SSACN - Tagsharks » Events

The Not Forgotten Event

editor — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:10:25 +0000

This post is extracted from a report written by Captain Andy Bridson who put on a charity fishing event for the Not Forgotten Association which provides leisure and recreation for wounded serving and ex-service men and women with disabilities – guys who deserve total respect. Anyone wishing to make a contribution to their cause can do so via this link.

Andy’s report …… The idea in my head was perfect as I looked out of my office over a dreary winter’s afternoon. I’ll wait till the summer and then take a load of injured veterans out from the Tri Service Community for a day’s boat fishing; should be easy enough to arrange. A good friend of mine and himself seriously injured in Iraq put me in touch with the Events Organiser at The Not Forgotten Association (NFA) who asked me to plan for the 14 July, in the Dumfries area.

The borders may be well known for the devastating floods and the more recent gun tragedy but it certainly didn’t ring any bells with me about its charter boat fleet.

Not put off I scaled the event back to 10 veterans and two boats and kindly accepted the offer of a professional charter boat from Portpatrick Charters run by Husband and wife team Ian and Lesley Cerexhe and an Ayr Sea Angling Club(ASAC) friend of mine and club chairman Willie Kennedy assisted by another club member Jamie Soons.

Rosie Thompson, the event’s organiser for NFA, used her charms to get 10 sets of Tope gear provided free of charge by Fox International, Mr Stephen Bennie, the manager of Troon Yacht Haven took care of Willie’s fuel for the day and everyone gave their time for free and aimed to give the lads the best day out. Boats, skippers, crew, tackle and fuel sorted all we had to do was pray for the weather.

The day arrived and strong Easterly winds were bending trees at the crew’s base in Carsthorn and a few hesitant, non sailing types were starting to doubt the decision to go. With two double amputees and a complete non swimmer what could possibly go wrong. A re-assuring phone call they set off for the two hour drive to Portpatrick. Kitted out in Military Suits they were soon warm and dry and off we sailed into the semi unknown. The waters around the North Irish Sea at this time of year should be teaming with Tope and Mackerel so I was confident enough we could do something for the lads.

At our first mark and the plan was to feather up some Mackerel for bait and a scent trail and then maybe put the pick down for some Tope or other small shark species. The strong wind over a spring tide stopped us from getting too far out and when we dropped down at the start there was a haunting silence as the feathers started to be worked. I put on a small set of sabikis and managed the usual grey gurnard and occasional Mackerel but this was slightly worrying at the lack of Mackerel. With no worm to keep the costs down I was starting to think just how long minimal fish would keep these guys happy for with the first man starting to look a bit green already. I needn’t have worried as the skippers had done the business and we soon got reassuring calls of, “I think I’ve got a Fish on Andy,” and then “I’ve caught 2” then 3, then full strings. I put my rod away and spent the next hour or so unhooking a steady stream of mackerel. I think the lads would have been happy doing that all day and it never ceases to amaze me just how much pleasure novice anglers get from hooking 20 or 30 mackerel.

Next we tried briefly some drift fishing over a large offshore bank with bait as the tide eased. Willie and Jamie got there first in “Reel Deal” and with the pick down he was catching a steady stream of Dogs, Huss and other species for his 4 man crew. As members of The Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network (SSACN) all Ayr SAC members actively tag and return UK shark species. Royal Marine Sea Anglers work closely with both Ayr SAC and SSACN and although SSACN couldn’t make the day personally they recently donated £100 to RM charities for help in the organising of the “Shark a Tag” event and gave out Sharkatag hats and T shirts.

Willie, Jamie and the lads tagged a few nice Huss, the best of them being a 9lb 9oz fish for an injured fellow RM Commando. On the drift we continued to bag more species with more mackerel, whiting, dogs, Tub Gurnard, Coalfish and a small codling, but it wasn’t pleasant fishing with a significant swell still present. Lesley was doing an outstanding job of cooking up bacon and sausage baps and unhooking fish and best of all she kept the two flavours apart. With two double amputees on our boat and one rather green looking lad we ran for the shelter of land and an inshore mark, while Willie stuck it out.

Close in on the drift the lads were shown some techniques for Pollack and it wasn’t long before a few nice “pan sized” fish were coming aboard. The species kept rolling in and we started to catch a few nice codling also which also made it to the pot. Using Mackerel for bait we also had the inevitable dogs and plenty more Mackerel which the lads happily returned. Between drifts they continued to amuse themselves by hand feeding the gulls and watching in awe as gannets dived around the boat for bait discards.

