Yellowtail at Fish Hoek

[Chris Shelton]

Hi Darryl

I don't begrudge anyone a livelihood, but what I do begrudge is when it is at the expense of a very valuable natural resourse. It is this very kind of activity that makes the fish scarce in the first place.

I learnt something that made me very upset when I saw all those fish flapping on the beach. Dave, who as you probably know is a marine biologist, told us that a yellowtail will never swim under the bottom draw rope of the net. They will simply bunch up more and more in the middle as the net is drawn around them. That was an entire school that was taken out.

Although my sea sick tablet worked and I never got sick once, the knowledge of this mass wipe out left me with a different kind of a sick feeling on my stomach, one that just wont go away.

I don't mean to come across as criticizing or anything like that, but I cant help feeling very upset about this.

Sorry boet!

[dlampert]

Hi Darryl

I don't begrudge anyone a livelihood, but what I do begrudge is when it is at the expense of a very valuable natural resourse. It is this very kind of activity that makes the fish scarce in the first place.

I learnt something that made me very upset when I saw all those fish flapping on the beach. Dave, who as you probably know is a marine biologist, told us that a yellowtail will never swim under the bottom draw rope of the net. They will simply bunch up more and more in the middle as the net is drawn around them. That was an entire school that was taken out.

Although my sea sick tablet worked and I never got sick once, the knowledge of this mass wipe out left me with a different kind of a sick feeling on my stomach, one that just wont go away.

I don't mean to come across as criticizing or anything like that, but I cant help feeling very upset about this.

Sorry boet!

Hi Chris,

Ask yourself who does more damage to fish stocks, the trek netters or the commercial trawlers ? The difference is that the trek netters are in our (or mine at least) daily vision and we see the "impact" they are having. The commercial trawlers/long liners on the other hand are 50 km's off shore and out of our sight. The commercials use chum, kill seals, dolphins, sharks and turtles amongst a host of other bycatch including millions of seabirds. They catch millions of tons of fish every year - which we all happily buy on our supermarket shelves. I suspect that they have a far greater impact on fish stocks compared to guys who net a school of fish every now and then. I am not saying that the trek netters have no impact, just that it needs to be compared to other types of fishing.

Regards,
Darryl

[Chris Shelton]

Hi Chris,

Ask yourself who does more damage to fish stocks, the trek netters or the commercial trawlers ? The difference is that the trek netters are in our (or mine at least) daily vision and we see the "impact" they are having. The commercial trawlers/long liners on the other hand are 50 km's off shore and out of our sight. The commercials use chum, kill seals, dolphins, sharks and turtles amongst a host of other bycatch including millions of seabirds. They catch millions of tons of fish every year - which we all happily buy on our supermarket shelves. I suspect that they have a far greater impact on fish stocks compared to guys who net a school of fish every now and then. I am not saying that the trek netters have no impact, just that it needs to be compared to other types of fishing.

Regards,
Darryl

There I agree with you 100%. Personally, I don't like to see any netting and trawling activity at all, but yes, the masses need to be fed.... and I also enjoy buying the odd fresh fish when i can find it. It is a difficult one....a real catch 22

Apparently the only people who are still allowed to trek are the original licence holders, and when they die, the licences will not be transfered to next of kin. No new licences are being issued, so it is just a matter of time and it will stop. I cant wait for that day. Being a keen R&S angler, there is nothing more disheartening to be fishing a lovely little bay and seeing bait fish in the water, and the prospect of a nice fat kabeljou on the line, and along comes the trekker and takes out the lot from under your nose.

[swsmith]

this is a difficult one.and as recreational fisherman we feel hard done by when this happens.i remember my dad telling me stories of his rooikraans days.they netted then and the fish didnt get a chance to make there way to the rooi els side.so the catches along the ledges etc decreased.im talking 10 years ago......but you have to feel for the man that needs to put food on the table.we take it for granted.

[Jasper]

I can certainly sympathise with the trek netters - BUT ... for starters it is the middle man - the dealer to whom they sell their catch, that REALLY makes the money!!

