06-19-2009, 05:10 PM
The greatest shark tagging event ever held in Scotland, the UK and probably in the world - was the overall verdict of those who took part in last weekend's Sharkatag organised by the Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network (www.ssacn.org).
Two hundred and fifteen anglers of all ages and abilities, coming from as far away as Cornwall and Caithness, attended the event held around the Solway region in South West Scotland, fishing from boats, kayaks and the shore to catch, tag and release various shark species. This kind of response highlights what was meant by the MSP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale, Alex Ferguson, when he said recreational sea angling has an "almost unlimited potential" to become a massive tourist business in Galloway.
The event had three goals - to highlight the perilous state of endangered shark species; to start gathering some of the data to support claims for their protection; to continue to press politicians and fisheries managers to recognise the needs of the sea angling community and its contribution to the Scottish economy.
The SSACN project team who put the event together were totally blown away by the response and support it received from the anglers, from the local hoteliers, shops, caravan parks and local skippers as well as the kind words and support given by the local people. Messages of support have continued to arrive following the nationwide TV, radio, internet and written media attention.
However, although the social side was fantastic, the fishing was less so. According to Ian Burrett, SSACN's Project Director, "Around two hundred tope, smoothhound and bull huss were tagged over the three days and that can only be described as poor compared to what the total should have been.
"It really worries me that many of the tope packs have failed to show this year. The whole region seems to be void of the expected male breeding stock and the fish caught were mostly immature females, typically under twenty pounds and a few solitary females in the 50-60 pound range; Luce Bay was especially poor for the time of year."
"Combined with the lack of rays tagged, only three throughout Sharkatag, it shows how urgently plans are needed to help protect and regenerate the stocks. Twenty year ago virtually every boat would have recorded several mature tope and rays."
For decades governments and fisheries managers have made decisions regarding exploitation by the catching sector without the full knowledge of the state of fish stocks and the marine environment. However, when it is obvious to all that many stocks are in serious danger, there is a total lack of action by Scottish fisheries managers to protect stocks due to 'an insufficiency of data'.
To help overcome that 'insufficiency', the information gathered during Sharkatag will feed into SSACN's Scottish Shark Tagging Programme (SSTP - www.tagsharks.com) which has been introduced to act as a central clearing point for all data regarding shark, skate and ray stocks in Scottish coastal waters.
Without regeneration, not only will Scotland's marine biodiversity lose more species, but the £150+ million/yr and the £25+ million/yr which sea angling contributes to the Scottish and Solway economies, will also suffer badly. With a little political will and some proactive measures, the biodiversity losses could be halted and the Solway could become a European centre of excellence for sea angling. This would probably bring another £15 million/yr to its economy through increased angling tourism.
Registered taggers will continue the work year round on targeted species, but the next SSACN organised major tagging event will be the annual spurdog 'Tagathon' to be held in late autumn in the waters around Lochs Sunart, Etive and the Sound of Mull when once again, SSACN look forward to welcoming as many 'taggers' as possible.
SSACN Media Enquiries ::
Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network (SSACN)
62 Lounsdale Drive<br />
Paisley<br />
Renfrewshire<br />
PA2 9ED
SSACN Website :: www.ssacn.org email contact :: contact@ssacn.org tel: 01561 361 960<br />
SSTP Website :: www.tagsharks.com email contact :: tagsharks@ssacn.org tel: 01776 840 346
The Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network (SSACN) is a Charity registered in Scotland.
SSACN was established to lead a unified, coordinated and comprehensive approach to international, national and local conservation issues which may affect recreational sea angling in Scotland.
SSACN campaigns and works with statutory bodies for the continual improvement of Scottish RSA fisheries and access for all anglers to them so that sea anglers can effectively enjoy their sport within fisheries managed for the benefit of all and not just a select few commercial interests.
Issue ::
Although many anglers have a deep understanding of sharks and their movements and have long recognised that there are issues with the stocks of many species, governments will only accept scientific data before they will consider implementing shark conservation policies.
Tagging is the only non-destructive assessment of sharks available which will help provide data such as :
* Species migrations<br />
* Growth rates<br />
* Population and stock make-up<br />
* Stock fluctuations dynamics
As no scientific body can afford to pay scientists/marine biologists to effectively tag and release large numbers of fish, the SSTP has been formed to encourage anglers to get involved out of their love for the fish.
Sea Angling in Scotland ::
Recreational sea angling is a selective, environmentally friendly and low-impact fishing activity, it is the # 1 coastal recreation activity in Scotland and is of great social and economic importance.
Scotland should be a major sea angling centre based around species that are not readily available elsewhere in the British Isles, but lack of stocks through inefficient and ineffective fisheries management has left many species virtually extinct and many areas barren and fishless.
Sea angling supports many livelihoods and business opportunities and contributes more than £150 million / yr to the Scottish economy; over £20 million / yr is being lost to the Scottish economy through the lack of fish stocks and facilities.
