Food from the sea and rivers around Fife

[AJB]

Food from the sea and rivers around Fife

Hi,

My sister lives in Fife (East coast of Scotland) and fancies collecting molluscs etc from the shore and also wants to have a go at hand lining from piers. Plus I bought her a nice little crayfish/lobster pot from http://www.interextrading.com/home.php?cat=2 (no connection etc but impressed), which she would like to try and get in the sea or local rivers.

The Question, who can she ask to see if it is legal and safe (water quality) to do this, or does anyone here know the answer and, if it is legal and safe, does anyone have any recommended spots or local experience.

Thanks for reading

AJB.

 

[AJB]

Surely someone has some words of wisdom for me!

 

[Limaed]

Hi AJB
Ive not tried catching lobsters myself but I found some info on your questions.
According to Hugh Fearley Whittingstalls book 'A Cook on the Wild Side' ,No permits are needed for lobster potting. He does say however that you may easily upset the locals who already have a 'gentlemens' agreement for the area in question.
He suggests to (your sister) speak either to the fishermen or the harbour master to 'test the water' or else risk stolen pots!
I dont know where your sister lives but it seems like prime fishing around Crail and Pittenweem so there's a start.
As for mussels and other shellfish ive only ever collected them on the West Coast, over here seems more populated which perhaps means more pollution?
Im guessing things like limpets, cockles and winkles are good eating - I think as long as you employ common sense you cant go far wrong, according to his book the worst collecting time is the summer months as the water is warmer and its breeding time so the shellfish are out of condition.
Hope this helps, the thought of a free Lobster Thermidor is certainly worth a go!

 

[AJB]

Hi Limaed,

Many thanks for the info, as you're local, do you fish any of the rivers or know anything about the Signal Crayfish situation up there?

Thanks again,

Andy

 

[JohnC]

Along the shore in Edinburgh there are warning signs about shelfish, but there is a fair bit of pollution, Ease coast fife may be a lot better...

 

[AJB]

Hi John,

Thanks, yep, I've seen them on my many trips to Edinburgh; I seem to remember they say Blue algae.

Do you think that will be more the Forth estuary, and not the Fife coast line?

Thanks again

AJB

 

[gregorach]

You may find this link helpful:

Designated Shellfish Waters in Scotland : Site Data

 

[AJB]

Hi Gregorach,

That’s brilliant, thank you for your efforts.

Now I’ve found an expert, what do you know about the rivers in Fife and in particular, the Signal Crayfish population and their catching? ;o)

Thanks for your help,

Andy

 

[gregorach]

Ha - I'm no expert. I don't even particularly like seafood... I just knew it was out there somewhere and that SEPA was the place to look. I think I may have asked a similar question here before.

Signal crayfish, that's an interesting one. Every time the subject comes up, we get loads of info about the situation down south, but I can't find anything about the legalities of fishing for signals in Scotland. I'm guessing that enquiries to SEPA might be in order...

I think you might be able to find out a bit about the distribution of signals on the Fisheries Research Service site. Or SEPA...

 

[AJB]

Hi Again,

I think I found most of the info I needed from those links and an email address to ask question. And you don’t think you’re an expert!

Many thanks

Andy

 

[gregorach]

Excellent. If you do find out anything about fishing for signals in Scotland, please post it here! I may not be a big fan of seafood, but I'm pretty sure I could force myself to choke down some free crayfish...

 

[Angus Og]

Remember there are also size limits to take into consideration.

http://www.angling.ukf.net/nwsashellfishsizes2.htm

 

[Jodie]

If you do a search for leniusculus there are three threads about crayfish.
Pacifastacus leniusculus seems to be the (over-syllabled!) name for the
signal crayfish.

The name Pittenweem makes me smile.

 

[gregorach]

Aye, but like I said earlier, all the legal technicalities in those threads are specific to England & Wales. The rules governing fishing in Scotland are (usually) completely different. Even in threads specifically stating that they're asking about Scotland, all we get are endless discussions of the Defra rules for E&W, permits, and rod licenses. There's no such thing as a rod license in Scotland, Defra rules don't apply, and nobody seems to know if you need a permit or not, and if so, who to get it from.

You sometimes get the impression that people think we're the same country... Legally, we're quite distinct.

 

[Jodie]

Ah, good point, and one which I hadn't considered. Which is quite shameful
considering I'm Scottish and have even been to Fife on a number of
occasions... !

 

[bushyboo]

hi id stay well clear of the forth estury right now there has been a huge spillage of raw sewage from the seafield sewage works millions of gallons they reckon
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=623432007