FISH 131 Autumn 2018

Edition 131 / Autumn 2018

The Quarterly Magazine of Fisheries Management

Fisheries and Conflict Somali Pirates and Fisheries

Scallop Wars The Cod Wars 2nd World War and Fish Angling and Conflict War and Nature Conservation

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23/01/2017 16:22

Fish 131

Inside this edition 4

View from the Chair

10

Somali Pirates and Fisheries

14

Scallop Wars

16

The Cod Wars

20

2nd World War and Fish

24

Angling and Conflict

30

War and Nature Conservation

34

Changes at the top at APEM

36

The Paul Coulson BLOG

40

IFM News

48

Breaking News

50

Book Review

52

Members and their fish

Editorial Team: Lawrence Talks, Steve Axford Ian Dolben, Peter Spillett, Valerie Holt Paul Coulson, Eamon Cusack

IFM ( Institute of Fisheries Management ) PO Box 679, Hull, HU5 9AX Tel: +44(0)845 388 7012

E-mail: info@ifm.org.uk. www.ifm.org.uk Find us on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter (@IFMFish)

Fish 131

The theme for this edition of FISH was inspired by the news coverage of the ‘scallop wars’ with British boats ramming French boats over who has the right to fish for scallops. I then got thinking about the wider topic of fisheries and conflict.

In our first article, I have drawn on a number of sources to highlight the impact of Somali pirates on fisheries and the influence of foreign illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing vessels pillaging Somalia’s fish stocks.

Closer to home, the article I have written on the scallop wars illustrates the age-old issue of fishing rights, some of the challenges of managing sea fisheries and the emotion and aggravation that can stem from fishing disputes.

Said to be one of Britain’s most humiliating fishing episodes, in an article by British Sea Fishing, the Cod Wars between Britain and Iceland involved navies from both countries. Such was the aggression that British naval ships were purposefully strengthened to enable them to ram Icelandic fishing boats. In the end Britain backed down and the loss of access to the Icelandic fisheries devastated many British fishing communities, such as Hull and Grimsby and many Scottish ports, with as many as 1,500 fishermen and several thousand shore-based workers from these areas losing their jobs. The stakes can often be very high over such disputes.

War isn’t the answer, but the 2nd World War wasn’t so bad if you were a Scottish haddock.

Drawing on fisheries data a team of researchers found that the 6-year enforced pause in commercial fishing caused by World War II helped cod, haddock and whiting populations in the North Sea recover from years of pre-war exploitation.

Taking a different angle on fisheries and conflict, and reflecting that this year is the centenary of the end of the 1st World War, I have used the opportunity to highlight two fishing charities who work with acting and former service personnel in offering angling as one route to recuperation.

Finally, following this edition’s theme, Valerie Holt discusses war and nature conservation in the UK.

Front cover: Somali pirates surrender © US Navy Design: POLAR 10 www.polar10.com

Lawrence Talks - FISH editor fish@ifm.org.uk 3

View from the Chair

The Annual Conference also enables the IFM to perform some of its ‘business’. As well as the Annual General Meeting at the end of the first day, members of IFM Council gather on the Monday afternoon, before Conference, for a workshop to explore hot topics in more detail than in usual Council meetings. This time we discussed the important topics of partnership working and membership. This is a brief summary of what we found…

Partnership working IFM has been working in partnership with different organisations over many years. However, we have never taken time out to think more strategically about what we want from these arrangements and how we can gain more from them to advance the Institute’s aims and objectives.

View from the Chair Annual Conference, Hull I have just returned from the IFM’s Annual Conference, this year held in Hull, formerly UK City of Culture. 125 people attended and enjoyed the opportunity to hear a range of excellent presentations on the theme of ‘Thriving or Surviving – Creating Resilient Fisheries’. There will be a resumé in the next edition of FISH so I won’t give too much away here, however I would like to take this opportunity to say a massive thanks the Yorkshire and North East Branch for organising this excellent event so well. As well as the learning from the presentations and posters, there was the chance for networking, building relationships, field trips, the annual dinner, awards, and to become acquainted with another city. There was also the usual vibrant social intercourse that has become fabled for IFM conferences. I learnt that Hull has a rich cultural and fisheries heritage, ideal for an IFM conference, and I thoroughly recommend a visit.

4

Partnerships are collaborative, mutually advantageous working relationships between two or more parties based on trust, equality and mutual understanding for the achievement of a specified goal. The workshop considered which partners we should work more with, but more importantly, what aims and objectives we should be targeting for better partnership working. For example: to inform better catchment management; to secure better funding for fisheries management; to provide better support for new fisheries managers through stronger relationships with colleges and universities, and better support to existing staff through stronger partnerships with employers.

Membership The IFM has been a membership organisation since it started in 1969. There are many benefits of membership of the IFM, e.g. access to specialist training, discounts to conferences and workshops, FISH magazine, access to specialist advice and a professional network, access to the Chartered Environmentalist award and opportunities for Continuing Professional Development, local branch events and access to a ‘voice’ for professional fisheries managers, for example influencing Government on fisheries policy.

Despite these advantages, membership has been falling steadily since a peak of 1,400 in the mid-1990s to less than 700 now, as the following graph indicates.

View from the Chair

1600

IFM Membership 1985-2018

1400

Number

1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 1985 1988 1991 1994 1997 2000 2003 2006 2009 2012 2016 2018 Total

Membership is the lifeblood of the Institute and generates valuable income to provide services back to members. We believe there are about 5,000 people employed in fisheries management in the UK and Ireland, so a membership of 650 represents only 13%. Is it just a fact of life that ‘being a member’ of any organisation is less relevant in this “we’ll be conducting modern age?

Whilst the number a survey of members of fisheries and non-members to roles in larger such gain feedback about employers as Government the Institute “ agencies has declined, and might explain some of this, employment in Rivers Trusts and consultancies has increased. So, we are keen to explore this further, with the aim to reverse this trend in membership. We know we need to do better at promoting our services to members (those services are often unnoticed) and to help employers recognise the benefits and to support their staff with professional membership.

As well as implementing some obvious changes, we’ll be conducting a survey of members and non-members to gain feedback about the Institute, what people want from the IFM and how we can provide better services to members.

You are welcome to send me any ideas direct at chairman@ifm.org.uk.

good governance can be seen on the IFM website at https://ifm.org.uk/about-us/ executive-committee/.

Thank you for your support to the Institute.

David Bunt | IFM Chairman

The outcomes of the Council workshop and these topics are built into the IFM’s Development Plan which forms the core business of the IFM’s Executive Committee. That, for transparency and 5

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Somali pirates Š US Navy

and Fisheries

Somalia has the largest coastline in continental Africa, with rich marine waters that are amongst the most productive in the world, with yellowfin tuna, blue marlin, dolphinfish and sardines naturally in abundance. For more than 30 years, however, this bountiful marine environment has been a source and site of conflict.

Lawlessness

many Somali pirates as the spark that caused a wave of piracy off Somalia. They have justified the hijackings-for-ransom as compensation for nearly two decades of illegal fishing.

In 1991 Somalia’s central government collapsed as the country descended into civil war, leaving the country lawless, full of guns, desperately poor people and vulnerable to exploitation.

In 2008 pirates even attacked tuna vessels that were fishing 650 to 800 kilometres beyond Foreign illegal, unreported, and unregulated Somali territorial waters. One fishing vessel was (IUU) fishing vessels took advantage of this captured, leading to a ransom payment that chaos and plundered Somali waters, targeting exceeded $1 million dollars. prize fish such as tuna and selling their catches at distant ports.

As illegal foreign fishing vessels fled, Somali pirates quickly shifted their focus toward more This illegal fishing in Somali waters by various lucrative vessels, such as cargo ships and oil European and Asian countries has been cited by 10

Somali pirates under observation Š US Navy

Somali Pirates and Fisheries

Somali Pirates

Somali Pirates and Fisheries

Purse seiner fishing in the Indian ocean © Greenpeace.jpg

tankers that cost the global maritime shipping industry billions of dollars in lost revenue. In 2011 alone, pirates operating along the coast of Puntland attacked 237 ships, which cost millions of dollars in ransoms, higher insurance premiums and the re-routing of shipping.

ships to make them harder to hijack and prisons were built in Somalia and abroad to lock up captured pirates. By 2014 piracy had been brought under control and former pirates were turning to fishing to earn an honest living.

Pirates inadvertently played a positive Developing Somalia’s fishing industry role for marine conservation The United Nations’ The pirates though, by preventing commercial Food and Agriculture over-fishing, inadvertently played a positive role Organisation has for marine conservation causing a reduction in invested in a new fish tuna catches. processing plant at US-based conservationist, Joni Lawrence, said Bosaso to help support a Somali-led commercial by denying fishing vessels access to rich hunting sea fishery. grounds in the Indian Ocean, the pirates could be doing the world a favour. “In a perverse way, the In 2014 the Somali government laid claim to pirates are definitely doing a good thing because Somalia’s 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in line with the United Nations maybe it will raise awareness about the benefits Convention on the Law of the Sea. Somalia of leaving a fish alone for a while so that people at the same time passed the Somali Fisheries see that it is possible for them to replenish,” Law which explicitly outlawed bottom trawling. said Lawrence.