Media Contact<br />
SSACN Tel: 01561 361 960 or tagsharks@ssacn.org
Two hundred and fifteen anglers of all ages and abilities, coming from as far away as Cornwall and Caithness, attended the event held around the Solway region in South West Scotland, fishing from boats, kayaks and the shore to catch, tag and release various shark species. This kind of response highlights what was meant by the MSP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale, Alex Ferguson, when he said recreational sea angling has an "almost unlimited potential" to become a massive tourist business in Galloway.
The event had three goals - to highlight the perilous state of endangered shark species; to start gathering some of the data to support claims for their protection; to continue to press politicians and fisheries managers to recognise the needs of the sea angling community and its contribution to the Scottish economy.
The SSACN project team who put the event together were totally blown away by the response and support it received from the anglers, from the local hoteliers, shops, caravan parks and local skippers as well as the kind words and support given by the local people. Messages of support have continued to arrive following the nationwide TV, radio, internet and written media attention.
However, although the social side was fantastic, the fishing was less so. According to Ian Burrett, SSACN's Project Director, "Around two hundred tope, smoothhound and bull huss were tagged over the three days and that can only be described as poor compared to what the total should have been.
"It really worries me that many of the tope packs have failed to show this year. The whole region seems to be void of the expected male breeding stock and the fish caught were mostly immature females, typically under twenty pounds and a few solitary females in the 50-60 pound range; Luce Bay was especially poor for the time of year."
"Combined with the lack of rays tagged, only three throughout Sharkatag, it shows how urgently plans are needed to help protect and regenerate the stocks. Twenty year ago virtually every boat would have recorded several mature tope and rays."
For decades governments and fisheries managers have made decisions regarding exploitation by the catching sector without the full knowledge of the state of fish stocks and the marine environment. However, when it is obvious to all that many stocks are in serious danger, there is a total lack of action by Scottish fisheries managers to protect stocks due to 'an insufficiency of data'.
To help overcome that 'insufficiency', the information gathered during Sharkatag will feed into SSACN's Scottish Shark Tagging Programme (SSTP - www.tagsharks.com) which has been introduced to act as a central clearing point for all data regarding shark, skate and ray stocks in Scottish coastal waters.
Without regeneration, not only will Scotland's marine biodiversity lose more species, but the £150+ million/yr and the £25+ million/yr which sea angling contributes to the Scottish and Solway economies, will also suffer badly. With a little political will and some proactive measures, the biodiversity losses could be halted and the Solway could become a European centre of excellence for sea angling. This would probably bring another £15 million/yr to its economy through increased angling tourism.
Registered taggers will continue the work year round on targeted species, but the next SSACN organised major tagging event will be the annual spurdog 'Tagathon' to be held in late autumn in the waters around Lochs Sunart, Etive and the Sound of Mull when once again, SSACN look forward to welcoming as many 'taggers' as possible.
SSACN Media Enquiries ::
Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network (SSACN)
62 Lounsdale Drive<br />
Paisley<br />
Renfrewshire<br />
PA2 9ED
SSACN Website :: www.ssacn.org email contact :: contact@ssacn.org tel: 01561 361 960<br />
SSTP Website :: www.tagsharks.com email contact :: tagsharks@ssacn.org tel: 01776 840 346
The Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network (SSACN) is a Charity registered in Scotland.
SSACN was established to lead a unified, coordinated and comprehensive approach to international, national and local conservation issues which may affect recreational sea angling in Scotland.
SSACN campaigns and works with statutory bodies for the continual improvement of Scottish RSA fisheries and access for all anglers to them so that sea anglers can effectively enjoy their sport within fisheries managed for the benefit of all and not just a select few commercial interests.
Issue ::
Although many anglers have a deep understanding of sharks and their movements and have long recognised that there are issues with the stocks of many species, governments will only accept scientific data before they will consider implementing shark conservation policies.
Tagging is the only non-destructive assessment of sharks available which will help provide data such as :
* Species migrations<br />
* Growth rates<br />
* Population and stock make-up<br />
* Stock fluctuations dynamics
As no scientific body can afford to pay scientists/marine biologists to effectively tag and release large numbers of fish, the SSTP has been formed to encourage anglers to get involved out of their love for the fish.
Sea Angling in Scotland ::
Recreational sea angling is a selective, environmentally friendly and low-impact fishing activity, it is the # 1 coastal recreation activity in Scotland and is of great social and economic importance.
Scotland should be a major sea angling centre based around species that are not readily available elsewhere in the British Isles, but lack of stocks through inefficient and ineffective fisheries management has left many species virtually extinct and many areas barren and fishless.
Sea angling supports many livelihoods and business opportunities and contributes more than £150 million / yr to the Scottish economy; over £20 million / yr is being lost to the Scottish economy through the lack of fish stocks and facilities.
Media Contact<br />
SSACN Tel: 01561 361 960 or tagsharks@ssacn.org