Events
Gaining a Fishermen's Perspective |  | 
Visiting marine biology student Leigh Howarth joined Arran’s last commercial fisherman Charlie Weir for a day’s fishing this summer.
Out of the many great activities I have participated in during my time with COAST this summer, I was particularly interested in spending a day out on the boat with Charlie Weir, Arran’s only licensed Creel fisherman. Before we could start hauling in a catch we had to undergo an hour and a half journey from Brodick to the first set of shellfish pots left ‘soaking’ just off Pladda. I was lucky, I had picked an almost perfect day, the sun was out, the clouds from last night were gone and the waves were minimal. Charlie observed the calm weather and spoke of his enjoyment for his work but of how it becomes a much more dangerous profession in the winter months when every task becomes substantially harder and longer. When we arrived at the first set of pots he begun hauling them in whilst I tried to stay out of the way. He gave no orders throughout the day, instead I watched closely at the order Charlie did everything: First, hook the buoy and place the rope in the pot hauler, winch it up till the first pot reaches the deck, stop the winch, keep the lobster and crab of a legal size and throw back everything else, re-bait the pot and place it on deck, repeat until all pots are up, move to a new area likely to contain lobster and throw the pots back in to ‘soak’ for a few more days. As I began to feel comfortable with the sequence I began to help. I first baited the pots and lined them up on the deck whilst ensuring the ropes were tidy and a safe distance from our feet at all times. Then I added throwing them back overboard to my routine and helping sort the catch whilst Charlie began hauling in the next pot. Charlie stated that this is just how he fishes and that everyone does it slightly different. I’d say, Charlie was often throwing legal-sized lobsters (i.e. 87mm) back overboard instead of catching them. When asked why, Charlie explained that he feels that the minimum legal size is too small and should be raised to 90mm to help give the smaller ones longer to reproduce and that he’d “rather catch them when they’re bigger”. Like with all fishing methods, every catch was different. Some pots were full of landable crab and lobster, whilst for several pots in a row we would not catch anything. Like all fisherman, Charlie was happy when a cold-spell of no catch was broken by hauling up a pot full of lobster, “That’s what we like to see” he’d say. Unlike the herring, cod, saithe, and flatfish fishermen of the Clyde, Charlie has not noticed his catch decline over the past 20 years, although he appreciates that this is because he targets bottom-feeding shellfish. However, he did say he has had to fish harder over the past 5 years, not because of a decline in stock, but because of rising fuel prices, a definite and serious issue faced by many UK fishermen. Charlie has also noticed how people’s perspectives on fishermen have changed, and that the fishing industry is given a lot of bad press these days.When asked when he will retire Charlie simply said “When I can’t do what I do.” By the end of the day we had hauled and re-set just short of 120 pots and Charlie was pleased with the day's catch. My arms were aching and I could still feel the effects of the sea on my balance till the next morning. How Charlie does this everyday on his own certainly gets my full respect.
Last Updated (Monday, 30 August 2010 07:25) |
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