My Catches!

Arti2 · January 24, 2008, 11:16:41 CET

The thing is we can choose what we catch that is size. But greater damage is done with nets near shore. Even anglers from shore sometimes catch small fish like tiny beach combers, wrasses breams, eels. What comes out from the water stays in their bucket. And sometimes even tiny groupers! And after the day they spend fishing they give them to cats! I don't blame these anglers because there are quite few fish near shore but they have to bear in mind that some fish can grow bigger if not caught by nets!

jon109 · January 24, 2008, 11:51:01 CET

I agree! I've seen alot of anglers with a bucket full of tini zabri for example! or tiny sargi/sparli/xirgien!! Ok cat's have to be fed but there is no difference for them between a cawla and a zabrijja! On the other hand cat food is not that expensive! I also saw spearfishermen carrying tiny fish like groupers or zabri! They can grow man... so let them live!

Nyways I am sure there are alot of men out there who are doing the right thing...

However, the worsts enemy to our sea are the fish nets (parit kemm mil gholi u kemm mil baxx)!

Let's get big fish!! haha

regards,

Jonathan

EmicMalta · January 24, 2008, 14:19:03 CET

Is there any law on nets? Like a lot of times i meet pices in the bottem and its bad to see it. A month ago I was in the gozo port and there was a broken net. I could had counted 6 or more xilep, dead and all with busuf around them. Not a nice thing. Also for us, its really easy to be caught in a net. It sound stupied saying this but its true. Before I didn't ever felt a problem about to be caught in a net but now yes, i do. We se so many nets around that if we make pics for sure we will rise this problem.

2 weeks ago I was with a buddy diving at Zonqor point. He was doing the 10-12mtr deep and i was on the 18-22mtr maybe i see a white grouper. Whats a grouper!!!!!!!!!!! In a time when I was near the bottem I was surpriced, I saw the net just in front of me les then 6mtr and all you can see is the floats. The net was ment to catch sargi but come on?

This net was maybe 50mtrs from shore!!!

Its not cos of law or of somthing, but also for turisim. Lets say those turest that come to visit Malta. By the shore the only thing they can meet is the jellyfish, and all small other fish cleand up by the f.... nets. We dive all year long and if a picture has 12 sargi, one have to know also tha we do more then 120 dives and we do not spear fish if it is'nt with a good probability of the catch. For 12 sargi we meet letsay 500. The fish that we catch is only by good technick of moving around rocks and doing long aspettoes.

The thing of the anglers that go for small mullets,vopi and cawl doesnt bother me a lot. But when I see a grouper of small size it bothers me. Somethimes I do mistakes and spear a small groupers but if they can go, its better to leave them. Somtimes in cave hunting especially when using a bullet spear, one can easy catch two fish on a single shoot, and as you knowin cave hunting is difficult to have a good view of the cave so when we catch a grouper or even a gurbell smaller then our poportions we use to leave him away if he can get up.

Last time that Jon109 and I went to gnejna,i saw a grouper of around 1.5kg. I had estemated as 2-3kg. Whent for a small gun and asked jon109 to come on me fr safety. I went down and shoot. It was in 15mtr, and as I was trying to get it out it went out from the spear and jon109 sawher entering under another rock and had estimated smaller. He told about the thing and agreed that was better to leave it and so we did. Heq somethimes we do mistakes but if we can go for better why not!!!!???

ps. Now with a new under water camera. Hope to catch some nice pics. Last time I took a small video of a baby cornet fish but was without battery so the video it too small.

jon109 · January 24, 2008, 16:55:26 CET

EmicMalta is right! When i told him its around 1-1.5kg he suddenly suggested to leave it alive and obviuosly I agreed!

These Nets are killing our sea but fishermen only think about the money (which to a certain extent we cannot judge as its their own living!!).

So I guess the situation will remain the same! Till now, the situation is not really bad! But who knows, maybe when its really bad the government will take action... JUST hoping it won't be TOO late!

Nyways, Edward have fun with your new underwater camera ehh! Hope to see some good shots of yours... let us see Mr. Carbon in action once again

regards,

jon109

shanook · January 24, 2008, 21:38:25 CET

I am 55 and compared to my younger days It is late. As EmicMalta slyly put it "what is a grouper" Yes Emic we used to find good sized groupers in those days, now its like finding manna when you meet with one. The gov doesnt do anything about nets (loss of votes i presume). What people dont see it does not hurt. We need to protect the sea and people like u who make a difference when u leave alone small sized fish. Well done.

