DIRECTOR'S REPORT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING 30 JUNE 2004 WEATHER: Seasonal. April was warm but blustery with frequent winds from the south west. May was settled and warm, as was June until the last week. All in all, few fishing days were lost. FISHING ACTIVITY Netting and commercial angling for bass was prominent, particularly at the end of May/early June when very heavy landings were made of reasonable quality fish (40cm and 50-60 cms). Of-ficers received reports of illegal activity in estuaries and bass nursery areas, and patrols were ad-justed accordingly. Further action was taken to prevent incursions by larger vessels offshore, and one was intercepted at night. There are signs that Fishery Officers persistence is paying off, and several vessels have now purchased commercial licences to fish and registered as fishing vessels. Molluscs : Whelk fishing continued in Carmarthen Bay (11 vessels) and Fishguard (1), taking up to 2 tonnes per day @ £600 per tonne. By the end of June most of the larger vessels had taken 100 - 120 tonne, well on their way to their annual 200 tonne per year target. Cockles : Cockling continued in April as markets reopened and meat yields began to improve post spawning. As is usual, permissions were given to take excess quota when 'rushes' of light cockle were caused by tidal/wind conditions. Industry and officers noted the distinct lack of lar-ger (>19 mm legal size cockle). Sections of the industry continue to search out bigger cockle for better prices, but the going was expressed as 'hard' getting 'harder'. The extended CEFAS cockle survey took place 5th - 9th and 17th - 21st May. This covered the upper reaches and lower banks as well as the traditional 'heart' of the beds. Again it showed a shortage of larger (legal) cockle. Industry have began to notice signs of 2004 spatfall - in very many areas and very dense. Spatfall looks to be exceptional, but will only become measurable as it grows. Following consultation with the industry, action was taken on 20th May to allow up to 40% of cockles to be taken below 19mm in size in an area on the Penclawdd side in order to thin stocks to reduce cockle mortality. Post spawning mortality of cockle in the Burry Inlet was noted to be 'severe', perhaps exacer-bated by the warmer weather in May/June? Cockles disturbed by vehicles and riddling discards appeared particularly vulnerable. Whiteford Point (Cwm Ivy) continued to be picked by non-licenced gatherers who accessed by boat taking c 180 tonnes of good sizeable cockle (2 years old) valued at approximately £70,000. A patch of cockle at Llanstephan 'came good' and was noticed by the poaching fraternity who frequently attempted access despite the beds being closed. Vehicle tracks were apparent on the sands, and patrols stepped up accordingly. Similarly, the public frequently exercised their 8 kg allowance. However, various regular visitors attempted to over extend their allocations and these were warned or reported. Mussel : Fishing continued at Pwll until yields dropped off. One dredging vessel took 200 ton-nes of stunted mussel/seed/crumble from Laugharne over three days at High Water, all of which was laid in Swansea Bay. Around 100 tonnes remains on the sands in a dispersed state. The Llanelli south bed was re-surveyed and found to contain an additional settlement of spat (2003). Biomass was also up due to growth. No spat settlement was yet apparent on Salmon Scar, St Ishmaels following previous systematic thinning in February and March. Scallop : Divers landed scallops from the prohibited area at Skomer, but were warned off by other Divers and CCW staff. Following the ban on scalloping stocks are now increasing and this is likely to become more of an issue. CRUSTACEANS Merchants continue to lament that the industry take soft lobster. These are poor quality, light and weak. They would like the Committee to legislate to make landings illegal, but this is impracti-cal - education and marketing policies being the way forward. Spider crab arrived extremely early this year and were widely found between Gower and Ceredi-gion. Catches were also prolific, particularly of small sized. In the end prices dropped to as low as 20p per kg for 'small' and fishermen were forced even to return (dump) catch. Warnings were frequently given to fishermen for taking small Spider Crab, however, these never amounted to more that a very small percentage of total landing. Theft of pots and catch became an issue in one or two places, and local Fishery Officers contin-ued to liaise with fishermen and the local police constabulary. Prawn landings and prices were good initially, but tailed off as the summer commenced. GENERAL The Fishery Protection Vessel (now 17 years old) continues to suffer equipment failure which is disruptive and demoralizing. The refit can't come soon enough. On one patrol a 'near miss' was reported to Marine Accident Investigation Board as an abandoned squid net became wrapped around one propeller shaft. The vessel managed to limp to harbour before the second shaft also became fouled, and the net removed by divers. On another occasion damage to vessel engines or worse might have been more severe. The local authority / Community Council have
put up locked barriers at Pendine slip etc. to pre-vent vehicular
access. This arises due to accident risk and insurance liability.
Unfortunately it also prevents access to netsmen etc., apart from
those employed by MoD. Access to Ginst has also been curtailed.
Offices have fielded various calls for advice/information.
NOTE : Some inspections are covered under more than one legislation and therefore can appear as more than one count in each period. OUTSTANDING CASES - END JUNE 2004
There are no concluded cases to report during this period. |
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