This groundbreaking legislation also called for improved monitoring of fish landings and Operation Ocean Shield an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management whereby the area would be In 2009 NATO embarked on ‘Operation Ocean managed holistically with the protection of Shield’ in an effort to tackle Somali piracy, with war ships undertaking regular patrols. Better security measures were introduced on board 11

Somali Pirates and Fisheries

threatened and endangered fish species.

promote a vibrant domestic fishing industry that benefits and helps sustain all Somalis.

A sustainable, dynamic fishing industry would help us build a more stable and Despite all this progress in strengthening fisheries prosperous Somalia.” management domestically, Somalia lacks the ability to police its vast waters. With the threat Today Somali fishermen continue to of piracy gone, foreign illegal, unreported, and struggle to compete with unregulated (IUU) fishing vessels began pillaging foreign vessels Somalia’s marine waters again.

The value of the tuna fishery in the region is worth A report called ‘Securing Somali Fisheries’ published in 2015 by the group Secure Fisheries, several billion dollars with economies of Indian Ocean island nations such as Seychelles and revealed from satellite data that foreign IUU Mauritius being hugely dependent on tuna. In the fishing vessels were fishing in Somali waters.

Seychelles, tuna related industries – re-export of The report asserts that these vessels were catching three times more fish than Somalis and fuel to vessels, port services, electricity and water for vessels – account for up to 40 per cent of that they were targeting some of the highestforeign earnings. There is a significant incentive value fish, leaving Somali fishermen to compete for exploiting Somalia’s fish stocks. over lower-value fish. The foreign fleets were

Foreign vessels return to pillage Somalia’s fish stocks

also contributing to the overfishing of swordfish, snapper, marlin and shark populations. Foreign bottom trawlers were fishing recklessly and acting with impunity, dragging heavy nets, damaging an estimated 120,000 sq. km of important marine habitat. “The damage is so extensive that even if trawling were stopped today, this area may need many years to recover.”

Today Somali fishermen continue to struggle to compete with foreign vessels, reports Voice of America online 20 May 2018.

Fishing in Somali waters must not be allowed to remain a free-for-all

“Foreign boats in Somali waters have been a problem for years”, he added. “Some of them operate without the government’s permission.

Others buy permits from Somali officials, at times under questionable conditions.”

According to the Secure Fisheries report, eliminating IUU fishing would enable Somalia to begin to license and sell commercially valuable tuna sustainably, generating up to $17 million per year. These funds could then be reinvested into better infrastructure such as port construction, improved cold storage and modern processing facilities to support both artisanal and industrial fishing fleets.

In an article by former president of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, he says that: “Fishing in Somali waters must not be allowed to remain a free-for-all, where far-flung foreign fleets exploit the ecosystem in unsustainable ways. I call upon the international community to collaborate with my government to ensure that IUU fishing in Somali waters is stopped for good.”

“Doing so would improve maritime security and 12

“Now there is illegal fishing, fish stealing, and so on,” explains Somali boat captain Mohammed Elias Abdiqadir. “We don’t have a powerful government who can stop these illegal fishermen who are creating problems.”

Abdiqani says part of the problem is that the foreign vessels are larger and have better technology than the local crafts, which are mostly small, fibreglass skiffs. “They fish in the deep ocean, and they have long nets and better tools than us,” he said.

The threat of a return of piracy remains Until the foreign boats are completely gone, many experts say the threat of a return of piracy will remain, as out-of-work young men seek economic opportunities in criminality. In 2017 pirates launched a string of attacks on commercial vessels off Puntland’s long coastline.

Conflict and fisheries remains a highly charged issue in this corner of the Indian Ocean.

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Scallop Wars

Scallop Wars Flashing across every media channel in August and early September this year were headlines about French and British fishing fleets coming to blows in the English Channel over scallop fishing.

Battle over scallops On the 29th August about 40 French boats tried to stop five larger British boats from fishing for scallops 12 nautical miles off the Normandy coast, in the Bay of Seine. The fishing boats collided, flares were fired, stones were thrown causing windows to be broken, but thankfully no one was injured.

Video footage was posted on French media showing a Scottish scallop dredger, the Honeybourne 3, colliding with French vessels.

It looked pretty dangerous and ugly.

14

The French fishermen accused the British of ‘pillaging’ their scallops. The British fisherman said they had the right to fish for scallops.

A French local government spokesperson, Ingrid Parrot, said: “Things were thrown on both sides from the English and from the French.

Both parties were extremely tense.”

Eventually the British were unable to match the local flotilla for numbers and were ultimately chased away. Two British boats, the Golden Promise and Joanna C, returned to Brixham harbour with damaged windows.

Scallop Wars

dangerously. “We have raised the matter with the British government and asked for protection for our vessels, which are fishing legitimately,” its chief executive, Barrie Deas, said. “The deeper issues behind the clashes should be settled by talking around the table, not on the high seas where people could be hurt.”

Agreement reached

Scallop © Michael Horne

On 17th September 2018 agreement was finally reached to end the conflict. Under the terms that were struck, British vessels of less than 15 metres would continue to be able to take scallops from the waters, but larger boats would cease activities in the Bay of Seine from the 18th September 2018 until the end of 30 October.

The UK’s fisheries minister, George Eustice, welcomed the deal. “This means our over-15metre fleet will get the days at sea it wanted, Tension between French and British fishermen has rumbled on for 15 years, but in the past five while allowing the under-15-metre fleet to continue fishing in the area. I commend the years a deal has been brokered whereby larger UK fishing industry for its patience throughout British boats stay out of the Bay of Seine in negotiations and welcome this pragmatic exchange for more fishing rights and only boats less than 15m fish for scallops. The British boats outcome.” are permitted to fish in this scallop-rich area all Jim Portus, chief executive of the South Western year-round, but French law restricts their own Fish Producers Organisation, said: “Industry fishing boats to fishing for scallops between 1 members were not entirely ecstatic about the October and 15 May to conserve stocks.

French holding them to ransom since failing to sign the accord in July, but I think this is a better “For the Brits, it’s an open bar - they fish when outcome than we faced at the end of last week.” they want, where they want, and as much as

Why did the conflict happen?

they want,” Mr Rogoff, who heads the Normandy Crab wars? fishing committee complained.

“We don’t want to stop them from fishing, but they could at least wait until 1 October so that we can share. “Scallops are a flagship product for Normandy, a primary resource and a highly sensitive issue.”

Mike Park, chief executive of the Scottish White Fish Producers Association, described the clashing incident as “clear piracy”. Speaking about the Scottish boat, he told BBC Scotland: “He’s fully entitled to be there. UK vessels can enter that French zone, it’s not illegal. The Peterhead vessel is going about its business.

The French vessels are probably attacking it.”

Within a few days of the scallop wars being over, new tensions were reported in the Telegraph of crab wars in the English Channel.

Cornish fishermen have accused French trawlers of deliberately sabotaging their crab pots, costing them hundreds of thousands of pounds. They said French trawlers had been seen in English waters towing nets “without a care in the world” within the UK’s 12-mile limit.

Brexit

Perhaps the row over scallops is just the beginning? With tensions running high, could Appeals for calm were issued by Britain’s National Brexit trigger a full-blown fish war with the EU? We will have to wait and see.

Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations, which said some boats had been filmed manoeuvring 15

The Cod Wars

The Cod Wars The British Sea Fishing.co.uk have kindly given permission to replicate their article on a fishing conflict that hit the headlines.

Background to the Cod Wars The cod wars were a series of disputes between Britain and Iceland running from the 1950s to the 1970s over the rights to fish in Icelandic waters. Although it was never a war in the conventional sense of the word (the massive and well-equipped Royal Navy would have easily defeated the tiny Icelandic Navy), the peak of the Cod Wars saw thirty seven Royal Navy warships mobilised to protect British trawlers fishing in the disputed territory. While the wars were eventually settled through diplomatic means, there was conflict between British naval vessels and Icelandic ships out at sea. The Cod Wars showed how seriously nations took their fishing rights, and the lengths they would go to in order to access rich fishing grounds.