MartinB · January 24, 2008, 23:52:02 CET

I am only 33 but even i notice a BIG difference & not just in the finer species like grouper & snappers but even the bogue! I remember when i was a small kid of 8 or 9 all through my teens going to blata tal melh and catching the large bogue in large quantites and also Fomm ir-rih was Full of kahli and all kinds of fish.I also remember going for family bbq's in ghadira and just casting a rod in with a bit of snail or squid and just leaving it there for a couple of hours and when you went to wind in it was guarenteed you'd catch a big spnotta or gurbel...
i think the nets do mess up the fish stocks as they kill off the juveniles too quickly,and the law's on this type of fishing is way outdated (1935-8) regarding where nets can be put down also the law about mesh size is not enforced.
But one the worst has to be the commercial trawlers which are allowed to operate so close in to the coast despite this being illegal,as they are not only destroying the fish stocks but also the seabed in the process.
Its true we need to protect the sea,and people like emicmalta are to be applauded & probably a lot of people on this forum do the same, but at the end of the day unless the goverment (irrespective of poilitics) gets serious about this then its only gonna get worse.What a crying shame

EmicMalta · January 25, 2008, 08:21:00 CET

Next net I meet I will take some pics of it and then give your openion

Quote from: jon109 on January 24, 2008, 16:55:26 CET
Nyways, Edward have fun with your new underwater camera ehh! Hope to see some good shots of yours... let us see Mr. Carbon in action once again

regards,

jon109

hej jon109, its a bit late in time for the camera cos the Ajs had left and you saw the shoots on Ajs (maybe I find the last few on a hidden reef maybe their nannas are still with them as I got a good hint from a friend

), but for sure I will give up with the big millets <a href="http://www.sweetim.com/s.asp?im=gen&ref=11" target="_blank"><img src="http://content.sweetim.com/sim/cpie/emoticons/0002005E.gif" border=0 ></a>

hehehe only the seabad hint I can give in the video

here are the nannas

Aj caught this summer by a friend

Seahunter · January 25, 2008, 09:57:04 CET

Small fish are still being cought all the time, last summer I was spearfishing with 3 friends of mine near Ras il Wahx. We had cought nothing except 1 sargu, 1 large morina and 2 murlini between the 4 of us. That day there were no fish around except a few groupers we had seen in there holes that all were well under 1 Kg.
When we got tired and were returning back to get out from the water, saw a terrible act being done by a group of men! We saw a diver with tanks and all, spearfishing these tiny groupers and another 2 men on a small dinghy moving above him to assist him! He had already 3 or 4 tiny grouper already in the stringer all weighing less than 500grams!!! We were very angry as we had left these fish alone, and here comes this selfish person who killed them!!!

Sometimes I also saw some anglers do this, with some small grouper who had bitten on their hook and it wasn t released back!

We shouldn`t be selfish, these fish should be left to grow!

EmicMalta · January 25, 2008, 10:56:01 CET

Quote from: Seahunter on January 25, 2008, 09:57:04 CET
Small fish are still being cought all the time, last summer I was spearfishing with 3 friends of mine near Ras il Wahx. We had cought nothing except 1 sargu, 1 large morina and 2 murlini between the 4 of us. That day there were no fish around except a few groupers we had seen in there holes that all were well under 1 Kg.
When we got tired and were returning back to get out from the water, saw a terrible act being done by a group of men! We saw a diver with tanks and all, spearfishing these tiny groupers and another 2 men on a small dinghy moving above him to assist him! He had already 3 or 4 tiny grouper already in the stringer all weighing less than 500grams!!! We were very angry as we had left these fish alone, and here comes this selfish person who killed them!!!

Sometimes I also saw some anglers do this, with some small grouper who had bitten on their hook and it wasn t released back!

We shouldn`t be selfish, these fish should be left to grow!

