? [/b]
Not off hand no, but I would have done a few things. Asked the policeman which law or new law I was apparently breaking. Taken down his police number and made it very clear I was doing that.
And then, how does he know what fish your friend was spinning for? At the end of the day the restrictions on tuna fishing have been imposed on commercial fisherman and definately not people fishing from shore!!
If this is what's going to be happening this summer we're going to have a real field day with the press!
yesterday evening i was advised of some new reserves eg qawra point ,zonqor point and even wied iz zurieq have a meeting this morning to confirm what is going on!
Reserves fair enough, but were these guys fishing in a reserve area?
i don't believe about reserves, if zonqor point every commercial fisherman throw pariti near to shore..... just 2 weeks ago i saw them the police don't do anything, just as our report
The things that happen on these specks of islands are incredible!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :o :o :o :o :o :o
The pariti are allowed everywhere, sweeping anything in front everyone, and amatuer fishing is being restricted more and more!!! :o :o :o :o :o
Guys let get the info going and in case laws are being misinterpreted we clarify and get things right for the benefit of all. And if such laws are being enacted we unite and make our voice heard. I'm not saying a protest, but meetings with the authorities!!!
By the way, skip, if you can, kindly send me an email or let me know your email address as would like to talk to you.
regards to all guys and lets get the ball rolling if things are taking such a twist.
jean
Hi Jean, you can just click on my forum username and the profile will show various info such as email address etc. In any case admin@maltafishingforum.com
Guys, this is just an eye opener of things to come. We are I beleive all amateur fishing enthusiasts, with great respect for the fish we seek (else, we wouldn't go into alot of hassle in buying gear and stuff). For this reason, its important that all ppl who post here on this forum should join up as members. We can harp all day about illegalities and so on, but unless we provide the firing power to our spokemen, then it would all be in vain. One way of doing this is to officially join up as members, and that way, when ppl speak to the authority, one can easily say...."I am here representing 100+ paid up members of the Malta Fishing Forum"
Hi guys I asked my brother inlaw this morning, he is from that area and he heard some thing but he don't know what happend exactly.Some body needs to go to the police depot in victoria and see whats up and get some info.I would love to do so but Iam verey far away from victoria.
Hi,
I entered the forum for the first time yesterday. I like all types of fishing, but the most that I practice is spearfishing. I am concerned about all the protected areas they are making and I hope that we won't end up like the hunters, where a few years ago there was little or no legislation and now everybody knows the situation. I'm not comparing fisherman to hunters or saying its the same thing etc (dont misunderstand me). In order to understand you have to look at the policy making process, how laws come into effect. From what I can see there will be more to come. It's important that all the concerned people/groups get together to protect what we love most.
i dont think that there is a law that prohibits spining from shore. if the police tells you that you cant spin for tuna tell him that the lure you are using only cathes barracuda. tell him that you spend a lot of time training your lure to catch only barracuda. dont let the police itimidate you there are still no laws that prohibit fishing from land. till now we will see in the future.
guys, the area at fra ben, that small island hemm il barra.. that is the reserve at qawra point ( as simong said)?
Quote from: busumark on May 26, 2008, 14:57:51 CET
if the police tells you that you cant spin for tuna tell him that the lure you are using only cathes barracuda. tell him that you spend a lot of time training your lure to catch only barracuda.
Bloody hell busu, I was having a crap day at work but I was almost crying with laughter when I read this!!! I just love the part where you said tell him that you spend alot of time training your lure to catch only barracuda!!! Excellent :)
Nice one busu!!!! :) LOL
But like skip said if the police ever come and hassle you for your particulars without explaining (or worse refusing to explain) what law he is acting under then as a european citizen if you don't get a straight answer you are under NO obligation to comply.
don't give them your particulars unless they define any law!!!! else they are breaking a rule....
There are alot of rumours going on. Any new laws, I can reassure you guys, will be to our benefit. I know that in the near future there will be laws concerning sizes, such as voparella. However don't belive all you hear!