Also False Bay is a closed environment - and those Tail are in spawn at this time of the year. I sense some double standards reading the thread on the local population netting yellowfish in the Vaal - with indignation expressed by many of our members ... yet a completely opposite viewpoint in the case of this massacre.

[Peterva]

On the lighter side [if there is] I was on a Namakura harbour protection boat coming from Fish Hoek on a "jolly" back to Simonstown and the guys were netting in Glencairn Bay when we picked up the rope between the boat and the guy holding the agterstock on the beach. The Namies had twin BMW inboards and could cruise easily at about 35 - 40 km. The oke feeding the net overboard the row boat and the oke with the agterstok almost met about 150 m offshore. It gave my navy mates the opportunity to practise their life saving and sea resue skills.

[honda2]

As for the deep sea trawlers - yes their impact must be exponentially larger than that of a couple of trek netters (who rightfully have to work very hard for their money). Once again - I can not support such practices and we should use all available opportunity to make a stink about it - not just on the forum where we preach to the converted.

As far as I am concerned - I do not begrudge these guys a living - in fact if I had anything to do with it I would gladly employ them to do something else. However, as an individual I have very little potential to make a difference. However, I think the combined pressure of society on government to develop a workable public works program can not be stressed enough. I don't care so much what these people will do (there surely is enough for them) - for all I care one guy can dig a nice deep hole just for the next person to come along and fill it up again - we just need to include more people in the formal economy. This will result in a host of positive knock down effects. I am sure many people would rather have a guaranteed R2500 per month than the opportunistic R5000.

I know such a solution is not easily implemented and that this will mean nothing for the 4000 yellowtails netted - but I can not just sit back and not say anything. If we speak out more - speak to more people and take responsibility for the underlying reasons why people abuse natural resources then potentially we can make a small difference - a difference that could mean then Chris is able to hook into a yellowtail or two on a lovely day out at sea...

My 2c

[Arthur]

You guys all make some very good points.

I don't begrudge anyone making a living either but, like Chris says, I for one will not mourn the end of trek netting.

But I agree with you Darryl - the real concern for me is trawling and long lining.If some of us had to spend time on these boats and see first hand the damage they inflict on the environment through "by catch" and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of seabirds,I don't think we would be able to sleep at night.

At least the trek netters don't have this kind of impact.But eventually we will have to find other ways to make a living.Fishing for a living will no longer be sustainable.

[Chris Shelton]

You guys all make some very good points.

I don't begrudge anyone making a living either but, like Chris says, I for one will not mourn the end of trek netting.

But I agree with you Darryl - the real concern for me is trawling and long lining.If some of us had to spend time on these boats and see first hand the damage they inflict on the environment through "by catch" and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of seabirds,I don't think we would be able to sleep at night.

At least the trek netters don't have this kind of impact.But eventually we will have to find other ways to make a living.Fishing for a living will no longer be sustainable.

Not only seabirds, but many fish too. The chap I went out on charter with told me that they often mop up lots of fish that manage to escape from the long lines, but because of the depths they are coming up from, they die anyway. He says that it is the easiest fishing there is, to simply mop up after the trawlers, easy pickings of hake and kingklip

[Nepptune]

Guys, here is one point that maybe hasn't been discussed or touched on... and this pertains to Yellowtail and Trek Netters only... I'm not getting into the Trawler/Longliner debate, you okes all know how I feel about those cunch of bunts....
I was chatting with a commercial line fisherman, a tuna guy recently, and his views on this.
He reckons the worst thing about the trek netters, is that these okes take an ENTIRE shoal.... with line fishing he reckons there are days, when you can throw everything you have at a school of tail, and they won't eat a single thing, for some or other reason, usually if they are spawning..... Now along comes your mate the trek netter, and BANG, there goes your spawning shoal.... No survivors.....

And the thoughts about the fisherman having to put food on his family's table.... Don't kid yourself okes... the guys who do the netting make peanuts... barely enough to put food on their tables... the real bastards who are raping the ocean are the guys who OWN those trek net liscences, who reap ewards for rape of the ocean....

To me, trek netting is ridiculous, and archaic... I can't believe, even after the blatant and obvious negative effects on our coast and fish stocks has been so readily shown, that it is still happening.... Then again, looking at MCM, its not really surprising...