But we can’t let it go without thanking all our Supporters, Volunteers, Advisors and Management Team. They continue to make the difference !! That they do so is testimony to their continued commitment to conserving near shore fish stocks, their environment and helping ensure ‘Fish for the Future’. We hope the following will give you [...]
Great news for Scotland’s sharks. Tope, as the commercial sector are now prohibited from catching them, join common skate and porbeagle in having the highest levels of protection in Scottish waters. In a previous post we reported that the Scottish Government was looking to increase the protection of 26 species of Scottish sharks. The necessary [...]
Today the European parliament voted in favour of completely closing the loopholes in the EU shark finning ban: more than that they voted by an overwhelming majority of 566:47. This excellent news comes after some uncertainty regarding the issue due to opposition by some member states. This vote means that commercial vessels would be required [...]
The Manx Wildlife Trust have announced that, with the help and collaboration of SSACN’s Scottish Shark Tagging Programme (SSTP), they are beginning a new project to learn more about their small shark species. As with the SSTP, the programme will work with volunteers, including anglers, who will catch fish, tag them, record their details and [...]
This past weekend saw SSACN hold its 4th annual skate angling event in the Sound of Jura, Argyll on the west coast of Scotland attracting anglers from all over the country to pursue the magnificent common skate. In this post-event report we will aim to give a rundown of the event and pick out some [...]
The Skate Event Gallery is being updated on a daily basis. Though conditions haven’t been as favourable as they could be a number of fish around and above the 200lb mark have been caught.
Our SSTP project coordinator, Lewis, gave a talk at the Logan Botanic Gardens covering topics including Scottish sharks, the tagging programme and threats to sharks worldwide. The talk was very well attended and the SSTP would like to thank everyone involved for coming along and getting involved. We hope you all enjoyed the presentation and [...]
Marine Scotland have launched an ebook version (ePUB format) of Scotland’s Marine Atlas which was published earlier this year in hard copy. NB:: This is a large download – anywhere between 54MB and 134MB dependent on device/format. It can be downloaded here and is suitable for most tablet devices; if you want to look at [...]
Now available for download from the Reading Room Thanks to Jamie and Bad Panda Graphics. Feel free to download, print out and hand around. .
The discovery of the first deep-sea shark spawning ground in Scotland has fuelled calls for better protection of the seas and the nation’s multi-million pound wildlife tourism sector. Marine biologists at Heriot-Watt University revealed that they have found a nursery for the blackmouth catshark on a coral reef in the Outer Hebrides. Scientists at the [...]
Once again the Scottish weather played a key role in SSACN’s annual Sharkatag event! Despite the good weather leading up to the event, low pressure systems over the UK brought unsettled weather and strong south-westerly winds during the weekend unfortunately forced the cancellation of the event on both Friday and Saturday. With the wind swinging [...]
The weather relents ! The up to date forecast shows the strong winds easing and turning to the west through Saturday with Sunday looking favourable at the moment so, subject to them remaining that way, Sharkatag 2013 day 3 will proceed as planned. Registrations will be open from 1930 to 2100 hrs on Saturday evening [...]
Regretfully we’ve had to cancel day 2 (Saturday) of this Sharkatag due to conflicting weather forecasts. Only time will tell which forecast is proves right, but Windguru Pro has wind speeds of 28 knots (31 mph) at 12 noon Saturday. As a result, the registration sessions booked for Friday evening and Saturday morning will now [...]
Tope #2601 originally tagged in Luce Bay by Dale Robertson on 25/07/10 was recaptured around 1400 miles away on 27/05/13 by a deep water longline vessel working the Gorringe Seamount.
New Zealand scientists are baffled by the 13,300km migration of a mako shark tagged in a landmark study. The shark, a 1.8-metre mako named Carol, has been tracked by Niwa scientists using a satellite tagging device. The tag was attached to Carol in the Bay of Islands six months ago. The tag has provided the [...]
