From the Irish examiner 04/12/2014
Dear Sir
The internet is alive with reports of a massive haul of mullet estimated at 140 tonnes a mile south of the cork coast by herring trawlers . Such a huge shoal of migratory mullet will likely have included thousands of protected bass also . While there is nothing illegal or indeed even intentional maybe, in this reported haul it is in my opinion, a sad event and indicative of inappropriate exploitation of our marine resources . It will have a major impact on numbers of mullet and bass in our Co.Cork harbours and estuaries next year , on species such as otter, porpoises etc. that depend on them and the tourist industry. I appeal to our ministers to introduce a reasonable commercial-free fishing zone around our coastline to protect our wildlife and young fish and to create a modern inshore coast guard to protect our marine ecosystem.
Save Our Seas !
sincerely…..
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There doesn’t appear to be any denial in relation to the accident even though the following extrapolation is extraordinary in its contemplation it must be close to a reasonable extract derived from the following numbers below
The average size of mullet caught during the CSBF 2013 was - 2.62lb, lets call that 1.2kg
1 tonne = 835 Mullet
140 tonnes = 116,900 Mullet
Mullet and bass are sociable so there must have been as stated above an associated impact on the protected population of bass. The internet was in fact NOT alive to the impact or an expression of outrage, one person did absorb a lot of flack so…
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What does 140 tonnes convert to?
800 Dolphins or
62,000 White fronted geese or
400,000 Red squirrels or
1,000 Common seals or
17,500 Otters or
13,000 Swans or
35,000 Golden Eagles or
40,000 Atlantic salmon or
140,000 Pine martens or, in other words, a very serious accident impacting seriously on a national natural resource.
