Very Fishy

[Captain Kev]

I laughed at this but don't quite know why?


BBC NEWS | England | Hampshire | Anger over migrants' food fishing


Eating your catch used to be the natural thing to do, but in this day & age could our rivers sustain this sort of culinary Piscean burglary?

[Wild-Woman]

I agree with the signs. Otherwise we could all eat for free couldn't we! So long as it is politely pointed out that this is not the done thing in this country, I don't see the problem. Most supermarkets have a good range of fresh fish to buy. ww

[Paul mabbott]

I've always thought that it was strange, harmful and cruel to catch fish just to throw them back in and not all British coarse fisherman do this - depends on who owns the land (or water!). There's a kind of inverted snobbery about it - nobody would think of fishing for salmon or trout and not eating the catch.
The main issue, really, is whether this is *legal* rather than just *not the done thing*.

[Wild-Woman]

I don't see it as 'inverted snobbery'. I see it as abiding by a set of rules when visiting another country.

[nightshade]

Fish now "belong" to angling clubs and river authorities who stock lakes and rivers there are very few waters that do not need a river authority and or club licence
Taking fish willy nilly would seriously upset both people and the ecology like those Cormarant /Shags do as they spread inland
I seem to remember that the Poles that settled in the Reading area post-war had a penchant for eels in particular which are jealously guarded as it is a very lucrative
industry
Now if they would settle for signal crayfish

[Jonny]

Some of you may remember the sleeping cygnets photo's I put up on here a while back. Well there were 7 of them then, and over one night 5 of them dissapeared without a trace. I would like to think it was a Fox, but no signs were found. Some people are thinking that they were stolen by people for food. I really hope this is not the case as I was fond of them. But if it is the case, then we need to be alert to this kind of thing going on and help the police to put a stop to it...............

[Jonny]

Probably immigrants doing what they would of done at home.............

[gez]

i have seen this first hand while going to work. i walk through leazes park which has a lake & a few times ive seen people fishing when they should not have been & putting fish into a bag. !!!.& yes they were not british. also over the last 2yrs large birds ie.swans & geese have gone missing over night! as they are quickly hand tame who knows what happened..gez

[Jonny]

Originally Posted by Jonny

Probably immigrants doing what they would of done at home.............

Oops did I say something wrong Tink, can't remember what I said now ?

[Airehead]

Originally Posted by Paul mabbott

a kind of inverted snobbery about it - nobody would think of fishing for salmon or trout and not eating the catch.

Absolutely not true. This view is years out of date, and it is related to conservation, not snobbery.

[Lincs Yellowbelly]

Most Salmon beats now require the angler to release the Salmon so it can spawn again in the interests of conservation

If this was migrants taking Swans, Robins and Chaffinch to eat what would be the response by those with the power to stop it?

[Captain Kev]

I suppose it’s a culture thing then, Some of these people may have been struggling to feed themselves back where they came from, Catching and eating from the wild was a bonus meal and perfectly natural to them.
We only have to look back to the “Olden days” as my grand parents used to say, In times of rationing during the war, they used to eat Bungie pie (starlings) and pigeon pie and even when we were kids, my grandmother never used to refuse our catch of Eels.

Perhaps they just need a bit of education, because of our welfare system nobody in this country should really starve, (unless they spend it on alcohol & like substances) so there’s really no need to go about eating critters, saying that, not many people originally from this country seems to mind eating game, Rabbits, pheasant etc, so I suppose it depends on the density of the food source in question as to whether it’s deemed right or wrong.
I.e. Rabbits, eat em., Partridge & Pheasant yep get em in the oven, Venison yes please, Hedgehogs & Dormice off the menu until further notice.

[matt_xyz]

I suggest this thread steers well clear of the rights and wrongs of immigration.

Matt

[Alan]

Another thread that makes me feel hungry

I'm sure a Swan must taste a bit like Goose, but apart from the ancent law that they are reserved for the Queen, what's the difference (though it maybe important if you're a swan or goose!)! Mute Swans aren't rare, though admittedly dont flock in the same numbers as Geese. So it's more down to tradition and the 'aww' factor than anything else..

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by Alan

Another thread that makes me feel hungry

I'm sure a Swan must taste a bit like Goose, but apart from the ancent law that they are reserved for the Queen, what's the difference (though it maybe important if you're a swan or goose!)! Mute Swans aren't rare, though admittedly dont flock in the same numbers as Geese. So it's more down to tradition and the 'aww' factor than anything else..

Apparently according to birds britannica swans taste horrible

and actually they aren't listed on Schedule 2 part 2 of the WCA which lists species that may be killed or taken outside of the close season. So they're protected at all times technically

[Imaginos]

I remember a couple of years back York University had to make a special plea to its Chinese students to stop eating the campus ducks!

[Alan]

Originally Posted by Gill Catton

Apparently according to birds britannica swans taste horrible

and actually they aren't listed on Schedule 2 part 2 of the WCA which lists species that may be killed or taken outside of the close season. So they're protected at all times technically

Yes you're right, but do you think they are protected because of the reasons I stated above? That being tradition and the 'aww' factor!

.....maybe the Royals have bad taste? .......don't answer that!

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by Alan

Yes you're right, but do you think they are protected because of the reasons I stated above? That being tradition and the 'aww' factor!

.....maybe the Royals have bad taste? .......don't answer that!

Actually it probably went straight from them being owned by the queen factor straight to them being a rubbish species that tastes bad, I mean Mallard are cute and draw a similar aww factor and are about as well known but are still on the list

[Airehead]

Originally Posted by Gill Catton

Apparently according to birds britannica swans taste horrible

According to popular belief, coarse fish (apart from pike, perch and Grayling) are not worth eating. On the other hand, some trout anglers of my acquaintance can't stand the taste of trout - even describe them of tasting of mud.

It's all a matter of what you have been brought up with, I think.

[gez]

for what ever reason people eat carp / swans etc.it is breaking the law. & remember these lakes , ponds etc have cost £thousands to stock .maintain. I get very saddened when i go to work & see another swan missing!. & i regret not speaking up when i saw the fish taken scumbags..i love food for free eg. fruit /berries / mushrooms etc etc. but i know where to draw the line. & as my dad often says... when in rome!...gez

[GerryNick2]

Originally Posted by Captain Kev

I laughed at this but don't quite know why?


BBC NEWS | England | Hampshire | Anger over migrants' food fishing


Eating your catch used to be the natural thing to do, but in this day & age could our rivers sustain this sort of culinary Piscean burglary?

I would love to know what bait they use. They obviously have more success than I do.

Gerry