KEEP THE TRADITION OF SALMON NETTING ON THE TAMAR TAVY

I would like to know if EA officials threaten or intimidate netsmen? Do they 'persuade' them to accept the proposals or else? Do they misrepresent the views of netsmen in talks to Defra? Do they angle? Are they really 'honest' brokers?

#126: Orri - How ridiculous. Sensible comments please, come on

#122: gary - Re: Re: Eels are endangered Gary

#118: Orri - So its now clear for all to read, You wont mention if you "know" if any of the netsman have prior poaching convictions here, and to top that,  if you saw "illegal poaching" you would not report it. No more to say. This petition is a farce!!

The decline in the eel fishery coincided with another conservation strategy that of getting rid of sewerage discharge and making the rivers clean but sterile it is yet another case of man creating an imbalance. Eels and elvers love sewerage and dirty rivers and hate clean pristine waters. So lets have a look at these great conservation led initiatives,creating Bass conservation areas in estuaries- they eat all the smolts,cleaning up the rivers under the water directive-make the river clean but sterile- discourages fly life and eels,stop culling fish eating birds- loss of juvenile stock, habitat improvements - increases the AWA and discourages fish to run to sea (sea trout) and last but not least stop dredging- excessive flooding
While netsmen are made the scapegoats for much that goes wrong in our rivers and estuaries the cartel should look at what YOU'VE been responsible for over the last 20yrs.

So what gives anglers the write to have exclusive right to our rivers? Just look at what they've done to our riverside wildlife, hunted otters out of existence,killed thousands of salmon during UDN when there was no need,killed grey seals,shot cormorants,goosander,shellduck,killed mink and pursued netsmen hardly a record to be proud of.

#132: - there are dozens of otters right through the Tamar system? UDN "disease" killed salmon not the anglers? Killed seals where exactly? Cormorants are licensed for control reasons, hundreds of them on the tamar system (they eat thousands of wild salmon parr and smolt yearly, the very reason this petition is here- for protection of the salmon) Mink were controlled by all parties near the river including farmers (are you against them now also?) Pursued netsmen? the nets where bought out for "tens of thousands" to protect the slamon stocks, no other reason. The netsmen cashed in my friend and are now trying to gain weight to get paid off with as many £££ as they can squeeze.  Where are you people getting the deluded info from, or are you just making it up as you go along?

#131: Orri - netsmen are in no way shape or form "scapegoats" The salmon stocks are very low so the need to stop the netting is blatantly obvious to help conserve these creatures. Its so simple, but not for a few on here it seems. Keep grasping at the straws. I know, perhaps you could try mentioning all the important charitable work the netsmen carry out, helping old ladies across the road, cutting the vicars grass, buying the big issue, feeding the homeless .................

135. Those old ladies,vicars and even the scapegoats would not be allowed to cross the road if it belonged to riparians because it would be a no go area.As for stocks being very low then that must be down to the pathetic and ineffectual management of the stocks from all the so called 'experts' and 'scientists' down on the Tamar who took nineteen years to discover  the counter underreported stocks in high flow events.If they can't maintain the CL with 1,800 to 5,800(which ever year you look at) RSE they should be sacked for incompetance.

#134: - I live in 2014, as do you. Its about change now. We all need to act now to make a better future!! Things that have passed before us are no longer possible due to decline, or acceptable for that matter in the modern world. A prime example- netting salmon, tradition or not. Move forward and protect what we have now, not everything in the past was traditionally correct. Do you think putting children up a chimney was an acceptable tradition, young lads working down cornish mines in appalling conditions, always an old tradition, but NOT right or acceptable in the modern world, progress and prosper my friend, progress and prosper

#138: Kipper King - Read the previous posts, they did have tens of thousands in compensation. Which is what they are looking for again this time around

#134: - So you say that "I" have hunted otters now, this just gets worse. Its laughable, what are you talking about? sensible comments please, this petition is already a joke you just make it worse with the lack of factual knowledge. Opinions are important but get the facts correct. The Toffs are hunting otters!!! :-(  dear lord, spare us

This petition is not a farce your contributions are. It is a historical fact the 'gentry' hunted and killed all wildlife for 'sport' and greed and still do. Ask the RSPB cormorants,shag,marsh harriers and other birds of prey.shellduck,gosander, fox,deer, badgers and even salmon and all because of jealousy, greed and an illconceived notion that you and the other 'Colonel Blimps' have a god given right to be sole beneficiary of our aquatic and rural environment.You and your ilk live in the past hankering over a long lost 'Colonial' world where rank and privilege ruled and  you just took what you wanted by force and yes kids were sent up the chimneys as part of that era . As then you're only in it for the money a lucrative tax free,vat free,rates free,existence handed to you on a plate by a class system invented to reward the rich at the expense of the poor and administered by an ineffectual EA and at the expense of other Tamar stakeholders.
Conservation has only become part of your vocabulary because it gives you access to 'soft'grants and public money with very little or no scrutiny or audit. You are the only recognised stakeholder group never to contribute to the running costs of the River Authority/NRA/EA over the last seventy years yet you still get most of the grants and perks and always have.

#144: - Conservation of low stocks of Salmon is all this is about, end of story. Deluded rich v poor comments once again. Wise up. By the way I am self employed window cleaner who has never hunted anything in my life. I am not wealthy,  I do fly fish and I return every salmon that I catch (which is not many as there are not many in the rivers) due to respect for the fish and conservation. Dont tar all with one brush, your rich v poor argument is flawed. Keep salmon stocks safe for conservation, the rich, the poor and the middle classes all benefit long term. You must try and keep things real

Yes I agree with you that this is about salmon stocks and conservation and it is you who have detracted from those issues. The facts are that counter data is wrong and inaccurate especially in high flow events and has been so for many a year.This data is used to calculate the number of salmon returning to the Tamar and is the prime constant used to determine Conservation Limits and management strategy including the use of NLO's and by-laws.The exploitation by nets and rods equates to just 5% of the RSE leaving a more than workable stock of 95% to maintain a healthy salmon legacy and comply with these mysteriously arrived at CL's.
A 70% decrease in netting effort and the cessation of the,Irish,North East drift net fisheries mean that there are more salmon than are being counted by a stock assessment regime thats based on catch statistics.
Given the increase in salmon licences and a no limit policy for angling it is safe to say that any future increase in exploitation is going to come from a 34% catch and keep regime and not the netting effort. But while the rod fishery is exempt from further restriction the 3 Tamar netsmen are overladen with petty by-laws, loss of fishing area, a 23 fish quota,a log book and tagging regime,a clocking in procedure all of which are disproportional and discriminatory.
Those are the facts and I hope the Minister takes them into consideration before making his decision.

#146: - No cash, all through the books as it should be, cills are spotless!!