Interesting how the Gozitans apply the law especially when it comes to deal with their best tourists, the Maltese. I am no expert of the law but if they apply the same principle like when issuing parking tickets this rule or law is probably for more relevant to the maltese . However not to contrast with the law it would be wise to first ask the police for their identification number and then more info re which law is being broken. I am sure that the police have the knowledge of the laws and will be happy to educate you and also give a very clear explantion of the law.They will never try to intimidate you without detailing every aspect of the law and what is the infringment.When this is all done you thank them for the info and explain like busumark said.
With regard to busumark's comment it should be voted the best comment of all time and should be a special prize,something like a barakuda trained lure would be nice.
Also I will be starting a new topic and wish all to help me out, it will be under the heading of 'Help required on how to train my lure for fishing in Gozo'.
Tajba buzu mhemx bhalek man..........
First of all welcome to markcam hope you enjoy the forum and please post photos /fils of your catches and dives just saw a dive of yours on u tube prosit.
Guys dont get carried away lets see what actualy happened and then wetake it from there, could be they were fishing from the salt pans which happen to be private property and thus they were trespassing and were told not to go there again on the salt pans as i go fishing there quite often and know that the salt pans are out of bounds so lets see.
Emic, did you ever get the full story of what happened, as I've heard a couple of different variations. It's important that's it's clear exactly what went on.
Hi Guys, I just joined in, trying to get myself familiar with your site. My view about these restrictions is that we have a lot of things to learn. Although some of us may respect the sport, a lot of others don't. How many of us put back fish which are undersized? Can we take to fish in seasons only? Most of us don't like to fish with restrictions. Let?s not make a mountain from a mole hill. Let?s check and confirm the laws on the subject. Drastic measures probably will be taken especially now with the EU. Fishing is getting from bad to worst year by year, something has to be done.
Tralling is my main method of fishing, and I think it?s one of the most sensible and selective way to sport fish. Nets are a major hit on the fish stock, there is no selectivity in what you catch. I think that is where the problem really has to be tackled.
I think together we can educate and bring more respect to the sport, this forum is a good stepping stone. We can set an example for others. Let sport not greed lead.
You're right Ramio, I'm into trolling myself and it's def a sport! If it were a commercial venture we would have gone bankrupt long ago!!
Aside from nets, I'm not a fan of long lines as it's totally non-discriminatory, they bait their hooks up and get whatever is passing in the area, obviously with limited control of species or size. By the time they come back to recover their catch I think most of the fish are dead or unlikely to survive if they were released, so you often get species that shouldn't be caught or too small being hooked up.
I understand that it's a living for these commercial fishermen, but they also have to understand that if things continue they will have no sustainable living in the future. In the US they put moratoriums for certain periods of the year on long lining and other styles, for the sole purpose of reviving the fish stocks. We don't seem to have learnt that yet, especially with nets and the sort.
Yes certain things are done like making sure the net hole diameter is not too small or the hooks on the long line are a good size to try and detract smaller fish, but I wonder how effective this really is.
For the type of fishing that we do as sport fishers, either from shore or from a boat, I think we have a negligible impact on fish stocks. Whilst I agree with Catch and Release either because they are too small, or because you can't take home any more fish, it doesn't work if only a select few do it. It would need to be imposed across the country, monitored and also applicable to part time and full time fishermen.
Any trolling catches this year?
tajjeb, keep us posted
Skip regarding you comment about longlines, i love fishing with longlines and it is not true that you dont target your fish. example when i longline for sargi i usually get sargi only because i fish an area where you can find sargi. then the size of the fish you get depends on the size of the hooks. if like myself you use large hooks than you will get large fish.
I agree (and personally practice) the release of undersized fish but as skip mentioned i think collectively our catches have a negligble negative impact on fish stocks.
The worst problem in my opinion is un-checked commercial net trawling which not only catches fish indiscriminatley but also does alot of damage to the seabed and is happening very close to the shore despite this being illegal.. >:( ::)
Pollution over the years hasn't been doing the sea any favours either!
Adequate laws to protect the sea have been here a long time..its just that they have not been enforced (which to me makes no sense..law without enforcement is a mute point at best,impotent at worst!!) e.g. whilst growing up the sea around the area i live was being BOMBED practically on a daily basis at one point in time.....
