40 years ago we caught them for fun from Fenit harbour in Kerry (all returned alive), now they can't be found in Tralee bay, Spaniards took the lot and we wonder why our fisheries are in [Poor language removed] street
I don't know about the spanish being responsible for ALL of the depleted fish stocks, but they punch above their weight regarding consumption of seafood.
We've hammered the stocks on cod.
QI moments off the top of my head
All these immature cod get caught and thrown back as they do not meet standards. But they are already dead b then. Cod as a predominantly bottomof the sea dwelling fish cannot handle the change in pressure; they are dead by the time they reach the surface.
They also get caught more and more in shrimping nets, but no legislation has resulted in modern shrimping nets not being redesigned to stop this happening.
Cods reproduce at a colossal rate. It was said in the 1900s that it would never be possible to take too many cod from the sea. And that a good year you could walk to galway from newfoundland on the back of cod the ocean was that plentiful.
Now stock are so depleted catches would be rare; if not for modern technology. This involves hunting for schools of fish in sonar equipped boats, a net is lowered and hey presto all the fish are gone. Also modern catch all fishing techniques that take everything from a section of the ocean at once. Shrimp, mussels, lobster, cod - nets that trawl at the bottom of the ocean that leave the sea totally devoid of life, after they are finished.
If you want more cod based facts I'm your man. I read a good book about cod once.