For our final hour or so, we put the pick down ourselves albeit close inshore. The lads continued with baited paternoster rigs and the skipper and I put down a scent trail bag and some big Tope rigs. I only brought one rod so with 20lb braid and a 20lb class ugly stick I was hoping for a nice small pack fish just as a demo for the lads. They continued to bag up on Cod, Pollack, LSD, Whiting and Mackerel while I changed baits regularly as the endless stream of dogfish tried to choke themselves on whole Mackerel and a 10/0 hook.

At 1430 I got a run and not wanting to speak too soon I picked up the rod and slowly wound down into what felt like a Trident Submarine. Watching my 150 yards of braid disappear rapidly I managed to turn the fish with a few turns of line left before the knot and apply the first bit of real pressure. Confident I had a solid hook hold I got one of the lads who hadn’t managed to keep his lunch down onto the rod. After another two hard runs he was beaten and handed over to another one of the lads to finish the fight as he massaged his forearms. Coaching the second angler up the boat the skipper and I lifted a perfectly clean female fish onto the deck. A wet towel over the eyes allowed us to take measurements of the large female and she was tagged and returned after a group photo.

After the adrenalin rush had subsided I had a quick look at the size conversion chart and an average fish is estimated at 60lb for that size. When the final size conversion was done on land she came out as 64lb. A perfect end to a cracking day with 10 species being caught by the all novice crews and some great guys, I look forward to repeating this again. The tackle donated by FOX held up well and will be used to for the RM sponsored Father’s & Sons grass roots trips from Exmouth.

Some of the best comments received from the veterans who participated are listed below.

Darren Swift (Swifty) – ex 1 Royal Green Jackets, double amputee blown up in Northern Ireland

Fantastic day; the whole group had a great day (even the guys that chundered). I’d never been sea fishing before and wasn’t really sure what to expect but Andy and the two skippers soon had us all reeling in the fish with the highlight of the day being the catching and tagging of a 60lb Tope shark. "Awesome".

Johnnie Ray – Ex Grenadier Guards, double amputee lost his legs in a training incident in Canada along with two others.

Andy what a fantastic day. Before I got to the harbour I wasn’t sure but as soon as we got on the boats it was the start of a fantastic day. You and the skipper were brilliant both with many years of experience. The day was great when we were catching fish but the highlight of the day was catching a 60lb Tope. Wow! What a great end to an already awesome day.

Shane Rex – 2 Yorks – 3 months back from Afghanistan – involved in 6 major contacts – very much in need of some r n r

I had a fantastic time, quite possibly the best thing I have done in a long long time. To say I can’t swim at all, I wasn’t bothered at all about being out so deep. Catching the shark is a once in a lifetime experience for me. A big thank you for an outstanding day.

Dan Bonham – 1 Royal Anglians – injured during Afghanistan pre-deployment training

It was a brilliant day even though I ended up feeding the seagulls my breakfast over the side of the boat. The guys showing us how to fish couldn’t have been better. Thank you for a great day.

Stuart Robertson – 1 Royal Anglians – injured in Afghanistan

From start to finish it was a perfect day (apart from emptying my guts in the sea)! It was my first time fishing but with Andy and the other two skippers’ guidance and help I was pulling in the fish in no time and even assisted in pulling in a shark! Thanks guys.

Lolos Lako-Tombe – Marine 42 Cdo – injured in training

Fantastic experience all round Andy, my view in fishing has completely changed. I would definitely recommend to others to experience this type of fishing. It has inspired me to want to do an add-qual in sailing then hope to fish in my own down time. Thank you.

Jimi Healey – 2nd Yorks – again 3 months back from Afghanistan – involved in 6 major contacts and again very much in need of some r n r

Thank you Andy for a brilliant day. Never done anything like this before and enjoyed myself from start to finish. "Feels like I am still on the boat got my sea legs but oh cant get rid of them now" Tagging the shark was an experience I will not soon forget. Thank you. X1X

Marine Alan Coman – 42 Cdo, injured during training been in Base Company for 18 months and desperately in need of a break

An absolutely hoofing day, enjoyed from start to finish, even if the other boat cheated and bought a Tope before we set off and then doctored video footage to prove it. They didn’t fool me!! Would do this again in a heartbeat!

Nigel Smith – ex Royal Navy – single amputee, lost his leg in a motorcycle accident

Great day despite the choppy sea. Excellent skipper very knowledgeable and informative answering a range of questions and knew the best spots. The mate (skippers wife) supplied hot food through the day, always good for morale. I was pleased with my catch – 5 different species and the highlight was the big tope, nothing was too much trouble for the crew and look forward to the next time.