The First Cod War The first Cod War took place in autumn 1958 and was caused by a dispute over who could fish in the seas surrounding Iceland. In the late 1950s a country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) – the area of sea that a country controlled and could fish in exclusively – only extended four miles out to sea from a country’s coastline. British trawlers could therefore fish very close to Iceland and take advantage of the fertile fishing grounds that surrounded the country. Iceland – worried that foreign vessels were overexploiting their fisheries – brought in a new law that extended their EEZ to twelve miles. Britain was not happy and chose to ignore this new limit and continued to fish up to the original four-mile limit. The situation escalated when Britain sent warships to protect its trawlers 16

The Royal Navy’s 2,500 ton Leanderclass frigate HMS Scylla collides with the Icelandic vessel ICGV Odinn in the third and final Cod War.

fishing in the disputed areas. This was seen as a David versus Goliath conflict, as Britain had, at that time, the second most powerful navy in the world (after the USA), while Iceland had little more than patrol boats and militarised coast guard vessels to protect itself. A number of incidents took place, including Icelandic patrol boats firing across the bows of British trawlers in an effort to force them to leave the new zone, and Britain threatening to sink any Icelandic vessels that attacked British trawlers. Eventually, Britain accepted that it had no right to stop Iceland extending the EEZ to twelve miles and backed down. There was also an agreement that future conflicts would be settled at the International Court of Justice to avoid further conflict.

The Cod Wars

The Second Cod War

Forester was eventually boarded and towed to an Icelandic port where it was impounded and the skipped was jailed for thirty days. He was eventually released when the C.S. Forester’s owners paid £2,300 and a further £26,500 for the release of the trawler. Eventually, a breakthrough was reached when it was agreed British trawlers could fish within certain specified areas in the fifty-mile zone, as long as Britain took no more than 130,000 tons of cod per year. However, this agreement was only valid for two years, and expired on 13 November 1975.

The Third, and Final, Cod War As soon as this agreement expired the third cod war began. In late 1975 Iceland increased the EEZ limit again, this time to 200 miles.

Britain, along with other European nations, were The second cod war took place in September 1972 when Iceland ignored the agreement about furious, arguing that although there was broad disputes being settled via diplomatic means and agreement that a 200-mile limit would be brought in throughout the world, this agreement was still unilaterally extended its EEZ from twelve to fifty miles. Again Britain refused to recognise this new years away and Iceland had no right to impose such a limit so soon. This Cod War led to some limit, leading to Iceland using its patrol boats to of the most heated confrontations of the three chase British and West German trawlers out of its newly declared exclusive zone. The Icelandic wars. One of the most contentious episodes involved the Icelandic patrol boat Þór and three coast guard then started using net-cutters to Royal Navy support ships. British and Icelandic destroy the trawling nets of the British fishing accounts differ about exactly what happened, vessels that ventured inside the zone. Soon but what is clear is that Þór was rammed by the Royal Navy was sent to protect the British British vessels to the extent that it began to sink trawlers. Confrontations took place for over a year with British trawlers continuing to have their and in an attempt to defend itself fired blank, and nets cut by Icelandic ships and Royal Navy ships then live ammunition at the British ships. Some of the live rounds struck a British ship, the Star being rammed by Icelandic coast guard boats.

Aquarius although no injuries and only minor damage resulted.

A serious incident took place in March 1973 when the British trawler Brucella refused to follow directions of the patrol boat Arvakurto to leave the EEZ. Crew from the Icelandic vessel then appeared on deck and began firing rifles at the Brucella, damaging her bridge and lifeboats. The trawler then followed the Icelander’s instructions to leave the EEZ. No one was injured in the incident. But worse was to come in July of the following year. The trawler C.S. Forester, one Iceland raised the stakes by attempting to of the biggest trawlers in the British commercial procure US Asheville-class gunboats, such fleet, was spotted fishing within the twelve-mile as the USS Tacoma, pictured. These vessels limit by the Icelandic patrol boat V/S ÞórI. The were heavily armed with four machine guns, British vessel was pursued for over one hundred a 40mm cannon and could be configured to miles and then shelled with non-explosive launch surface-to-surface missiles. ammunition by the Icelandic vessel. At least two shells hit causing damage to the ship. The C.S.

A diagram showing how net cutters are used to sever a trawler’s net.

17

The Cod Wars

Another serious incident took place when another Icelandic patrol boat, the Týr, tried to cut the nets of a British trawler. HMS Falmouth, a 2800 ton Rothesay-class frigate intervened to protect the trawler. HMS Falmouth rammed the Týr which continued, and eventually succeeded in cutting the trawler’s nets. This caused HMS Falmouth to ram the Týr a second time, nearly capsizing the vessel. The captain of the Týr ordered his men to man the ship’s guns. A stand-off developed between the two ships which only ended when the heavily damaged Týr was forced to limp back to port due to the damage it had sustained when it was rammed for the second time. In total there were fiftyfive incidents of Royal Navy vessels ramming Icelandic boats during the third Cod War. This presented a problem for the Royal Navy as the frigates it was using were designed for launching missiles at distant enemy ships or hunting enemy submarines in the open ocean. They were illsuited to the close in maneuvering and ramming Icelandic boats which they were required to perform in the third Cod War, and the frequency with which they were used to ram Icelandic vessels was beginning to cause significant damage to a number of Royal Navy frigates. By the end of the third Cod War the Royal Navy was even strengthening the hulls of frigates before

they were sent to Iceland in order to limit the damage that was caused to the vessels when they rammed Icelandic boats.

The situation escalated again when it was revealed that the Icelandic justice minister Ólafur Jóhannesson was attempting to upgrade Icelandic naval power by attempting to get a loan of a number of powerful Asheville-class gunboats from the US, or purchasing Mirka class frigates from Russia. Although this was probably a ploy, and America turned down Iceland’s request outright, it had the desired effect of showing that Iceland had no intention of backing down and was willing to take on the Royal Navy head on.

But Iceland still had their ace card to play.

A US-manned NATO naval air base was located on the Reykjanes peninsula, near the town of Keflavík in western Iceland. This base housed the US 85th Air Group, radar stations and antisubmarine warfare units as well as serving as a base for US search and rescue units. As the third cod war was taking place at the height of the Cold War, this naval air station was crucial for the Americans to track and monitor Soviet submarine and airplane movements through the GIUK (Greenland, Iceland, United Kingdom) gap – a key choke point for Soviet forces gaining access to the open Atlantic and US territorial waters.

The GIUK gap was of crucial importance in the third cod war, and Iceland’s threat to close the NATO base located there forced Britain to give in to Iceland’s demands.

18

The Cod Wars

Without this base America would be blind to what was happening in huge areas of the north Atlantic, as well as losing the deterrent factor of having forces amassed relatively close to the USSR. Believing that Iceland was serious about closing the air base America began putting huge pressure on Britain to comply with Iceland’s extended EEZ. Talks to end the Cod Wars took place in Oslo in spring 1976, with the threat to

close the NATO base placing pressure on Britain to end the dispute. An agreement was eventually reached on May 28th. A maximum of twentyfour British trawlers were allowed to fish within the new EEZ as long as their catch was limited to 50,000 tons. However, this agreement only lasted for six months, after which Britain agreed that it had no right to fish inside the zone.

Aftermath

Diagram showing the increasing size of Iceland’s EEZ as the three cod wars progressed.

Although it was never a war in the conventional sense, the Cod Wars nonetheless showed how close two countries could come to combat over the issue of fishing rights. In the end Iceland were successful in extending their EEZ massively, and today the 200-mile limit is accepted internationally. Britain’s reason for challenging Iceland’s ever increasing EEZ was perfectly logical – British trawlers relied on catching cod in the plentiful waters of Iceland, and without this fish many ports built on the fishing industry would struggle. However, Iceland was always going to eventually win international backing to extend their EEZ, and Britain was fighting a losing

battle by opposing this. The loss of access to these fisheries devastated many British fishing communities, such as Hull and Grimsby and many Scottish ports, with as many as 1,500 fishermen and several thousand shore-based workers from these areas losing their jobs.

Iceland, on the other hand, has remained outside of the European Union and therefore free from the Common Fisheries Policy. This has allowed Iceland to manage its own fish stocks responsibly and sustainably, meaning today it has the highest fish stocks in Europe and one of the most productive and modern fishing industries in the world.

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War and Fish

War and Fish

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The Royal Navy during the Second World War 21

War and Fish

War isn’t the answer — but it wasn’t so bad if you were a Scottish haddock.

A 6-year pause in commercial fishing caused by World War II helped cod, haddock and whiting populations in the North Sea recover from years of pre-war exploitation, according to an analysis by a team of European researchers led by Doug Beare of the European Commission’s DG Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy. The ‘accidental’ reserve suggests that cold-water fish stocks could benefit from modern marine protected areas.

An unintended experiment in fisheries science Marine researchers tend to agree that protected areas can be great conservation tools in tropical and subtropical habitats such as coral reefs, because fish and other sea life tend to hang close to home. There’s more debate about their value in cooler seas, however, because creatures there tend to wander over bigger territories.

The European researchers realised that the North Sea’s wartime closure offered an unusual opportunity to see just what a reserve might be able to do for wide-ranging and commercially important cold-water fish like cod, whiting and haddock.