I just hope that the authorities don't use amatuer fishing or sport fishing as a scape goat for the present problems.
Hunters are/were being TOTALLY blamed for the reduction in numbers of birds breeding in malta,hence the current laws,and whilst this is an extremely valid & just point,the other crucial issues like the VAST reduction of their natural breeding habitat over the years has always been neatly side-stepped or totally ignored all in the name of commercial interest.
Im not a hunter btw (as i cant really see the point of killing a living creature just to put it in a glass case) all im hoping is that sport fishing dosen't end up going the same way!! and to be honest,no offence intended,but given the point i mentioned above im not exactly overflowing with confidence at the way any laws are being interpreted or implemented.
However lets hope that any proposed new laws for the good, will be implemented fairly right across the board and of course are ENFORCED in the same manner.
Guess we'll all have to wait & see...
Quote from: bigboy on June 01, 2008, 23:49:19 CET
Skip regarding you comment about longlines, i love fishing with longlines and it is not true that you dont target your fish. example when i longline for sargi i usually get sargi only because i fish an area where you can find sargi. then the size of the fish you get depends on the size of the hooks. if like myself you use large hooks than you will get large fish.
Hi BigBoy,
Thanks for the insight. I was more referring to the full time fishermen who lay their lines out quite far offshore. For example at this time of years sometimes the large female lampuki are caught and sold which is such a shame as they never get to spawn.
My point was more along the lines of don't target us sport fishers and amateurs and make an example out of us just because we're easier to enforce, whilst ignoring the commercial guys. As Martin pointed out as well.
So true about commercial longliners fishing offshore. Throughout the year, you can see alot of 1-2kgs swordfish for sale at different fish hawkers. The problem with fish caught on longlines is that most of the fish are already dead when hauling in the lines. So any fish (swordfish/tuna) caught on longlines which are too small cannot be released back into the sea.
i know guys who longline for swordfish in october and november and catch those very small swordfish and i am totally against it. Sometimes even 50 are caught in one catch. We fish for swordfish with size 2 hooks and it is impossible to catch a small swordfish. infact it is very rare that we find a swordfish weighing less than 5kg. Also to point out it is maybe 1 out 10 swordfish that are found dead as usually we rarely find dead fish. Tuna is much stronger then swordfish and so it lives longer.
Hi MartinB
You said that trwalers are distroying the sea beds the trawlers that i know they troll on the mud bottom which very few or no plants at all will grow. And i think that the fish that grows in 150/350 fathoms is not going to come to shore in the 50 fathom area to be cought by a rod. Any way where do we want them to go every summer the bottom is bombarded with stone for lampuke. The only palce is left for the trawler is the hard bank and the medina bank which last summer there was'nt that good.Regarding hunting that i am not a hunter.where do we want the birds to breed in a stone quary, because with the drowught thats how the land looks like. The island of comino is a natural reserve an no birds are breading what the poor bird is going to eat satar.The problem is who is going to stand up and tell the goverment to start raising fish and birds and let them lose so the sportsmen will have his day of fishing or hunting. Maybe one day this web site will be so strong that not the goverment, will listen but the EU.
the problem with trawlers is that they bring up a lot of mud that suffocate the fish not just the bottom dwellers but also mid and surface fish. When we fish for Alungi and the trawler passes by we just pack up and leave as the whole area is full of mud.
When there is a problem, its always the small fry who gets the beating first. The big fisherman will still get controll but he has to make a living out of it.The amature on the otherhandis is in a different position.
Looking at sports fishing abroad, they are used to a lot of rules. Season, size, tackle etc. This not to mention the fishing licence, which does not come cheap. These are thngs that have to be inposed on us sooner or later. with EU most prob sooner. We had better get used to restrictions.
best is to organise ourselves together and be prepared to discuss any isue with authority if permitted!!!!
Skip, last year wasn't a great one for fishing. Went out about 4 times for alungi with my boat, cought about 5 in all. Two where 11 and 12k. Shanook was with me that time. The rest of the summer we spent it together on his boat fishing St paul's area. My boat I keep B'Buga. This year will start deep drop for the first time. Will welcome any help as regards.
