Issue 9 Letters from the Archives of the Tanked Up Magazine

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23 November 2024

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ISSUE 9 ARCHIVE - LETTERS
Please don't read too deeply into the letter that Lorraine Hill from Friends of Cardigan Bay sent you, myself and many other local fishermen have been fishing scallops responsibly in Cardigan Bay for over a quarter of a century, returning to the same healthy fishing grounds year after year, scallop stocks are as healthy, if not healthier now as they have ever been - if this is not a well maintained sustainable fishery, then I don't know what is! Cardigan Bay plays host to a rich and varied array of wildlife, we've witnessed for ourselves increasing numbers of dolphins in recent years and the local media reported large 'super-pods' of up to 1500 dolphins off the West Wales coast this summer. The local TV news only recently reported that the seal population was increasing with a threefold increase in the amount of pups born this year. How can this be I wonder if we are to believe what these so called 'environmentalists' tell us? The Bay's marine environment has to be vibrant and healthy and the food chain intact or how else could these populations be increasing? Our livelihoods are under an ever increasing and real threat by the naivety and ignorance of these people. Yours sincerely Mark Roberts (fishing vessel Harmoni MR7, Pwllheli)	Dear Mark, Thank you for posting your reaction to the letter I published in my article in the last edition of Cooking the Catch. I think that the points that you make are very valid, and I hope that the readers of the magazine do not for a moment believe that all fishermen operating in Cardigan Bay are doing so in an unsustainable manner, however there is another point you make which does actually raise a degree of concern. You mention that there are increasing numbers of dolphins and seals in Cardigan Bay - this is itself is something to be concerned about, as it is an indication that the balance of the food chain is actually changing. If Cardigan Bay has not historically been the home to large numbers of dolphins and seals, then the fact that they now thrive there is a sign that there has been an increase in the numbers of species on which they feed, which ultimately, (somewhere down the line) means something else has been removed from the food chain. I think that ultimately, whether or not scallop numbers in Cardigan Bay are being managed well is not actually the issue at hand here (although it is certainly something that has been in the press a great deal recently). Personally, as a chef and a diver, my concern is more that the fishing methods used are actually detrimental to the undersea environment - this is something that I am afraid cannot come into question here - having seen the results of dredging first hand, (and as a chef, knowing the difference in taste between dived and dredged) I can only say that I am in favour of the hand dived - they taste so much better (less gritty) and leave the sea bed looking like there is something living there! Kind regards, Chef! Andrew Maxwell
I was watching Enter the Dragon whilst thinking about diving the other day. At no point in that cult Bruce Lee classic did any of the Kung Fu mavericks use their down time to dive off the Evil One's island. Surely the South China Sea is replete with good local dive sites that should be used by any fit black-belted martial artist. No wonder it was left to Bruce to sort it all out in a Hall of Mirrors with a bloke with a changeable hand. If it were me, I would have put a free diving fin on my empty wrist and slapped them all back to the Chinese mainland. Joey Malone Did anyone notice in Dr No (the Bond movie) that Ursula Andress was wearing Apex regs, a Buddy BCD and a Megalodon rebreather? Connery was in fact eating a bacon roll with brown sauce on the beach and it was all shot at the Stoney Cove car park. Honest... though my mate Steve says I should up the medication dose.	I am looking forward to the sequel to Quantum of Solace. It's being filmed at Capernwray and a couple of dive sites off Anglesey. Simon Cowell is the baddie and Limahl out of Kajagoogoo plays his evil bowler-throwing side kick. Hazi Fantaysee Ref Letters [above] – I hate to be pedantic, but Dr No is not a Bond film. It is the first response taught to all GP receptionists in the NHS. Blinger. Has anyone seen Avatar yet? I've gotta ask what the director who did The Abyss, Titanic and loves the underwater is doing with ten foot blue things? And helicopters. Come on Cameron. Stick to running the Tory party better – not making poor old William Hague get CGI'd as a weird dragon. Minger.
Feeling inspired? Why not write to us yourself? We'll put the best letters up here and in our next issue.
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