SSACN - Tagsharks » Infocentre

Status of the Shark–Infographic

sharkman — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:32:12 +0000

Here is a fine example of an infographic from the Discovery Channel.

Note :: It is quite a large image so may take a while to download.

Handgrips in skate

sharkman — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 10:25:55 +0000

Any idea what caused the wound in the following photo ?

No !

Well, skate and rays are common bycatch in many trawled fisheries; to return the fish to the water some commercial fisherman cut a ‘handhold’ in the fish to make them easy to handle; with larger fish they will cut a slit in both wings and thread a rope through the cuts in order to lift the skate out and overboard.

Although the end result is not very pretty, as you can see the wounds can heal well; in fact earlier this year the Scottish Sun reported in an article – The return of Scarface – a skate with two such slashes having been recaptured by Gordon Goldie seven years after being caught by Davy Holt.

So if these fish are ‘as tough as old boots’ as they appear to be, why do SSACN bother producing a code of best practice and run training courses for those involved in tagging ?

Basically because we believe that handling fish should be done with respect and with as much care as possible.

Using hooks, gaffs and tags may seem unpleasant to some, but the fact is that the neat punctures these create cause lesser wounds and harm than most of those that occur naturally to the fish throughout its life-cycle – and certainly much less than those in the photo.

This has been proven time and time again as many skate have been recaptured within days or even hours of being tagged and returned; and we have records of fish which have been recaptured more than 5 times, some of these being over a period of 10 years or more.

SSACN AGM–Cancelled

sharkman — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:05:08 +0000

Tonight’s (8/12/11) AGM has been cancelled because of the storm force winds that are due for the region today and the to the long distances many members need to travel. The police and met office are advising there will be trees down and local flooding. We will publish an alternative date once we have determined one. Related posts: Latest SSACN Newsletter Have you any skate photos ? Orkney Skate Trust Related posts:

2012 Diary dates

sharkman — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 09:09:38 +0000

Looking ahead to 2012 ?

Want to enjoy some good company and fishing ?

Want to make a real difference ?

Support the Scottish Shark Tagging Programme

Help save Scotland’s sharks.

Three Events which throughout the year.

Download a copy of the poster and share it around.

Tagging is the only non-destructive assessment of sharks available which will help provide data such as :

Species migrations
Growth rates
Population and stock make-up
Stock fluctuations dynamics

The data will be used to input into the Scottish Government shark management plans.

Reports on each event highlighting socio-economic benefit to the area are produced and circulated to our Members, the press, politicians and the Scottish Government. See past reports in our Reading Room.

Scottish Marine Region – Consultation

sharkman — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:57:29 +0000

The Scottish Government published a consultation paper Scottish Marine Regions – Defining their Boundaries on 23rd November 2010 and written responses were invited until 18th February 2011.

There were eleven main questions and 81 written submissions were received by the deadline. There were also twelve public meetings in coastal communities around Scotland and one video-conference meeting.

The 81 written submissions in response to the consultation paper came from individual members of the public (nineteen) and a range of sectors and interest groups – local authority representatives (seventeen); fisheries and aquaculture (nine); government departments and Non-Departmental Public Bodies (seven); third sector environmental groups (six); academic/research, private sector energy, local coastal partnerships, and recreation bodies (four each, including SSACN); Inshore Fisheries Groups and transport/shipping organisations (three each); and one ‘other’ private sector respondent.

The results of the consultation are available on the web or as a downloadable pdf document.

SSACN AGM and subscriptions

sharkman — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:17:56 +0000

The AGM this year will be held on the 8th December at the Royal Marine Reserve HQ, 37 – 51 Birkmyre Road, Govan, Glasgow, G51 3JH – it will start at 7.30pm and all Members are welcome to attend.

As the HQ is a gated compound, please respond to this email address / write directly to The Secretary if you intend to attend in order your name can be given to Security.

If any Member would like to propose a Resolution, please ensure it is received by our Secretary on or before the 10 November 2011 – you can either use our Contact Us Page or write directly to him at the address highlighted above.

Finally, for those who haven't done so recently, it's that time of the year again, we would be grateful if you would take out / renew your subscription – please note – SSACN has no paid officials, all funds raised through memberships, donations, Event entries are directly channelled into our various programmes.