These f.....n guys are using the cylinders in a wrong way and and its like nothing. Now there should be new law or had enforced it. Don't know exect but for sure one cannot spear fish by cylinders. It isn't sport like that. Its like collecting things. That looks really bad when one leaves fish like groupers after him cos are small and see that others chech them. Please try when seeing these things to makehim consiance of his abuse and if it is possible go and tell him. We meet a lot of good guys on slipways on their way on doing scuba for fishing but when we tell them about the problems, it seems like we are telling them that they are too bad. The words that always say are "look at these nets...................". No its not good that we have all around with nets but also we went diving after scuba divers. They leave all way clear of fish. There are guys that I know that go for 1 grouper a day, but there are a lot that use to take out also the last gurbell and sargu.

If its for busness for sure it will not remain as a sport

There are persons that in 5, they use to catch more than a 500kg of fish at 50mtr on one day. They use also to make 3 dives a day. For me thats the worst thing that persons could do to the sea. They empty all the mating caves and if this will not stop in 1-2 years this will finsh the maltese fauna. Thats why martinB said about the missing fish. With apnea fora maximum we do 13-140dives for a 8hr dive. In deep its hard to make 20 dives, so cannot make any harm to the fish. But with cylinders you walk in a fish corridor and just picking the fish with cave hunting

Arti2 · January 25, 2008, 13:17:38 CET

I totally agree with you EmicMalta. But there is no one who takes care of these guys and confiscates there equipment because the law is not enforced. Even the nets. Last time I was at Delimara near powerplant gates, there were anglers fishing from shore and they told me there is nothing to catch. After a few minutes came two luzzu and collected their nets just in font of these anglers near the moll. These guys of the luzzu were from Marsaxlokk.

When they smell that there is something like awrat escaping or when there was a season full of small blue runners they come everywhere to throw their very long nets. The throw in Birzebbuga, Qajjenza, Marsaxlokk, Delimara near Powerplant and all Delimara near shore.

Is it possible to take serious action with these guys and tell authorities!
If so do you know any phone numbers?

My father was fishing near the shore at Delimara. Suddenly came one of these guys to throw his net.
My father told him that he is fishing and that he can throw his nets not so near to the shore. What do you think was his reply :I LEAVE IT FOR YOU he told my father.
My father told him SEE IF YOU LEFT ANY!

EmicMalta · January 25, 2008, 13:21:24 CET

Just wait for tomorrow and see

Arti2 · January 25, 2008, 13:30:29 CET

Once I saw many large AJs near Delimara Powerplant near the intake of the plant before the small sandy beach. There was a good amount of them. 2Kgs ones. When they knew about them they came and caught every single one with a net!
How are we expecting to catch AJs!
We only catch one, maximum of two from a shoal.
These guys catch all and are business minded!
Something has to be done guys!

EmicMalta · January 25, 2008, 13:50:08 CET

Quote from: Arti2 on January 25, 2008, 13:30:29 CET
Once I saw many large AJs near Delimara Powerplant near the intake of the plant before the small sandy beach. There was a good amount of them. 2Kgs ones. When they knew about them they came and caught every single one with a net!
How are we expecting to catch AJs!
We only catch one, maximum of two from a shoal.
These guys catch all and are business minded!
Something has to be done guys!

That's why I don't like to fish in that areas. All full of net and doesn't metter if there's a diver or someone. They just work and all the net catch it could be sold. Yesturday I went to a fish shop to buy some vongole and saw some srgi and kahli. 1st of all I think that even a cat will not eat that rubish of fish.Was too dry by the use of entering from frezer to another. But the point was the fish was of around 9cm. Immagine who could buy these fish? and for what? Maybe it brings Lm2kg these small cos only maye for a soup can be used. Come on!!!! These come from the fish market at valletta so no ne matters. Its fish that is shown in public

busumark · January 25, 2008, 13:57:19 CET

like it was said in preivous posts there is an old law for nets. they can throw nets near shore only for a short time they cant throw nets in bays or ports. and there are trawlers that can trawl from 3 miles from shore. they have all the permits. its true maybe nothing can be done because only people like us see that everything is being destroyed by these people and we are a minority. all the other people dont know what is happening. maybe we can come up with an idea to make other people aware of what is happening

Seahunter · January 25, 2008, 15:13:21 CET

Something should be done immediatly, at least at the markets to stop these people from selling these small fishes.
In Gozo at a particular restaurant catering fish had a full display of different groupers all smaller than 11 inches. Its shamelfull!!

Soon nothing will be left in the sea!

The authorities are in some nice, dreamy sleep I think!!