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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 9:00 am

The North sea and the Thames estuary are warming up so fast with climate change, they say, that they are now catching species that they used only ever to see on holiday and which would have been undreamed of in British coastal waters just a few years ago.

"The catch is becoming totally different. Where cod and plaice were once plentiful, we are now catching vast numbers of warm water fish. Our whole mode of fishing has changed", said Paul Gilson, vice-chairman of the Kent and Essex sea fisheries committee.

"There are weird things being caught. Over the past five years we have been seeing a real change" said Ronan Roche, an Essex local government fisheries officer.

"Some previously rare fish species are becoming established and new ones are coming in. It seems that as the climate changes the fish are moving north.

It was always presumed that the northernmost spawning ground for bass was off southern Cornwall, but it is now thought that there is a breeding site in the Blackwater estuary. There's even a red mullet commercial fishery in the Thames estuary," said Mr Roche.

The unlikely catches are backed up by scientists who are recording water temperatures up to 3C higher than a few decades ago, adding to evidence that the ecology of the whole North sea is changing, affecting all forms of marine life from plankton to dolphins.

The warmer sea is also believed to be one reason the cold water loving cod and salmon are not recovering from massive overfishing despite increased protection.

Stocks of young cod are at their lowest for 20 years and the numbers of wild salmon returning to British rivers to spawn have also fallen to a record low.

The Essex fishermen believe that what is happening in the south of England may be linked to potentially catastrophic declines in seabird numbers in the Orkneys and Shetlands. Unprecedented breeding failures there have made this year the worst on record.

Many birds, including arctic terns and kittiwakes, guille mots and great skuas, have produced far fewer young than in any previous year on record

The unfolding avian disaster is believed to be because of a severe shortage of sandeels, a small silvery shoaling fish which spends part of the time buried in the seabed.

"It makes sense that the sandeels are moving further north too," Mr Roche said.

RSPB scientists agree that climate change may be partly responsible. "One explanation for shortages of sandeels is that changes in climate have affected sea temperatures and currents.

"This may have affected the plankton on which the sandeels feed, forcing these small fish to move out of reach for many of our seabirds.

Guest

In Total Sea Fishing they were on about a tuna fish washed up on the shore in the Bristol Channel.

Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 10:21 am

don't believe everything you read ! Our climate is constantly changing and has been since the dawn of time. There is a lot of bad science about; I have a book published in 1905 which states that John Dory are caught in the Lancashire fisheries.
Tuna were caught in the North Sea in the 20's and 30's, a quick google is all that is needed for these doom-merchants to avail themselves of a few facts.
Sandeel numbers are declining because of this.....

"Published: 19 June, 2006

TODAY the European Commission adopted a Regulation setting the total allowable catch (TAC) for sandeel in the North Sea and Skagerrak for 2006 at 300 000 tonnes."
and what is the 'by-catch" (ie other dead sealife) resulting from trawling for sandeel ?
I have some old research figures for this which I will post later.

Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 10:48 am

right then, some figures for commercial fishermen who blame lack of fish on everything/everyone but themselves.

from book published 1905

Lancashire coast.

Using a 25' trawl and half inch mesh size ( sail trawling in those days)

to get 20 quarts (5 gallons, a big black builders bucket full) of shrimps...
also caught.....
250 soles
250+ plaice..... 6 over 8" most 2"
896 dabs... all but 2 under 4"
285 whiting average 5"
18 skate 7" across.

also mentioned is a single haul of 10,000 small plaice by the same method.

Lack of fish, put it down to modern fishing methods not climate change.... take out all the cod and some other fish will move in to take the cod's place in the ecology.

Guest

We live in a constantly changing world which goes through natural cycles. As late as the 1700s the Thames used to freeze over and ice fairs were held. The global warming lobby would have us all believe that this is due to increased temperature alone;it is not. The Thames would freeze largely due to the restriction by the old London Bridge which slowed the flow.

We are also told that another group of scientists feel that the temperature increasewill result in global cooling. The idea is that the freshwater from the melting ice caps will dilute the gulf stream and northern europe will suddenly be plunged into a mini ice age.

So, standing on the side lines it looks as if someone needs to make up their mind.

By the way, while trees may contribute oxygen to the climate cycle, at night, they also contribute a hell of a lot of carbon dioxide!!

Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 12:37 pm

it was said on tv the other day that 'half of the Arctic ice cover has melted' recently.... !! hands up anyone who has noticed the alarming rise in sea levels over the last decade or two.
It is complicated being "right on and ecological" these days, I see that rainforests being cleared to provide soya for the sandal wearing veggies

Guest

Don't believe everything you hear. 96% of the world's CO2 is produced naturally. Of the 4% that's left, we(GB) only produce 2% of that, not much really. Green taxes? It's a big con. In 2 years time there's an election and they need money to "bribe" us with at the budget beforehand. All governments do it, not just this one.

REMEMBER, THERE'S LIES, DAMN LIES AND STATISTICS.

Anyway, gotta go. I've got to watch the baby Jesus being born.........................................................................................Again :lol:

Guest

Things must be getting bad if Mr C is quoting Churchill! Anyway, thats the problem with ressurestion, theres no end to it until the kids go to senior school!! :lol: :lol:

Guest

I think it was Benjamin Disraeli not Churhill.

I don't know though, fishing for marlin off Walton Pier does sound a bit better than fishing for (say) dab or whiting, or mackerel.

Cod - where the fück are ya ? ( :-) )

Guest

I can see it now, a line of fighting seats at the end of Clacton pier!!

Guest

So that's why I blanked last Sunday. It's because of global warming and the melting of the polar ice caps.

and there's me thinking I was crap.

Guest

No mate, we are all crap-global warming just doesn't help!! :lol: :lol:

Guest

and there's Limey buying a new floatation suit. If he only would have waited until after Christmas, global warming would mean he would no longer need it.

Suppose you could always make it into a rather attractive vest and hot pants. :oops:

Guest

Now theres a picture I really don't want in my head as I go to work!! :lol: :lol:

Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 4:49 pm

on the fylde coast we have had over 1500 of this blue jelly fish that are not native to our coast, they are blue sail jelly fish i think thats what it said..