Cod

temporary closure of fisheries. The closed area covered 575,000 km2. In comparison, the world’s largest network of no-take marine reserves on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef covers a mere 115,000 km2.

Effect on fish stocks

To see how the closure affected North Sea fish stocks, the team compiled catch and other data collected between 1928 and 1958 off Scotland.

Using statistical models, they then studied how the age structure and size of the stocks changed over time in one important fishing area.

In general, they found that the closure, which lasted from 1939 to 1945, enabled more fish to live to older ages and start spawning. But Creation of an ‘accidental’ marine that didn’t necessarily translate into immediate protected area in the North Sea increases in the number of younger fish. Instead, the closure caused a kind of ripple effect in In 1939, the North Sea was almost entirely the years after the war, with a gradual aging of closed to commercial fishing until 1945 due to stocks followed by periodic increases in overall the outbreak of World War II. Fishing vessel fish numbers, probably during years when movements were severely restricted because of ocean conditions were good for spawning. The the dangers of mines, surface and submarine authors of the study described this as Mexican naval activity and potential aerial attacks, and waves in fish numbers-at-age. They also suggest many fishing vessels were sunk in the hostilities. that this positive effect may help to explain the Fishermen were called up, especially those at substantial population fluctuations that North prime age, and most fishing vessels, including Sea gadoids showed in the immediate post-war the most modern trawlers, were requisitioned for decades, including the ‘Gadoid Outburst’ of the war service; in particular for deployment as mine 1960s–1980s, a period of especially favourable sweepers. Thus, fishing effort in the North Sea recruitment and high landings of haddock, cod was very significantly reduced; for example, effort and whiting and the sharp population declines of

by British steam trawlers, the dominant fishing these species thereafter. fleet at the time, fell by 97% between 1938 and The results of the analyses demonstrate both 1941 (Note: In 1938 2 million hours were spent the overall increase in survival due to the lack of commercial fishing). harvesting in World War II and the form of the The War thus created an extensive, ‘accidental’ age-dependent wave in numbers. marine protected area or arguably a 6-year 22

War and Fish Fishing boat Verbena

Further reading: Beare et al. (2010).

An unintended experiment in fisheries science: a marine area protected by war results in Mexican waves in fish numbers-at-age.

Naturwissenschaften 97, 797-808 The Royal Navy during the Second World War

The benefit of large closed areas for the conservation of migratory fish species from temperate areas The authors conclude that large closed areas can be very useful in the conservation of migratory species from temperate areas and that older fish benefit fastest and in greater proportion.

Importantly, any rise in spawning stock biomass may also not immediately result in better recruitment, which can respond more slowly and hence take longer to contribute to higher future harvestable biomass levels.

The war-mediated closure provided an opportunity to split potential environmental drivers (temperature, salinity) from those due to commercial fishing; a recurring issue in modern fisheries science and management.

It highlights unequivocally the benefit of having some waters off-limits to taking fish and the potential that marine protected areas have in restoring fish stocks as long as they are large enough and offer real protection.

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Angling and Conflict

Angling and Conflict

Photo by Taylor-Grote on Unsplash

It is now the centenary of the end of the 1st World War – the war to end all wars. The horror of that conflict, the sheer loss of life, the injuries and mental scars had a profound impact on a whole generation. It is sad to reflect that since then there hasn’t been a single year without a war raging somewhere in the world.

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Angling and Conflict

One of the tragic impacts of war is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which leaves people utterly shattered and often unable to integrate back into society. During the 1st World War it was referred to as ‘shell shock’. As people began to recognize this impact of war, efforts were made to provide support for recuperation. Though not necessarily the full answer, in recent years there has been a recognition that fishing can provide a route for recovery, with a number of charities being established.

Fishing for Forces Fishing for Forces was launched in 2010 to provide Service personnel who have recently been on operational deployments with a restful day of fishing.

‘Fishing for Forces’, was created after a soldier wrote a letter to the Trout and Salmon magazine enthusing about the therapeutic benefits he experienced when fishing.

After reading the soldier’s plea, Bill Howell and Christopher Robinson, whose son served in Afghanistan, set up the scheme to offer fishing days to all soldiers returning from operations.

Christopher said: “I read Lieutenant Davis’ letter and so I wrote to the magazine saying wouldn’t it be fantastic if people in the UK could give members of our Forces some fishing when they got back. It’s a wonderful day out, a chance to relax, forget about all the stresses and strains of operations and just have a nice quiet day on the water.”

“Fishing for Forces is designed for anyone who has been on an Operational Tour and could do with a touch of peace and quiet and would benefit from the healing effect that a day by the water has to offer.”

The scheme is available to all service men and women from the Navy, Army or Air Force who have returned from Operational Duty within the previous 18 months.

Lance Corporal Mark Zareh, aged 22, who is a member of Support Company, Reconnaissance Platoon, 4 Rifles, who handed over to 40 Commando Royal Marines in the deadliest part of Helmand province in April 2010, took to fly fishing like it was second nature. He was soon casting one-handed, a rare ability in someone so new to the sport. He said: “I walked into work one day and my platoon Sergeant said: “Who wants to go fishing?” So me and Rifleman Butt put our hands up. The only experience I’ve had fishing before this was doing a bit of salt water fishing for pleasure. I’m getting the hang of this fly fishing and I really like it.” During his “brilliant” day by the river, LCpl Zareh managed to catch a 4lb trout.

Co-founder of Fishing for Forces Bill said: “The bottom line is whether they’re in hospital or whether they’re in a base or at home recovering, we’ve got some fishing not too far away. That’s sea fishing, coarse fishing, trout fishing and salmon fishing. So, if they can get themselves to the waterside, we’ll happily organise the tackle, some lunch and a wonderful day out.

“Fishing for Forces aims to bring together fishing locations around the UK with sponsors, trainers and equipment suppliers to enable soldiers, fit and injured, to enjoy fishing at a location near to where they are based.”

To find out more visit: www.fishingforforces.org/ 26

Angling and Conflict

Fishing For Heroes

“We help support our military veterans suffering from problems relating to them having been involved in active service...”

Fishing For Heroes is a registered charity which was founded in 2009 with the aim of helping forces personnel who are suffering from emotional issues after the horrors of active service by providing fly fishing instruction.

Fishing For Heroes provides fully expensed fly fishing instruction as part of a therapy package for veterans and serving personnel who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, combat fatigue, or any other emotional or psychological problem relating to them having been involved in active service.

Any service man, woman or veteran from any of the three armed forces of either sex, can apply for help at any time – post-traumatic stress disorder can often take many years to manifest itself. Although the current campaigns are foremost in people’s minds, any veteran from any era or conflict is eligible to apply. Currently, many of these veterans are being missed by the mainline services, and although they may have no physical or visible disability they are suffering – some of them are quite severely incapacitated.

Every veteran who is suffering mentally – is one too many. Fishing For Heroes want to help, so if you are a veteran suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder, or if you know a veteran for whom Fishing For Heroes might be able to make a difference, visit: www.fishingforheroes.com/ Clinical research carried out by the Universities of Utah, South Maine and Salt Lake City has concluded that with just a three day fly fishing course the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder are reduced by 20% http://www. riversofrecovery.org/research-results/ After an initial course, Fishing For Heroes introduces participants to a mentor in order to establish a bridge back into society via the game fishing community. They help and support through continued contact and organising group fishing events, which not only reduces any feeling of isolation but helps to maintain skills which have been learnt previously.

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Angling and Conflict

Bryan’s Story I was put forward for the Fishing For Heroes fly fishing course by my welfare officer. I had been diagnosed with PTSD in 2011, almost forty years after I came out of the Army. With F4H (Fishing For Heroes) I really didn’t know what to expect.

Although Tom had done a pretty good job of reassuring me on the phone, I was still very nervous. It’s a fair old drive from the Midlands, made longer by a huge detour, to see a mate who had just been diagnosed with cancer.

On arrival, Anne could not have been a more welcoming hostess, she made every attempt at making me comfortable and feeling “at home” but as you guys will know, that is almost impossible.

It took me 48 hours before I felt at ease, even on 30ml of mirtazapine. Tom was an absolute diamond, he had an incredible understanding of my problems, physical and mental. He was knowledgeable, kind, considerate and a real man’s man, he is still sorely missed by many. The course itself was very tiring, although an angler, this was a whole new aspect of the sport, very difficult skills, but he had great patience. Over the days I got to meet John (Anne’s husband) who also did his bit to make If you are me feel comfortable, in the four days we bonded, thinking of they really did play their applying, but part. The course has given not quite sure, me the basics to work do it, you won’t on, I have since bought a kayak, as my walking is be sorry, I somewhat hindered, and promise you. four rods and reels, about a thousand flies etc., etc., it gives me the option of traveling light. It was an incredible four days and I have since made friends with others in the organisation and vets who did the course, some of which I class as cyber mates; never met, but feel we’ve known each other years. Fishing is a great therapy, a great leveller, it has nothing to do with catching fish, it’s more to do with you being at one with nature, enjoying your surrounds and all your problems just trundle down that river in the flow.

