Having attended the brilliant movie night where we all got an incite into diving in the 60’s, 2 things stood out.                                 One there was NO sausages rolls as promised and 2....

Mick Moriarty’s comments on Conservation or more so the lack of it. “Anything that moved was fair game” said Mick Moriarty.

Some say that Ronnie took this to mean something entirely different.

You see the sea was thriving with fish, shellfish, skate and chappies, and sometimes you didn’t even need a spear gun, you could simply pick them from the shore. Anyway for a finish they tried to get the Government to put exclusion zones around certain dive sites one being Kilkee, but it fell on deaf ears.

The sea’s are a lot different now. As I said to Brian recently in Valentia while we watched the fishermen pull up empty pot after empty pot, “What will keep us diving into the next 20 years ?”

For some reason Cray’s and Lobsters are always a highlight on a dive, sure tompot blenny’s are always a treat but its chappies we want see.

We all take things for granted,
Apparently some divers arrive and dive with no understanding of how the Boat appeared on the slip fuelled and ready with a dry coxswain on board. Cod was taken for granted, now all that’s left is its distant relative the Pollock.

I’d like to think we do our bit by leaving, what’s down there for the next diver to enjoy but it sure seems like were losing the battle when you have to navigate a long line of pots before you arrive at the dive site.

Have you noticed lately that every lobster pot you’ve seen has either has a dog fish or crab in it.

My very reason why I started diving is disappearing before my eyes,  I wish I had an answer to this but I don’t....wait.....

 

Maybe I should write a letter to the EU looking for our fishing rights back before we turn into Somali Pirates and hijack a Spanish fishing vessel.

I say hoist the Jolly Rodger, I’m sure we’ll find some lunatic in the club to do it, rumour has it that they were training during the winter months.

All this writings making me hungry now - I’d love a fresh mackerel cooked in butter, sea salt and cracked black pepper – what’s the no. for Rene Cusack’s again ?

From Drop Box