SIFT launched

sharkman — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 19:18:02 +0000

Sustainable Inshore Fisheries Trust (SIFT) is a Scottish charity founded in 2011

SIFT believe that despite the importance of inshore waters, their management has been neglected. Over-fishing and the use of fishing gears which damage habitats have not only been permitted but promoted. As a consequence the inshore ecosystem has been degraded and the valuable fin-fish stocks have collapsed to the point that coastal communities no longer enjoy a mixed and vibrant economy.

SIFT promotes fisheries policies which conserve and restore the diversity of the marine ecosystem. In particular SIFT promotes ecosystem based management and reductions in effort of damaging bottom trawls and dredges within specific inshore areas. These policies will assist the return of a more lucrative, sustainable and mixed economy featuring revived fin-fisheries, recreational sea angling, traditional shell fish creeling and scallop diving as well as leisure activities which rely on a healthy sea – such as wildlife tourism and diving.

Visit www.sift-uk.org for further information.

You may also be interested in a series of articles written by Ruth Thurstan on the SSACN website regarding the decline of the Clyde.

Luce Bay Consultation

editor — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 12:13:14 +0000

The Scottish government is holding a consultation regarding proposed management plans for the Luce Bay Special Area of Conservation (SAC); it is based on various recommendations put forward by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). The consultation closes Thursday 15 September 2011.

The intention of the Plan is to manage commercial fishing in a way which ensures the protection of the features for which the site has been designated, while at the same time exploring whether there is a need to restrict Scallop Dredging and other mobile gear from certain areas of the bay.

SSACN has been campaigning for five years for areas to be set aside from damaging commercial exploitation to allow stocks and habitats to recover.

We will be putting together a response to the consultation and our input will be based on a number of considerations including:

The Government’s economic study showed Luce Bay to be the most popular region for sea anglers visiting Scotland and a major contributor to the region’s economics
The potential for sea angling in the region to be even further developed if suitable stocks of fish are available.
Concern regarding the impact of scallop dredgers.
Support of the local static gear commercial fishing sector.
SNH stated in their 2006 Luce Bay and Sands SAC Advice under Regulation 33(2) of The Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 that Luce Bay is a nursery ground for commercially important fish and it is rare to catch an adult specimen of many of those species today.
Is the Scottish Government failing in its duties with respect to the Luce Bay SAC as it is designated under the EC Habitats Directive?

We are also encouraging Members and other interested anglers to send in an individual response; see this page for details on how to respond to this consultation.

July 2011 Newsletter

editor — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 09:28:03 +0000

For this edition we have a new Editor – Julie Hope – who joined us just recently as our new SSTP Project Coordinator – download it here.

This last quarter has seen a major change in the political position regarding sharks with Fisheries Minister Lochhead recognising that protecting vulnerable marine species is crucially important and that some shark, skate and ray populations are critically endangered; something anglers have been trying to tell politicians and fisheries managers for years – but perhaps better late than never !

As usual, Sharkatag proved to be very popular event, with participants coming from all over the UK, although the weather conspired against us and the Sunday was lost to most boats.

Once again we saw a downturn (around 50% again) in the numbers of tope tagged and though there is insufficient data at the moment to advance any particular theory as to why this is so, the trend is very worrying and highlights the value of the Events, the SSTP programme and the need for increased levels of research.

The last three months have also seen a number of significant catches – including probably the largest ever smoothhound caught in Scottish waters, an uncommon skate, a mix of interesting recaptures and a special day for three anglers.

The next few months will be very challenging – and as always, we are on the lookout for help. If you have a particular skill or even just a few hours a month to spare, you would be very welcome – just drop us a line at contact@ssacn.org.

Great use of length/weight charts

editor — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:24:43 +0000

Now here’s a great use of the length/weight charts available from the SSTP Events page as a pdf download.

It comes from an email from the Loch Ryan SAC and refers to a competition they were running :

‘the heaviest fish went to Graham Richardson with a special catch, this was a starry smooth hound and due to the protected status this fish was photographed measured and returned. The weight calculation charts provided by the Scottish Shark Tagging Programme (SSTP) and the Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network (SSACN) were used to calculate the weight which was given as 6lb 10oz. ‘

Due to its consistency, weight estimation based on a fish’s length offers a credible alternative to retaining fish until an end of competition and allows, as in this case, the fish to be quickly measured, photographed and returned quickly, whilst also offering those taking part in the competition a consistent means of determining the winner of a particular category.

Congratulations to Loch Ryan SAC for adopting the approach.