I have already had on the fly, carp, rudd, trout, barbel and black bass, my aim is to see how many different species I can land on a fly. If you are thinking of applying, but not quite sure, do it, you won’t be sorry, I promise you 28

Much of Fishing For Heroes funding is raised by fisheries around the UK organising sponsored competitions.

If you want to get involved please get in contact for official sponsorship forms.

Top 10 health benefits of fishing Give a man a fish and feed him for a day, but teach a man how to fish and he’ll be healthy for life, says Health Fitness Revolution. Below they highlight the top 10 health benefits of fishing and illustrate that this classic hobby is a great way to improve mental and physical well-being.

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Full body strength

The protagonist in Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea battles a great marlin for three days.

That’s one strong angler. Your average hobbyist won’t be called on to strain day and night to reel in an adversary. But battling even a small fish engages the shoulders, back, arms, core and legs in a potential demanding workout. Fishing encourages sportsmen and women to train their body so that they have the strength when the time comes for the big catch.

2

Family bonding

Fishing is a skill passed on through the generations, with grandfathers taking the younger kids out to a familiar pond and instructing them how to hook a worm. Spending time with your family promotes feelings of security and wellbeing, making fishing a worthwhile activity to learn.

Angling and Conflict

3

Boosts immune system

Vitamin D helps your body regulate the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, two minerals that improve immune system function and help defend against disease. The best source of vitamin D is a day outdoors under the sun.

4

Promotes relaxation

A beautiful day spent in a mountain stream followed by a dinner of grilled fish. Sounds idyllic doesn’t it? Spending long hours in nature with a focused task is akin to meditation an activity linked to lowered blood pressure and decreased anxiety.

you don’t just drop your line in and hook a fish.

Some days (and even some trips) you go home empty-handed. But persisting makes you a more patient person, accepting of defeat but unwilling to quit.

M.J. Ryan, the author of The Power of Patience, explains that learning patience benefits health.

Impatience causes stress, weakening your immune system and raising your blood pressure.

Patience, meanwhile, makes you calmer and Fishing burns an average of 200 calories an hour, more content. depending on the kind of fishing you like to do.

Maybe it isn’t true if you are sitting around with a 8 Encourages travel cooler of beer and a king-size burger. But if you are walking around to test out different spots, recasting your line, and (fingers crossed) reeling in Travel expands the mind and makes life more fulfilling. Fishers are among the most a fish, you’ll have put your heart and lungs accomplished travellers on the planet. Whether to work. heading to the coast or a mountain lake, you’ll get to see more of the planet with this hobby.

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Improves cardiovascular health

6

Teaches self-reliance

In our service-oriented economy we rely on others to perform all kinds of functions in our daily lives. Fishing puts you out in the wilderness and calls on you to master a variety of different skills. The more involved you get in the sport the more you’ll learn: from driving a boat to hunting down tackle.

This impromptu trouble shooting will spill over into your normal life. If you can fix your rod with just your ingenuity, what else can you do on your own?

7

Bestows patience

In our world of over-stimulation and instant gratification, fishing puts your patience into practice. Unless you are extraordinarily lucky,

9

Enjoy the great outdoors

Fishing inspires a closer connection with nature and all the creatures in it. Fishers are tuned into the environments that they experience. They know all about the different fish that live in the water, the insects they eat, and their predators.

The exposure to fresh air, sun, and being on the water has numerous health benefits.

10

Improves balance

As anyone who has ever reeled a catfish into a canoe can tell you, fishing requires some acrobatic manoeuvres. Balance requires core strength and benefits flexibility, both of which help offset back pain.

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War and Nature Conservation

War and Nature Conservation

Photo by Dlanor S on Unsplash

By Valerie Holt

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War and Nature Conservation

War and Nature Conservation

By Valerie Holt.

It is one hundred years since the Great War finished in 1918 and there will be many celebrations in the UK and Europe. Many will not realise that at the time the war was raging a group of individuals in England were setting out very controversial plans to save the country’s best natural areas. This broad thinking about landscape-sized areas was quite radical. At that time there was more concern about species protection and the decline in species because of over-collecting.

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Soldiers of Headquarters Company, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division) firing a 37mm gun during the Meuse-Argonne offensive, where American Soldiers fought their most difficult battle in World War I and proved that the American Army had come of age.

(Photo Credit: U.S. Army Photo)

In May 1912 banker and expert naturalist Charles Rothschild held a meeting at the Natural History Museum in London to discuss his idea for a new organisation to save Britain’s best places for nature. This meeting led to the formation of the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves.

Rothschild’s vision was to identify and protect the best places for nature conservation.

Rothschild and his colleagues were looking for the ‘breeding-places of scarce creatures’, the ‘localities of scarce plants’ and areas of ‘geological interest’.

Three years of information gathering followed - the first ever national survey of wildlife sites - in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

By 1915 they had identified 284 sites worthy of saving. Known as the Rothschild Sites they included many areas of coast, woodland and fen

Charles Rothschild

The Thames Estuary was proposed in an attempt to safeguard rare moths. Although a lot of the marshland remains, it has suffered from habitat loss and at least one rare species of moth is now extinct. Today it supports an important population of overwintering wildfowl and waders with many nature reserves and is an SPA (Special Protection Area under the Birds Directive) and a Ramsar site. Other open water sites are Hornsea Mere in Yorkshire and Rostherne Mere in Cheshire.

The outbreak of war meant priorities lay elsewhere and interested persons, hungry for information about the British landscape, were not so welcome in an age of foreign spies.

Ownership of the sites was complicated and often belonged to more than one person.

The Government’s Board of Agriculture, while sympathetic, refused to become actively involved.

Rothschild died in 1920 and the National Parks & Access to the Countryside Act making nature conservation part of the law did not come in until 1949. This Act set up the Government’s first conservation agency (the Nature Conservancy Council), and the first National Parks and protected wildlife sites (Sites of Special Scientific Interest - SSSIs).

However, it was Rothschild’s earlier work, that created the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves, that eventually led to a whole new wildlife network and county trusts were set up. Some of the earliest Wildlife Trusts were in Norfolk (1926), Yorkshire (1946) and Lincolnshire (1948). The Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves eventually became the Royal Society for Nature Conservation. This is the overall charity for the Wildlife Trusts. There are 46 Trusts and between them they look after 2,300 nature reserves covering more than 98,000 hectares and a combined membership of more than 800,000.

Although these very important sites became protected, war does have a serious effect on nature. During the Second World War there were many agricultural schemes - known as Warag -

War and Nature Conservation

but also areas of wetland and open water. These included Dovedale in Derbyshire, which is noted for its rare plants and insects and is a National Nature Reserve today.

that devastated our countryside. Whole areas were ploughed up and planted as commercial woodland or for crops that were badly needed when the war effectively stopped timber and food imports.

The Forestry Commission origins began in 1916 when the Acland Committee looked at ways to improve and develop woodland resources and during the 1940s the two main forests - The Forest of Dean and the New Forest were virtually clear felled and re-planted. There was a need for good agricultural land to be kept for food production and over the years the planting of conifers in upland areas was undertaken. This, or course, caused considerable loss of natural upland habitat.

War time is rarely good for nature, there are priorities that need to take precedence and we are, perhaps, fortunate that we did not have to fight enemies on our own land. Bombs, troop movements, gas use, pollution of land and water all caused habitat destruction and over-exploitation of natural resources. All are the result of war and nature often takes a long time to recuperate. Some species never recover.

However, the poppy has become the iconic species of the First World War and this came about because poppy seeds thrive on soil disturbance.

The craters formed by bombs allowed the seeds to germinate and the battlegrounds became seas of red poppies.

We are fortunate that a far-seeing individual, in the midst of a devastating war, saw the need to protect the best that we had at that time and because of him, and like-minded people, we still have the majority of the sites on Rothschild’s list.

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Changes at the top at APEM

Changes at the top at APEM

Dr Keith Hendry

After more than three decades at the helm, Dr Keith Hendry has stepped back from the dayto-day running of fisheries and aquatic science company, APEM, to take on a strategic role as company chairman one day a week.

Dr Adrian Williams has taken over as the company’s new managing director while company director Dr Stuart Clough has taken on the additional role of president of APEM Inc., the company’s successful US subsidiary.

Nic Teague has moved into an expanded role as director of the company’s fisheries team and physical aquatic consultancy. Cardiff-based, Nic is president of the IFM Wales branch and recently scooped a Water Industry Achievement Award for an innovative shad project for Dwr Cymru Welsh Water and Natural Resources Wales.

Keith said: “I would like to thank all our fantastic staff for their hard work, effort and enthusiasm during the whole of the last three decades. But after 32 years in the driver’s seat, now is the right time for me to allow a new generation the opportunity to steer the company forward through the next stage in its evolution.

