Where have all the fish gone? It’s mid July and mackerel are scarce off shore, yes we have had unseasonably wet and cold weather and a red tide developed along the west and north west coastline, but not as I understand it along the south and east coast, so why do beaches that would normally deliver at this time of year appear devoid of life. Flounder were always a summer mainstay on the beaches that I fish but have been getting more scarce over the last two seasons, likewise after twenty two years of bass conservation where are the bass that were frequenting my local beaches up to two years ago?
My wife joked that I am losing my touch, but no, sea fishing is on a downward slide, and since reactivating my fishing diary in 2007 this downward trend is very apparent. Logic dictates, nothing has been done to address seriously depleted and continuously falling fish stocks within EU waters other than plenty of rhetoric but no action. Also there has been no widening of the brief to include interest groups other than the commercial sector at both EU and Government level. Too many departments have a finger or two in the marine without any joined up thinking, action, or policy emanating. The buck is passed on a number of fronts especially when it comes to illegal fishing and poaching (reference a deterioration in local bass stocks). The clock is ticking, our marine environment needs people with courage and vision to make key decisions swiftly. Please, if there is anyone out there possessing both of the attributes previously mentioned, make yourself visible NOW before it’s too late……