Acknowledgements: Without the help and support of the following people this event would not have been possible.

Ian & Lesley Cerexhe: Portpatrick Charters (on board Rhins Ranger)
Willie Kennedy: Chairman – Ayr Sea Angling Club (on board Reel Deal)
Jamie Soons: Bad Panda Graphics – Ayr Sea Angling Club member
Mr Stephen Bennie: Troon Yacht Haven
Mr Fox: Fox International
Ms Rosie Thompson: Events Organiser, The Not Forgotten Association.
SSACN: Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network

Top Taggers

editor — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:20:00 +0000

Most tagging schemes offer a small reward to anyone who reports the details of any initial / recapture tagging data. The SSTP has decided to award fishing caps which we hope our volunteers will be proud to wear.

In order to highlight the level of effort we will be awarding caps at three levels; providing data on 10 sharks will earn a bronze logo cap, 50 sharks will receive a silver logo hat and for those who reach the magical 100 – they will receive GOLD.

A list of all those who have achieved each level may be found here.

We also run a ‘Tagger of the Month’ programme which recognizes the individual angler who has contributed the most data the the SSTP database during a particular month; their profile is displayed on our pages in recognition. Past winners of the award are recorded in the SSTP Hall of Fame.

A number of caps were awarded at Sharkatag 2010 – the recipients are (Back row L-R) Gordon Stewart, Les McBride, Guy Stewart, Ian Burret and (Front row L-R) Davie Murray, Tony Voss, Graham Boardman, Gordon Goldie

World Conference on Marine Biodiversity

editor — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 08:47:57 +0000

From their website

Vision

The oceans provide an irreplaceable resource to humankind which must be protected and managed into the future. The impact of changes in biodiversity as a result of direct and indirect human impact must be fully considered.

Aim of the conference

The World Conference on Marine Biodiversity has the overall aim of bringing together scientists, practitioners and the public to discuss and advance our understanding of the issues surrounding the importance of biodiversity in the marine environment. The conference will address issues of marine biodiversity across a deliberately wide range of relevant spheres and interacting topics.

More specifically the conference aims to:

Review our knowledge of marine biodiversity and its role in marine ecosystem functioning
Assess the most critical threats to marine systems and consider management strategies
Discuss sustainable development and socio-economic impacts on the marine sector
Identify future research priorities

The conference will be aimed at the widest possible groups of participants stakeholders from academics to industry and include elements specifically targeted at the public and school children.

The conference structure and format is designed to maximise interaction between participants mixing oral presentations, poster, workshops and exhibition. The conference will have an interdisciplinary focus and is organised into generic themes rather than by species or habitats to maximise interdisciplinary linkages.

Conference Themes

Taxonomy
Biodiversity
Changes in Biodiversity with Time
Marine Technology: Platforms and Sensors for the 21^st Century
Blue Biotechnology
Ecosystem Services
Climate Change
Marine Extremes
Bioinformatics and Data Delivery
Advances in Statistics in Relation to Marine Biodiversity Science
Marine Policy and Law
Marine Biodiversity and Human Health
Integrative Frameworks of Linking Physical Dynamics and Biodiversity
Biodiversity – Ecosystem Function
Linking Biodiversity – Ecosystem Function and Services
Biodiversity, Education and Outreach
Environmental Physiology
Human Impacts of Biodiversity

Join our mailing list

For more information and to be included on the World Conference on Marine Biodiversity Mailing list please email marine-biodiversity@abdn.ac.uk including your name and organisation indicating if you are interested as a delegate or an exhibitor.

Sharkatag juniors on BBC / CBBC

editor — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 10:38:07 +0000

During Sharkatag the CBBC / BBC Newsround programme did a item for their programme where the interviewer ‘Leah’ went out in one of the boats along with Kiera Merrifield and Bradley Burrett – you may see the item on the CBBC / BBC website

Leah with Kiera and Bradley

Sharkatag 2010 day 2

editor — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 21:54:25 +0000

Sharkatag 2010 is now well under way and an improvement in the weather has resulted in much improved catches with reasonable numbers of tope, bull huss, spurdog, smoothhound and rays being caught by the anglers around the area and everyone is having a great time.

Willie with a smoothhound and Paul with a thornback ray taken on day 2

Media coverage was excellent for the second day running – BBC Breakfast TV once again highlighted Sharkatag and one of sea angling’s leading journalists, Phil Williams of Fishing Films and Facts was along for the day fishing with Willie and Stuart. Phil was very pleased with the outing as a good selection of huss and tope provided him with some fantastic material.