Dr Adrian Williams

Among the company’s most prominent successes is its role in the clean-up and regeneration of Salford Quays. Now home to thriving populations of roach, bream, perch, carp and other species, the Quays were once a post-industrial scene of heavily polluted water and abandoned land. The BBC North, ITV’s Coronation Street, Media City and the Lowry arts centre all now stand beside the cleaned-up waters.

Taking over from Dr Hendry as managing director is Dr Adrian Williams. Adrian said: “I arrived at the company in 2002 when there were nine of us in a single building just next to the University of Manchester. It is an immense privilege to now take the reins from Keith; his trust in me to “These changes are a natural progression that we become the managing director is humbling. have been working towards for several years and my task now is to support Adrian, Stuart and the “But of course I won’t be leading the company alone and I thank Stuart and the rest of the management team in their plans to develop the new board for the help they will provide me in company further.” the process.”

After founding APEM in 1987, Keith led it to become a company of almost 120 employees in Keith is looking forward to the challenges of this eight locations around the UK and with offices in next phase in his career, which include dedicating more time to his main passion – fishing.

Germany and the US.

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Services offered by Electrafish include on site testing to Environment Agency

Services ffered

by Electrafish on site to W Environment Agency the supply ards, repairs to aony electric fishing include machines mtesting ade in olverhampton, standards, repairs to any electric fishing machines made in Wolverhampton, the supply of generator and battery p owered fishing machines, anodes, cathodes, and Honda new gServices offered by Electrafish site testing to Environment Agency enerator and battery powered include fishing omn achines, anodes, cathodes, and Honda ic fishing generators standards, repairs to any electric fishing machines made in Wolverhampton, the supply of electric fishing generators generator attery powered fishing achines, anodes, cathodes, and Honda also also cnd arry out reconditioning om lder which have ften erformed We new cWe arry oaut rbeconditioning of oof lder machines achines which hoave opften performed many r eliable y ears

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customer service, customer support nd product reliability. order. dedicated Regular progress reports ap re rovided provided o cacustomers for very order.

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manufacturing f unctions.

Quality, m aintenance and servicing of all products is prioritised in all design and

facturing functions.

Electrafish Limited, Registered Office: 48 Warstones Drive, Penn,

Wolverhampton WV4 4PR, England.

Electrafish Limited, Registered Office: 48 Warstones Drive, Penn, Email: sales@electrafish.co.uk Tel: 01902 340625 Mob: 07775 608505 Wolverhampton WV4 4PR, England.

Email: sales@electrafish.co.uk

Tel: 01902 340625

Mob: 07775 608505

Electrafish Limited, Registered Office: 48 Warstones Drive, Penn,

Wolverhampton WV4 4PR, England.

The Paul Coulson BLOG

The Paul Coulson

BLOG

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Well that was a warm one! That has to be the hottest (and driest) summer that I can remember in my 39 years on planet Earth. Even now in October we are desperate for some water here in East Yorkshire. I was out on the West Beck recently and it was as low as I have seen it for a long time and if it wasn’t for the weed holding back the water some areas would have been high and dry. Whilst the salmon and trout may not have enjoyed the elevated temperatures, the coarse fish fry should have done very well and we should have a bumper year-class to see us through for a few years to come.

Whilst the summer can be a quieter time for us with holidays and lots of people on field work, we have still had enough to keep us busy.

We were very pleased to be asked to deliver a second round of electric fishing to both the North York Moors National Park as well as the Mersey Rivers Trust. These courses followed on from training we delivered in 2017 and now both organisations have a small army of volunteers that they can call on to help them survey the waters in their respective catchments.

One of the main projects we have been working on over the past few months is a monitoring workshop on behalf of the Environment Agency. This was held at the end of July and brought together 20 invited delegates from the Environment Agency, Rivers Trusts, Natural England, Natural Resources Wales and others. The aims of the workshop were to set out the purpose and aims of the Environment Agency Strategic Monitoring Review, refresh understanding of information needs to manage fisheries and fish populations and to gain an understanding of data and other information collected by other organisations (nonEnvironment Agency) working in the fisheries field.

The Paul Coulson BLOG

Heatwave

Environment Agency and Defra. The IYS will take place in countries across the whole of the salmon’s range, both Atlantic and Pacific. IYS sets out to protect salmon by bringing countries together to share knowledge, raise public awareness and take action. Each country will have its own calendar of events with the official launch planned for October. We will be working with other partners to put on bespoke events so look out for further coverage of this. You can find out more about the International Year of the Salmon on the new website https:// yearofthesalmon.org We have also had the small matter of the 49th Annual Conference to deal with and with it being in my home city I want to make sure it’s a good one. Hull is a much improved city since the City of Culture in 2017 and I’m sure all the visiting delegates will have a great time.

Once again, we have put together a varied and interesting programme featuring everything from salmon to lobsters, there are also social events at the Humber Street Distillery and The Deep aquarium, couple this with great Yorkshire hospitality and you have a perfect combination.

Our Annual Conference continues to get more and more popular and we are hoping for another bumper attendance again this year.

Out and about Away from our own events and training we have also attended several other interesting events with some of our partner organisations. Although I couldn’t make it myself, both Iain and Steve Colclough had a busy weekend on the Thames for Tidefest and the preceding Totally Thames day. Lovely weather brought the crowds out and Iain and Steve were kept busy pulling nets and explaining what they had caught to the amazed tourists, and even more amazed locals, who are surprised that so many fish swim in the dirty river on their doorstep.

Over two days of presentations and round table discussions a comprehensive set of notes As the autumn is now rolling in (though it is still and guidance was collected and collated. The Environment Agency will be using this information 24ºC as I write this!) the various workshops that during the review of existing monitoring practices. we host or attend begin in earnest. The first of these are the Angling Trust Fishery Enforcement I was also pleased to be asked to attend Workshops and once again we were asked to the inaugural coordination meeting for the give the health and safety presentation.

International Year of the Salmon (IYS) with the

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The Paul Coulson BLOG

We will also be attending the Angling Trust Roadshows again this year which begin in November. These events focus on the practical side of managing fisheries and cover a number of different topics from use of social media to applying for funding. They are a really interesting and useful day for angling clubs and if one is in your area this year it is well worth making time to attend.

The second round of our own Fishery Management Workshops also kicks off in November with our first event at Walthamstow Reservoir followed shortly after by one in Nottingham. These events are funded by the Environment Agency and the first round of workshops were very well received. One of the subjects that we always get questioned on at these events is aquatic weed control. As a result of this we will now be running a stand-alone weed management workshop in February/March 2019. This will be held in the north of the country to start with and if it is a success we will hopefully roll it out around the country.

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One other event that is always a pleasure to attend is the Greater London and South East Branch’s Annual Sherry Evening. This year saw the branch use a new venue at the Kings College Strand Campus. After some excellent canapes, cheese and wine (no sherry) guests were treated to an outstanding talk from Jon Copley of the University of Southampton. Jon was one of the scientific advisors that supported the BBC during the filming of the Blue Planet II. His talk concentrated on their work in the Antarctic and was fascinating from start to finish. It included some great images of species that may be new to science, and species that most, if not all of the room, had never seen before, plus a penguin for maximum cuteness.

Summer sun This year we had decided to stay in the UK for our summer holidays and what a great decision that turned out to be. We are very lucky that my wife’s family still live on the Isle of Wight, so we have a ready-made holiday whenever we want

The Paul Coulson BLOG

one. We also have some good local knowledge to call on when the Island is busy with tourists so we can find the smaller, quieter beaches.

The children had a great time, and as with most children, as long as they have a beach and ice cream they are as happy as Larry.

We managed to time our visit to coincide with the start of Cowes Week, which meant we also got to see the many thousands of different boats that descend on the island each year. There are some pretty impressive (and expensive) craft amongst them, in particular the racing yachts.

They would make light work of setting long seine nets I’m sure.

I even managed to stand on a rock for a couple of hours to throw a few lures around, however the bass eluded me this year.

The one thing that has taken a backseat over the summer is my fishing. This year just seems to have been very manic and the conditions have not really helped. Hot, low rivers and lifeless looking ponds don’t really appeal, so I have not really bothered. The autumn is here now though and it won’t be long until we are back on the cold canals looking for a pound of 1oz roach and perch. Now where did I put that packet of size 24’s?

Nettle update I would love to report that she is now the perfectly behaved beagle, however that would be a lie.

The highlight of her destruction over the past couple of months has to be when we left her in the kitchen for a couple of hours whilst we went to the Freedom Festival in Hull. On our return we opened the kitchen door to be greeted with a scene of devastation. She had managed to pull out the large bag that contained all of our bags for life and other shopping bags and basically tore the lot to shreds. Not content with that she had jumped on the work top and destroyed my lovely little chilli plant for good measure. I’m sure you can imagine the list of expletives that came from my mouth!!!!

