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Ever wondered what happened to the seaweed?
For those that have been sailing along this stretch of the Coastline for ten plus years, do you recall those days after a good storm when
the beach was nigh on thigh deep in thick seaweed washed up after the gales, and then as it lay there and rotted over the subsequent
days so there was that smell that Worthing was infamous for, well what's happened to it?
This past week I have been working with an ex fisherman, who's "fishing" family can be traced back to the 14th Century. Six years ago
he just had to seek other work as the fish were just no longer there, and the reason is down to the trawlers you see quite often off the
coast here working in pairs. The issue was raised in Westminster and below are transcripts from the meeting. It's quite complex and the
full minutes can be read here
9th February 2000 Mr. Tim Loughton (East Worthing and Shoreham)
The trickle-down effect of that failure on small fishermen, particularly those in my constituency of East Worthing and Shoreham, and its impact on non-pressure stocks such as sea bass, which is causing problems off the Sussex coast...........
Let me say something about the local situation. Sea bass in particular have caused great problems among my fishermen, who brought the matter to my attention last summer.
At that time, for the second season running, the livelihoods of Worthing fishermen have been threatened by larger fishing boats which come along the coast, particularly from Newhaven,
in East Sussex and scoop up large quantities of fish using nets slung between a pair of trawlers.
Pair trawling is a real problem. Two trawlers operate typically 200 yds apart. Up to six pairs have been operating in the area during the season, and they have started the season early.
They drag heavy steel wire lines in water as shallow as 20 ft. Heavy weights are attached to hold down the gear, which are in contact with the sea bed. Heavy wire sweeps herd
fish into the nets with a funnel effect, and heavy chains and rubber bobbins scrape along the sea bed, overturning boulders, smashing rocks and uprooting kelp beds, which provide
feeding grounds for bass and other fish and where small species such as crabs hide in the dark.
Often, after the pair of trawlers have been along, there are no fish for other fishermen. The fragile kelp beds, which have been deteriorating off Worthing for the last
15 years, are now virtually gone. It is said that they were deteriorating in any event, but dragging heavy gear along the sea bed cannot help the position.
I have seen photographs taken 10 or 15 years ago, and compared them with those taken by divers over the past few years. There is very little kelp left which is especially
galling for Worthing, given that, arguably, its name is derived from the Saxon word for seaweed. Worthing has had problems with seaweed for many years, it has made
a mess on the beach, and in summer it stinks. However, although the stink has gone, the fish will go as well because of the lack of seaweed.
Another problem with pair trawlers is that they have been coming closer and closer to shore. Some have come as close as 50 yds from the end of the pier,
causing a danger to swimmers. As local fishermen will testify, after pair trawlers have hauled in their gear, vast amounts of small bream and whiting can often be seen floating dead
or dying on the surface, feeding the seagulls. That does no good to anyone, apart from the seagulls.
Pair trawling is an increasingly effective way of fishing. The amount of sea bass caught in that way has increased by 500 per cent. over the past two years.
In 1997-98, 43.3 tonnes were landed; in 1998-99, the amount had increased to 216.2 tonnes. Because of that enormous increase, a number of full-time commercial
boats are now fishing for bass. The number has increased substantially over the past five or six years.
My fishermen in Worthing and Shoreham are very aggrieved that some of the best bass fishing grounds of Sussex are being systematically denuded.
Since working with them, I have received letters of support from all over the country from as far afield as Glamorgan, Somerset, Cornwall and Nottinghamshire. I have been out to see the pair trawlers, and I have been out with the conventional fishermen as well.
The response from the pair trawlermen is understandable, and in many respects I sympathise with them. They are caught by the common fisheries policy like everyone else.
Because of the lack of pressure stocks and the decreasing quotas for cod, sole and plaice, they are having to look for alternative catches, and the position is worsening. They are having to look further afield for new species that are not covered by the quotas and the TACs. I was recently told that a colony of scallops had appeared in an area that the men do not usually fish; they scooped them up and moved on, leaving no scallops behind.
The problem in Worthing is that shoals of bass come close to the shore and are easy prey for the pair trawlers. Bass is rather a lucrative catch. The trawlers plough up and
down all day long and then fill their nets. The Sussex fishery is typical of the eastern channel. A variety of species arrive season by season for instance, Dover sole, turbot,
brill, cod and mackerel. Now, as I have said, trawlers are coming down from as far away as Scotland to take advantage of the position, because of pressures in the North sea.
The sea bass stocks, which are not covered by quotas, are inevitably coming under pressure, as evidenced by the catch limits per week being imposed on boats......."
It does seem ridiculous in this day & age of environmental concerns we have a major catastrophe on our doorstep which we can't be bothered with, shame.
