scallops will bother them
The really strange thing about all this, is that Cornwall has an marine MPA working group (which I sit on) involving representatives from most of the main stakeholder groups (divers, fishermen, conservationists etc) hosted by Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee. There is also a DEFRA funded project called "Finding Sanctuary" looking at potential MPAs in the Southwest. For some reason CSFC and DEFRA has chosen not to put this proposed scallop closure down this route but try to sneak it in the back door, whilst still presenting it as an MPA proposal.

cheers
dave
drysuitrepair.co.uk

[drysuit repair dave]

Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee meet this Friday, 18 April, in the main council chamber, New County Hall, Truro
They will be voting on a byelaw which says;

"No person shall remove from the fishery any scallop of the species Pecten maximus"

Applying to the area inshore of a line between Zone Point and Manacles Point (ie the whole of Falmouth Bay)

The public are allowed to attend the meeting, but not to speak at it

cheers
dave
drysuitrepair.co.uk

[Okeanos]

I know other Scallop beds if the bans goes ahead. Knowing local people they will ban it as they see it as a way of appeasing the dredger fishermen.

Anyone have a list of names on the committee, I may know some

p.s. The commercial scallop divers may not be AS affected as you may expect.

[PeeBee]

I've just come back from a trip to spain where taking anything on scuba be it a crab, and octobus or a scallop is completely illegal, if caught the the penalty is the forfeiture of your kit and if you are diving from a boat you forfeit that too. The only way to dive for dinner is free diving.

Frankly I am happy to take a few scallops or the odd lobster/crab for the pot but I try to do it responsably, if there are plenty around then fine, if it's the only one I've seen all dive I'll leave it, and if the only way to stop dredging is to make an area a complete "no take" zone then I will happily oblige, I've seen the damage a dredger causes and it isn't pretty. I'd rather have plenty to see.

[sharky]

I had a few Scallops from Falmouth bay last friday, very tasty they were too ! I don't really see how they are going to enforce a ban unless they board every boat and check every divers pockets, if they do . . . I feel a late night stealth mission comming on ! Catch me if you can !
I will be there again this friday evening filling my bag ! Proper yum !

[Lou]

Originally Posted by sharky

I will be there again this friday evening filling my bag ! Proper yum !

Do you think I should get a few in before it's too late?
See you Friday - it's been aaaa-ages

[Janos]

Originally Posted by sharky

I had a few Scallops from Falmouth bay last friday, very tasty they were too ! I don't really see how they are going to enforce a ban unless they board every boat and check every divers pockets, if they do . . . I feel a late night stealth mission comming on ! Catch me if you can !
I will be there again this friday evening filling my bag ! Proper yum !

If they make the penalties severe enough then you will stop. Eg the French attitude towards spidging.

However, are you sure that divers are affected? I was under the impression that it was only boats that were affected. Might be worth double checking.

Janos

[sharky]

Originally Posted by Lou

Do you think I should get a few in before it's too late?
See you Friday - it's been aaaa-ages

Hello Lou,
It has been a while ! We'll look forward to seeing you both on friday and you know you want to try a few Scallops

[drysuit repair dave]

Originally Posted by Janos

However, are you sure that divers are affected? I was under the impression that it was only boats that were affected. Might be worth double checking.

Janos

There are 2 separate bits of legislation;

DEFRA are making an order to ban all mechanical dredging and demersal trawling, in order to protect the maerl beds and various other benthic features. This is definitely happening, and is completely seperate from the proposal by CSFC

Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee are proposing a ban on the removal of all scallops, specifically to stop divers collecting scallops. It is claimed to be for research purposes, but (I believe) is more about appeasing the scallop dredgers.Several officers of CSFC also seem to believe that once dredging is banned, hordes of divers will descend on Falmouth Bay and take all the scallops, despite the fact that the same officers were quite happy with dredgers working the area (a 6 a side dredger covers the same amount of ground per hour as 120 divers)

A list of CSFC members can be found here; Committees: Committee Membership

cheers
dave
drysuitrepair.co.uk