Right in the middle of the heatwave Noah and I went to the Goodwood Festival of Speed. I may have mentioned this before, but Noah is car mad and can tell the difference between a Lamborghini and a McLaren from 100 yards at the age of seven. The festival was brilliant and Noah didn’t know which way to look first. I think he may have seen every Hot Wheel car that he owns in full scale, as well as a host of vintage racing cars, stunt bikes and a man in a jet pack.

Even the heat didn’t put him off when many of the adults were looking for any bit of shade they could find. His bedroom wall is now adorned with car posters and he is sporting a very fetching Paul Coulson - Director of Operations pair of Honda sunglasses that he acquired from paul.coulson@ifm.org.uk their stand.

07960 939 836

Tight lines.

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IFM News

IFM News

- Clear and lasting obligations for organisations;

Peter Spillett, IFM President, reports back from recent Environment Policy Forum and England Fisheries Group meetings

The draft ‘Initiative’ is currently out for comment before being published. Apart from discussion with business sectors such as water and transport, the document has done the rounds with government departments including DEFRA. Rumour has it that it even received a favourable response from the Secretary of State!

Blueprint for a new Environment Act At a recent Environment Policy Forum (EPF) meeting much of the focus was on the ‘Blueprint for a New Environment Act’, which the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) in particular has been promoting.

Following all the various legal environmental consultations that have occurred since the UK gave notice of withdrawal from the EU, the government is due to produce a draft Environment Bill before Christmas which will presage the publication of a new Environment Act sometime in the New Year.

Clearly this will be an important piece of legislation given all the concerns about declining standards, principles and governance issues.

Many environmental groups, green NGOs and charities as well as bodies from wider society, however, see this as a huge opportunity for the government to adopt a radical new view on how we see the environment. Essentially this new vision would have organisations, businesses and government taking on ‘a duty of care’ for the environment, in a similar way that we treat Health and Safety.

Accordingly these various groups from different parts of society have come together and produced the Broadway Initiative which is a multi-sector approach to try and persuade the current administration that they should take a forward-looking, strategic approach to the new Environment Act. They believe that the Act should include: - Long-term objectives, targets, milestones, metrics and principles; - An integrated process of plans at national level; - A coherent framework of maps and plans for the place-based environment; 40

- Oversight by an independent and respected body or bodies.

As well as providing comments, the IFM has also supported the Broadway Initiative in principle.

Obviously, given the economic situation, much will depend on how the Treasury views the impact of these new ideas. Fortunately for us, we heard recently that austerity was over!

Feedback from England Fisheries Group and update on salmon byelaws A number of important issues were discussed at the latest England Fisheries Group meeting in September.

The Environment Agency gave an update on the latest salmon byelaws. There were 1,374 responses to the latest consultations including around 900 objections and around 500 giving full support. Because of delays the decisions were based on 2017 data, not on that from 2016. This changed some rivers in the ‘at risk’ category to ‘probably at risk’. Only three rivers are therefore left in the mandatory catch and release category.

Some debate followed about data quality and anglers’ concerns. DEFRA is currently considering its response.

The meeting then heard about progress with the coarse fish close season discussions. Basically, the results of the ‘closed’ survey of 20,000 anglers survey showed sufficient indication of change by a ‘significant’ minority to warrant a move to further consultation this autumn.

Katy Whitlock from the Environment Agency explained her 12 month project on a new coarse fish strategy. The last such strategy was in 1998 with one on grayling and trout in 2003. Katy said that 98% of all rod licences were for coarse fish and trout and that £93 out of every £100 came from these customers. Clearly coarse

IFM News

fish deserved a new plan! The strategy had three themes: collaboration, priorities for healthy fisheries, and professionalism. The work would be in parallel with the Angling Strategy being developed by Tom Sherwood.

The Environment Agency then reported a severe decline in rod licence sales – particularly a 14.7% reduction in ‘unique’ anglers. This meant a forecast reduction of over £2 million at year end.

There was a combination of factors responsible for this unforeseen decline, in particular the cold and wet weather at the start of the season.

Several activities had been stopped or postponed as a result, including partnership money to the third sector and cancellation of the Stillwater Management Conference. particularly busy now as there are over 100 active students at various stages of completion on We were given an update on the Environment the course. The January exams could also see Agency’s strategic monitoring review which was our largest ever number of students both sitting designed to move from national to more local them, and, if successful, passing the course. monitoring. There was talk about the Sentinel Network of monitors and a locally defined ‘agile programme’. Mention was made of the recent Monitoring Workshop and praise given to all the work done by the IFM and Paul Coulson (who looked suitably bashful).

Finally Paul himself gave a good account of the joint Stillwater Fisheries Management weekends and the Environment Agency award course.

The next England Fisheries Group meeting has a number of meaty items including PR19, the WINEP programme, the Fisheries White Paper and relationships with the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Agencies.

Sorry about all the acronyms!

IFM Training Report As always with IFM Training we have not had much time to sit around and eat ice cream in the glorious summer weather, as it has been busy, busy, busy.

Best of luck to all those taking exams in January.

The IFM Diploma also had its enrolment doors open over the summer in readiness for the October start. We are pleased to welcome 10 new students to the course and we wish them all the best of luck over the next two years. The course starts with a practical weekend which this year was held with the Environment Agency at Brampton on the Saturday and the River Gwash Trout Farm on Sunday. A big thanks to both the team at the Fish Labs as well as the guys at the farm for looking after the students so well again.

There is a full report of activities elsewhere in FISH. We also welcomed the new cohort of students on to the IFM Award in Applied Fisheries Management in September. This is the course that we deliver to staff within the Environment Agency, which is now in its third year. Again, we have a bumper crop of new students with 14 enrolled for the full course and a further 12 taking individual units.

The Certificate Course had its second enrolment for the year from June to September. This turned out to be our most popular enrolment period since the launch of the new course format, with 31 new students signing up. Within this number was our 200th student to start the course since we revised the format in 2014. Pete is 41

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IFM News

IFM Diploma field course weekend

With large numbers of students comes greater amounts of success and we are very pleased to announce that the following students have recently completed our courses.

The first weekend in October saw the ever popular Diploma weekend course. Diploma students are given the option of attending these practical weekends to augment the theoretical skills that they learn on the course. This year, the weekend was held in Cambridgeshire and the venue for the Saturday was the National Fisheries Laboratory of the Environment Agency in Brampton. Here the students were given talks and presentations on fish health and diseases and the work that the Environment Agency does. The Environment Agency staff guided the students through a number of practical sessions where they dissected fish and tried to identify parasites. After a packed day, students and training staff met for a meal and some liquid refreshment to carry on fishy conversations well into the evening.

IFM Certificate • Douglas Bullock • Calum Hislop • Alex Fox • Dr Justyna Olszewska • Lorraine Rowe • Rebecca Chen • Anna Katkowska • Paul Martin • Sean Coleman • Nick McDonald • Mark Squires

IFM Diploma • Dan Clarke • Rich Keeble • Rob Pitkin • Ben Taplin

IFM Award • Damon Block • Darren Wilson • Jessica Anson • Jonathan Baxter • Kieran Gillingham • Angie Thornley

IFM News

Success galore

The following day saw a classroom-based start to the day where Ian Wellby introduced carp farming to the group and training staff answered any questions the students had. Shortly before lunch, the group then headed out to the River Gwash Trout Farm where the owner very kindly gave us a guided tour of the farm that he built himself and patiently answered questions from the students.

From there the group headed five minutes down the road to the hatchery site at Horns Mill to look at the production facilities. Here, a novel approach to dealing with avian predation was looked at as the site has a sacrificial pond for the visiting ospreys from nearby Rutland Water. By putting a small bird hide at the end of the pond, visiting photographers are charged a rate to occupy the hide and take some breath-taking shots of the ospreys as they fish for their lunch.

Around mid-afternoon the students departed for home after a crammed and enjoyable weekend.

For more information about our Diploma course please contact the course manager Iain Turner at iain.turner@ifm.org.uk

• Hannah Bradley • Katherine Tye • Rachel Moors • Andrew Ward • Anja Torikka 43

IFM News

Branch news Scottish Branch The Annual Scottish Bailiffs Seminar took place on the 21st and 22nd of March at Birnham.

This is a joint event with Fishery Management Scotland and this year was hosted by the Tay District Salmon Fishery Board. Surveillance training and workshops formed a large part of the Seminar, with input from Police Scotland’s Wildlife Crime Unit. Workshops included the use of drone technology and night vision aids.

Welsh Branch Back in June the branch hosted our first shad workshop at Swansea University. This workshop saw attendees from different sectors including public, private and academic. The focus of this workshop was to look at shad conservation status across the UK and Ireland.