QuoteHi MartinB
You said that trwalers are distroying the sea beds the trawlers that i know they troll on the mud bottom which very few or no plants at all will grow. And i think that the fish that grows in 150/350 fathoms is not going to come to shore in the 50 fathom area to be cought by a rod.Any way where do we want them to go every summer the bottom is bombarded with stone for lampuke. The only palce is left for the trawler is the hard bank and the medina bank which last summer there was'nt that goodRegarding hunting that i am not a hunter.where do we want the birds to breed in a stone quary, because with the drowught thats how the land looks like. The island of comino is a natural reserve an no birds are breading what the poor bird is going to eat satar.The problem is who is going to stand up and tell the goverment to start raising fish and birds and let them lose so the sportsmen will have his day of fishing or hunting[/color]. Maybe one day this web site will be so strong that not the goverment, will listen but the EU.
Hi jessiejames 2,
Last winter i caught 2 scabbard fish/cinturin from the shore & others on the forum have caught them whilst trolling for squid close to the shore so,
no even very deep sea fish will come in close to shore to find food!! And also as regards the trawlers being unable to trawl due to stones from F.A.D.s/Cimi as far as i know the run of COMMERCIAL cimi for lampuki have been in the same places/area's for a long time (and are published & advertised where they are) and the only diffrence is who is where as they are drawn by lot (?) and if they are trawling along the 'dilettanti' places then they are way to close to the shore!!
In some places they can be clearly be seen from the shore! im not against somebody making an honest living,in fact it would be a total waste of a natural resource if no trwaling was done..thats not the problem..The problem is they trawl so close to shore to cut down on diesel costs,which again is logical especially with the way fuel costs are spiraling upwards (& TBH i think everyone would do the same if it was their boat/livelyhood!) but unfortunatley not only does it destroy the bottom where they trawl,but they catch EVERYTHING regardless of size ot species.
The worst bit is if they are targeting a specific species (which they all do,& rightly so,to maximise profits),for instance Shrimps/Prawns then due to the limited space on board any vessel they throw all other fish (Dead or dying) overboard!! this is called "bi-catch" and is an unfortunate fact of the trawling business.
If this is done far out a sea its still a shame,but when its done so close to shore around banks in the sea where juvenile fish are most likely found then its nothing but madness!!
The only reason i mentioned Hunting was to emphasise a point,that the authorities (ALL of them im 33 & regards these type of situations 'the song remains the same' :)) seem to only point things out which fit to their agenda..like i said whilst the whole issue of bird's no longer breeding due to hunting was being plastered all over the media,(which i agree with what your saying btw i don't know where these "imaginary" birds were breeding as ive never seen any and i grew up and still ive in the countryside) no mention of the gradual destruction of the natural habitat/countryside was made!?!!
I think the idea of the government raising fish to be released in the wild is not gonna happen(unfortunatley :)),first & foremost it would seem a hell of a waste of money to too many people to raise fish & just release them in the wild to give sportsman something to catch,maybe it would be better if the same ammount of money could be spent on enforcing the laws we already have to MAYBE give our sea a chance to heal..
Further to what shanook was saying about clouds of sediment this is off the coast of florida..and they are worried about it despite having one of the best sport fishing grounds in the world
Check out this link
http://outdoorsbest.zeroforum.com/zerothread?id=738555
guys just no note, they are thieves when they fish close to shore, THEY GET SUBSIDIES FOR THE DIESEL, THEY SAVE ON THE DESIL SO THAT THEY SELL IT. THIS IS THE REAL THING. THE THING IS THEY ARE THE MANY OF THEM WHO EVADE THE SYSTEM AND IT IS US WHO SUFFER. THERE IS NO JUSTIFICATION FOR THEIR ACTION.
whatever we do, it is the law that needs to change.... and fast too... rumors are that European union is already moving on commercial fisherman and they know.... just as i said in some earlier post if you talk to some of them they are very selfish on fishing spots, cause they earn a living, which may be a justification if they weren't subsidized, but they are fully subsidized on the fuel costs.
they know something is moving and they are not happy about it, they prefer the total chaos we are living in right now...