From novice anglers to the very experienced – all are having a ball – catching, tagging and releasing sharks in the name of conservation; the consensus so far – great weather, great fishing, great organisation, great craic.

Sharkatag 2010 day 1

editor — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 10:23:23 +0000

A mixed day to kick off Sharkatag – some really good fish taken offshore but catches inshore were more variable – some boats managing to take 4 or 5 taggable fish, others struggling to catch any – however, there was a reasonable spread of smoothhound, huss, rays and even some spurdog. There were also good numbers of lesser spotted dogfish to make sure most everyone caught something.

The first fish tagged and entered onto the SSTP database was a 10lb male tope taken by Raymond Scaife fishing from ‘Lady Jasmine’ using mackerel for bait.

A couple of the better tope caught and tagged on the opening day.

The fish also managed to put in a good appearance for the TV crews from STV and Newsround who had come along to film segments for their programmes.

The Newsround presenter Leah with Bradley Burrett and Kiera Merrifield.

Tag Recording Card ready for download

editor — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 10:10:14 +0000

The updated SSTP recording card is now available for download in pdf form.

You may either print it to normal paper and send it in an envelope to the address on the card, or, you may print it to card and then just use it as a ‘postcard’.

NB:: you may also directly enter your data to the SSTP database.

For those taking part in Sharkatag 2010 – to help us provide up to date information during Sharkatag, please hand in your cards at the end of each day to the SSACN rep at any one of the main sites.

Egg case hunting on Coll

editor — Wed, 12 May 2010 12:02:13 +0000

The SSTP recently went to Coll to visit Arinagour Primary School to help them scour the beach at Feall Bay for eggcases.

The day was a huge success with (slightly windy) beautiful sunny weather allowing the class to spend all afternoon on the beach after a morning learning fascinating shark facts.

Many Catshark eggcases were found and the pupils were so inspired by the day that a few returned the following weekend to hold their own eggcase hunt, finding a very impressive 48 catshark eggcases!

Aileen Cook, the head teacher at Arinagour, said the children had thoroughly enjoyed their day and were keen to learn more about the shark, skate and ray life on their doorstep!

Oban – Festival of the sea

editor — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 14:29:45 +0000

Oban is to host a major new 10 day event, celebrating ‘Argyll’s dazzling marine environment’ and inviting everyone to come and join the adventure.

The Festival of the Sea is a community festival and embraces anything and everything to do with the sea and our expressions of our relationship with it – from marine science, to art, drama, wildlife, history, cuisine, dance, language; it will run from 21st – 31st May.

As part of the festival, there will be a free event at the Corran Halls, Oban on the 25th May from 7.00pm onwards, where Dr Mike Burroes of the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) will give a talk on waves and SSACN’s ‘Sharkman’, James Thorburn will talk about the Scottish Shark Tagging Programme (SSTP).

Sharkatag2010

editor — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:21:22 +0000

Sharkatag 2010 is over.

It ran from the 18th to the 20th of June and as usual the main target was tope with rays, huss and hounds also expected to feature.

Results :: These will be posted as soon as all returns are in and have been validated.

Meanwhile photos taken at the event may be found at http://www.tagsharks.com/tagging-programmes/sharkatag-2010-photo-call.

As usual for Sharkatag, the main target will be tope and the location will be around the Mull of Galloway.

Please remember – Sharkatag is not a competition – its main aims are to tag as many fish as possible from the shore and boat; to highlight the urgent need for shark, ray and skate conservation in Scottish waters, and to raise the public awareness of sea angling.

You can download an A5 copy of our poster from here to pass on to your friends, club, local tackle shop or anyone else who may be interested.

A code of best practice for handling tope may be found here.

Click on the following for accommodation lists for The Mull of Galloway and the Isle of Whitorn areas.

Why are SSACN tagging sharks ?

Many sea anglers have recognised that over the years the stocks of the various Scottish shark species have been in severe decline.

SSACN would like to see the Scottish government and fisheries managers make more effort to protect the various species of shark, but anecdotal evidence – no matter how obvious the situation is – is unacceptable to the government who have always claimed lack of scientific data.

Though the government requires further evidence through field-based research before they are willing to take any action they do not have a programme in place in gather it, therefore, SSACN has devised its own series and Sharkatag is just one of the initiatives we are undertaking to try and meet their evidential needs.