Nicola Teague started the day and handed over to Tristan Hatton-Ellis (NRW) for an overview of the Conditional Assessment and CSM for shad. We then covered monitoring techniques with talks from Nicola Teague, Pete Clabburn (NRW), Tara Gallagher (IFI) and Prof. Rob Britton (Bournemouth University). The second half of Also at the Seminar a briefing was given to the workshop focused on discussions around candidates sitting the Bailiff training examination current assessments and monitoring techniques. before they sat the examination on the 21st.

There will be a further opportunity for candidates Looking forward we identified knowledge gaps and research needs amongst the entire group. to sit the examination on the 8th of December.

Following this we then looked at resource On the 10th of April a smolt trapping workshop requirements, opportunities and collaborations. was hosted by the Kyle of Sutherland District There is a lot of potential in the field and working Salmon Fishery Board. A new protocol developed to help encourage best practice in the together is key. The day ended with a trip out to use of a variety of smolt trapping techniques was the Tywi to look at some shad spawning sites and Pete Clabburn demonstrated the ARIS. We launched at the workshop. This was followed by site visits to see the operation of a number of hope to hold more workshops like this in the future and our position statement will be available different smolt traps. on the website shortly.

Scottish Branch have agreed to work more The branch will be holding its AGM in November closely with the Wild Trout Trust to organise and will hope to combine this with hosting the more events and site visits for members of Buckland Lecture in Cardiff, please see the both organisations in Scotland. This further website for more details. builds on our existing collaboration with Fishery Management Scotland and the Scottish Fishery Southern Branch Coordination Centre.

By the time this goes to press the Southern branch will have been relaunched at an event hosted by CEFAS in Weymouth. Members were treated to a talk on the work of the Fish Health Inspectorate followed by a tour of the labs before adjourning to a nearby hostelry where the future of the branch was discussed. If you are interested in getting involved in the branch and This will be followed by a River Blackwater future events, then please don’t hesitate to get in Salmon Trap Open Day on the 25th of November. touch at iain.turner@ifm.org.uk Meeting at Loch na Croic near Tarvie on the A835 Yorkshire & NE Branch at 10am.

The first of these events was a River Spey Habitat and River Restoration day on the 23rd of October. This was hosted by the Spey District Salmon Fishery Board with site visits to look at the introduction of large woody debris as a management tool as well as other habitat restoration works.

A Branch meeting will be held in early November and it is intended to look at options for widening the membership of Scottish Branch and to plan a larger programme of events for next year.

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The branch, as you can imagine, has been fully committed to planning the Annual Conference in Hull, which will have taken place by the time this goes to press. Please keep an eye on the website for future events.

IFM News Iain Turner at the Thames Tidefest

in the ocean and was scientific advisor on the new Blue Planet II TV series. He talked about During the first weekend in September, the the first dives by human-occupied vehicles and Branch contributed muscle and brain power to explorations of the biodiversity of the Antarctic seine-netting and fish identification at the Totally deep sea and future pressures. This proved to Thames and Thames Tidefest events at Bankside be one of the best talks the Branch has had, and Strand on the Green respectively. These not only superb photographs but as one IFM drew much interest from the public and, as in Member put it, “I could have listened to Jon previous years, catches of juvenile sea bass and for hours”! flounder showed how important a nursery area the Thames Estuary has become.

On 7th November, we repeat another annual favourite at King’s College, an eclectic mix of The Branch held its prestigious Annual Sherry presentations on recent University of London Evening on 2nd October at what proved to be postgraduate projects, arranged by Mike an excellent new venue, King’s College in the Chadwick of King’s College London. Then on old Bush House on Aldwych. In addition to a December 5th we hold our Annual General delicious buffet and wines, Jon Copley gave a Meeting, again at King’s College, when there will presentation on Exploring deep-sea life around be the usual political upheavals and chicanery Antarctica: glimpses into the past and hints of as people fight to get elected to the Branch the future. Jon is an Associate Professor in Committee. Even more exciting will be a Ocean Exploration and Public Engagement at the presentation on alien pink salmon in the UK by University of Southampton. He was the first UK Chris Conroy of the Ness District Salmon Board. bathynaut to dive beyond five kilometres deep

IFM London and SE Branch

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To advertise in the next edition of FISH please contact: Iain Turner iain.turner@ifm.org.uk

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IFM News

Branch Contacts If you want more information on IFM activities in your region, please contact the branch secretaries through the email addresses below: East Anglia: Andrew Sadler

andrew.sadler@environment-agency.gov.uk

Ireland: Art Niven Art.Niven@loughs-agency.org London & South East: Steve Colclough srcifm@gmail.com Midlands/Lincolnshire: Ryan Taylor ryan.taylor@environment-agency.gov.uk North West: Paul Coulson paul.coulson@ifm.org.uk South West: Iain Turner swest@ifm.org.uk Southern: Iain Turner

iain.turner@ifm.org.uk

Scotland: Lorraine Hawkins lorraine@riverdee.org Wales: Emma Keenan

emma.keenan@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk

Yorkshire & North East: Mike Lee

michael.lee@environment-agency.gov.uk

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Photo by Masaaki Komori on Unsplash

Breaking News

Breaking News

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Breaking News

Octopuses on ecstasy drug ‘become more social’ Octopuses given the drug ecstasy become more social and try to hug each other, a study has found - https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45600372 Writing in the journal Current Biology, researchers at Johns Hopkins University in the US say the drug affected the creatures in a similar way to humans.

In normal circumstances, octopuses are solitary animals who can prey on each other after mating. Scientists say the way they behave while on the drug may give insights into how social behaviour has evolved.

Homeless charity Shelter raised concerns this week.

A large number of hermit crabs were contacting them seeking advice as they faced becoming homeless or were already without a shell.

The situation is thought to be a response to the escalating cost of first time shells and rich crabs in the Solent buying up cheap whelk shells up in the North Sea as buy to lets. The number of crabs on the property ladder has further escalated in recent weeks as large numbers of refugee crabs displaced by the Scallop Wars in the English Channel have seen demand outstrip supply.

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Book Review

Book Review From sea to source 2.0. Protection and Restoration of Fish Migration in rivers worldwide

By Brink, K., P. Gough, J. Royte, P.P. Schollema and H Wanningen, 2018.

– Review by Ian Dolben In 2012 the first global edition of ‘From sea to source’ was published. Since that time, the World Fish Migration Foundation was founded, and a large number of initiatives have been launched to address issues of fish migration.

The same team have now compiled the book under review.

invaluable tool for the fisheries professional.

The chapter on dam removal appears particularly useful, with excellent practical examples, and a handy summary flowchart of the steps involved in dam removal. Technical solutions to fish passage problems are comprehensively explained and well-illustrated.

There are 10 chapters including the importance of rivers, migratory fish and their value, the river basin approach, dam removal, technical solutions and monitoring. The book is well illustrated, with submissions from a wide range of contributors from throughout the world.

The book sets out to be ‘inspirational, easy to read and attractive’, and is aimed at ‘professionals involved in solving problems, but also those with a general interest’.

The 10 chapters, together with the extensive use of examples from all corners of the world, at a variety of scales, easily achieves all the stated aims.

The concluding chapter of the book focusses on communications, highlighting the importance of good communications between practitioners and specialists. Mention is also made of the benefits of events such as the World Fish Migration Day in increasing awareness amongst the public.

The importance of this book is shown by facts such as there has been a 41% decline in migratory fish populations across the world, and 48 million people are dependent on migratory fish in the Mekong. Threats to migratory fish from hydropower and pumping stations from historic and planned development are extensive and good guidance on technical solutions is an 50

This is an excellent book, and fisheries professionals involved with fish migration (probably most of us!) should have this close to hand. So much has been achieved in recent years in addressing fish passage issues, and much remains to be done. However, if the UK leaves the EU in 2019 and the Water Framework Directive is no longer in place, it is questionable whether there will be adequate legal force to justify funding for fish passage solutions in many situations in the UK. The book is available as a free download at: https://www.fromseatosource.com

Fish and eel pass design, fabrication and installation, including full CAD capabilities Tidal gate fish passage mitigation, including design, fabrication and installation of bespoke dampers and spring retarders Fisheries assessments and surveys, including PHABSIM studies, electro-fishing, quantitative mapping, advanced quantitative experimental design, migration and barrier studies Fisheries monitoring and R&D, including pit-tagging, DIDSON/ARIS & camera monitoring, telemetry studies, field-based experiments and product development Fisheries impact assessments of hydropower installations and appropriate mitigation measures In-house civil construction design and project management

Unit 1 Shinners Bridge, Webbers Way, Dartington, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 6JY www.ďŹ shtek.co.uk

+44 (0) 1803 866680

info@ďŹ shtek-consulting.co.uk

Members and their FISH

Heb Leman lands a 17kg yellowfin tuna in Costa Rica from the shore

Do you have a picture of yourself with a fish?

If so FISH would like to hear from you.

Send your images to: fish@ifm.org.uk