and jessijames, those are the trawlers you know. have you ever dived far 1 mile from hofriet? it was some xcellent place for sargi once but they troll so much that they destoyed much of the sea bed algae, and that doesn't help!!! also pariti can be devastating too!!! it is all of us who need to manage this. Why some keep small fish for their cat? because they say " the other one takes it". we are too jealous of each other, just wait to see you catching something and they will invent ways to fish, not to have fun, which i help many, but TO CATCH A LOT!!! that is not fun in my opinion
the fun is to devise systems yourself, get in lone with nature and fish it with your own knowledge, solving any riddles the sea gives... that is real fishing.... but i guess many maltese are too lazy to learn so they go out with a sport license boat and throw 300metres of parit to catch some fish!!! and i am not living in fantasy land i guess, this is the mere REALITY, we just ignore it and justify as usual....
Well said Granitu. I always said that fishing does not consist of just catching fish. To me spending all winter hard at work doing alterations to the boat, making tackle, searching the web for new ideas......these are all part of it. The best part is when you are out there waiting not knowing when, or what might bite. Even if more likely go back empty handed its still a satisfaction for me.
I enjoy watching other people's catch as much as it was mine, not like some who kill themselves with envy. but as you said reality is different
Hi Martinb
There is a alot of difference between what you read and the truth. The Maltese fish trawlers they wish to you use the Bi- catch system.One trawler in a whole day trawling in 350/400 fathoms lucky to catch 20 kilos of king praws.The law is there, they have to trawl three miles out, and when they are pulling the net they can't drift in the three mile range.The law was inforcde 1988.Hi shanook if the trawler you saw was trawling mud he really had a bad day.Hi granitu i never dived tal hofriet i use to snorkil for octipus near imgarr harbour years ago preferably at night i use to love it. Some of my friends say it is not like it used to be even the sea urchins are disappearing.Any way at the BBQ, I wish to be there have fun all of you guys. In August I'll be there maybe we will meet.
Hi jessejames 2,
Like i said ive nothing against trawlers earning a living,but sometimes they are alot closer than 3 miles offshore,simply because they can be seen trawling clearly!
I can see pretty far,but definetly not 3 miles!! The law is there alright but again its not properly enforced so some people ignore it!
And i can assure you all trawler nets have bi-catch my friend! No trawler is going to bring a hold full of fish which has little or no market value and barley covers their costs,or especially if there are more fish of greater market value,then the catch is sorted and the surplus goes over the side dead or dying...this isn't so bad out at sea,but at 3 miles out!! or less...
30 yrs ago my father used to visit a friend after work who was a policeman on the water police in grand harbour (i remember going with him once or twice when i was very young),on the only maltese 'patrol' boat (wooden) 'Druid' & whilst there,many times he used to see Italian trawlers (!) doing this sorting process right at the harbour quay side (having spent the day trawling in maltese waters NOT outside the present 25m exclusion zone),and throwing the surplus straight over the side by the shovel load before unloading for the market! ::) :o
guys, i studied their area of cost and i can assure you that they have a very reasonable earning.... it is all an economical strategy... they don't declare all the fish, just what they need to get te subsidy.
normally, they work like this. if he operates a trolling boat, he will troll normally to reach the quote but throw pariti as a part time undeclared job, normally with a sport licenced boat or an mfc license.
it is all hype that they don't earn.. i don't want to launch any allegations, just the real truth that nearly everyone does. estimates of costs are always overrated by 15% normally, depends on negotiations. but then it is the declared fish stocks that don't count.... they catch much more but don't declare... there were RUMORS that they were selling the fish to sicily people but i can't much confirm it, so i deny it. what they normally do of what i know is sellig it in mxlokk market, whick is fish coming directly from pariti and restaurants who often can get discounted prices for these fish
many try to ignore the real truth, but "xejn mhu miexi fuq ir rubini". this is the sorrowfl truth, which is indipendent from the 2 political parties who seek primarily their own interests only, just watch the controlled media in malta, and they call it democracy....
that is the real blow.....
I attached the list of places you cannot fish.
I attached the list of places you cannot fish.