An incredible 3,000-mile journey by a basking shark has forced scientists to rethink their theories on the rare species. Until now, it was thought that basking sharks were only found in temperate waters, but when a five-metre female — named Banba and tagged off Malin Head — was found to have travelled to the western [...]
Sea anglers know that the Irish Sea around the Rhins of Galloway (an ever popular sea angling destination) is always capable of throwing up the odd surprise, but we think it’s safe to say that nobody could have predicted the events of the past weekend. The action started on Friday when a break in the [...]
Scotland’s natural environment is not only a major contributor to Scotland’s economic growth in terms of our ability to engage visitors and produce world class produce and products but it also plays an important part in our quality of life. But in recognising this, politicians must ensure marine and coastal environments that are clean, healthy, [...]
Fishermen are to be trained to identify different shark species in a project that aims to help protect stocks. Fishing representatives in Lancashire, the North East, Yorkshire, Cumbria and North East Lincolnshire are to receive guides to help classify species at sea. The scheme, run by the Co-operative, the Shark Trust and commercial fishing industry, [...]
In a recent news story, the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) expressed their view that zero TACs have no place in fisheries management except in a single species fishery in urgent need of dramatic remedial action. Focussing on spurdog and porbeagle the NFFO feel that the purpose of zero TACs for them seems to [...]
EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki said Thursday that a total ban on fishing endangered deep-water shark species would be maintained for another two years. After talks with fisheries ministers, Commissioner Damanaki stated "I would like to underline that on [these] sharks we keep the zero-fishing proposal," Catch allowances have been at zero for the last [...]
The New York state Senate voted unanimously on Tuesday to outlaw the shark fin trade. The bill now heads to the Assembly, which passed the same measure last year, only to have it die in the Senate without a vote. Read more here
A factory rooftop in Hong Kong covered in thousands of freshly sliced shark fins. The southern Chinese city is one of the world’s biggest markets for shark fins, the photo shows an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 fins being laid to dry on the rooftop ahead of an anticipated surge in demand over Lunar New Year [...]
Closing Date extended to 20th Jan. The Angling Trust are inviting sea anglers to take part in a vital research project into how they value the UK’s marine environment. They would be grateful if you would take the time to complete the survey by clicking HERE What’s It All About? Working with the University of [...]
Earlier in the year, the Environment Agency Fisheries Team working with the Angling Trust undertook a National Angling Survey. Over 29,000 anglers and 780 angling organisations replied, making this one of the biggest ever surveys of anglers. As well as giving views on various issues affecting angling, respondents also helped with the creation of a [...]
Regretfully we’ve had to cancel day 1 of this years event due to adverse weather conditions. As a result, the registration sessions booked for Thursday evening and Friday morning will now not take place. The up to date forecast shows the strong southerly winds turning round more to the southwest into Saturday which may just [...]
The Shark Trust has awarded Richard Benyon, UK Minister for Natural Environment and Fisheries, a Shark Champion Award in recognition of his personal commitment to shark conservation and the UK government’s tireless resolve to end the removal of shark fins at sea. The EU banned shark finning throughout the EU fleet in 2003, but a [...]
The European Council of Ministers has taken the final step toward strengthening the EU ban on shark finning. Shark finning was banned by the EU in 2003, but there were loopholes in the regulation that allowed shark fins to be removed on-board and landed separately from shark bodies, the new associated official regulatory text requires [...]
Please leave the tag in the fish - take a note of the 5 or 6 figure unique number on tag which so we may match it with information stored on the database.
Please keep the fish in water as much as possible.
The tag may be covered in growth but careful rubbing will clean the tag up. If possible please measure the wingspan/girth and the length, check the sex and don’t forget report all the details here.
Click on the image below to view the trailer.
The SSTP is a project of the the Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network. http://www.ssacn.org
Dumfries and Galloway Leader Programme
and Scottish Natural Heritage
