Stuart Reeves
@stuartreeves.bsky.social
Fishery scientist, birder & amateur naturalist, improving guitarist and opportunistic mountaineer. Based in Suffolk. UK.
Although he doesn't seem to have one: jimmoir.com/product-cate...
Birds Archives - Jim Moir Art
jimmoir.com
August 24, 2026 at 1:14 PM
Although he doesn't seem to have one: jimmoir.com/product-cate...
There are a few reptiles and a genus of plants too. I followed eBird for the apostrophe placement to avoid having to deal with that question!
August 24, 2026 at 11:25 AM
There are a few reptiles and a genus of plants too. I followed eBird for the apostrophe placement to avoid having to deal with that question!
Pedantry alert: she's actually a Reeves's Pheasant. No relation as far as I am aware.
August 24, 2026 at 7:31 AM
Pedantry alert: she's actually a Reeves's Pheasant. No relation as far as I am aware.
Very nice, but I suspect actually seeing one would be somewhat underwhelming given how closely they resemble domestic cats.
August 10, 2026 at 3:17 PM
Very nice, but I suspect actually seeing one would be somewhat underwhelming given how closely they resemble domestic cats.
I'm going to leave the condemning to you, I think there are bigger fish to fry.
July 29, 2026 at 1:56 PM
I'm going to leave the condemning to you, I think there are bigger fish to fry.
No argument with that except possibly with the scale issue. At very small scales the activity would still be unethical but would have no practical impact. At that point I'd be turning my attention to other issues but that does come down to individual choices and I think that's where we differ.
July 29, 2026 at 1:42 PM
No argument with that except possibly with the scale issue. At very small scales the activity would still be unethical but would have no practical impact. At that point I'd be turning my attention to other issues but that does come down to individual choices and I think that's where we differ.
I think that's a good way to look at it.
July 29, 2026 at 1:28 PM
I think that's a good way to look at it.
Things also get murky given that the current abundance of gannets and other seabirds has been driven in part by past discarding: www.researchgate.net/publication/...
(PDF) Net Loss-Seabirds Gain? Implications of Fisheries Management for Seabirds Scavenging Discards in the Northern North Sea
PDF | On Jan 1, 2002, S. A. Reeves and others published Net Loss-Seabirds Gain? Implications of Fisheries Management for Seabirds Scavenging Discards in the Northern North Sea | Find, read and cite al...
www.researchgate.net
July 29, 2026 at 1:14 PM
Things also get murky given that the current abundance of gannets and other seabirds has been driven in part by past discarding: www.researchgate.net/publication/...
The loss of fish through discarding was, and probably still is, orders of magnitude greater than the usage for photo-ops. Feeding fish to gannets instead of humans may be considered unethical but in terms of fish and fisheries it's a long way down the list of issues I'd be concerned about.
July 29, 2026 at 1:10 PM
The loss of fish through discarding was, and probably still is, orders of magnitude greater than the usage for photo-ops. Feeding fish to gannets instead of humans may be considered unethical but in terms of fish and fisheries it's a long way down the list of issues I'd be concerned about.
Some of the major supermarkets have stopped buying mackerel because of the stock’s conservation status. That could have a real impact on demand and potentially have a positive impact on fishery management decisions.
July 29, 2026 at 12:42 PM
Some of the major supermarkets have stopped buying mackerel because of the stock’s conservation status. That could have a real impact on demand and potentially have a positive impact on fishery management decisions.
I recognise that there is a wider point that we don’t tend to consider commercially valuable fish species as ‘wildlife’ and hence apply different standards. Given that the main reason these things are killed is to feed humans this is perhaps inevitable.
July 29, 2026 at 12:41 PM
I recognise that there is a wider point that we don’t tend to consider commercially valuable fish species as ‘wildlife’ and hence apply different standards. Given that the main reason these things are killed is to feed humans this is perhaps inevitable.
Enjoy your breakfast!
July 29, 2026 at 12:23 PM
Enjoy your breakfast!
I'm not convinced. The fishery mainly involves relatively few, large vessels which will fish until they've taken their quotas so there isn't a strong link with demand. Also, photo-ops don't require high-value bait, anything cheap and available will do. Gannets, famously, aren't that fussy.
July 29, 2026 at 12:20 PM
I'm not convinced. The fishery mainly involves relatively few, large vessels which will fish until they've taken their quotas so there isn't a strong link with demand. Also, photo-ops don't require high-value bait, anything cheap and available will do. Gannets, famously, aren't that fussy.
And yes, the mackerel stock is decreasing and is in a poor state but the only thing that will make a difference to that is effective limits on the commercial catches.
July 29, 2026 at 11:32 AM
And yes, the mackerel stock is decreasing and is in a poor state but the only thing that will make a difference to that is effective limits on the commercial catches.
I suspect that most of the time the mackerel will be bought locally before the trip. In this case the fish are initially caught/killed because the fisherman could make money by selling them. How those fish are used once they’ve been sold is secondary and doesn't impact demand.
July 29, 2026 at 11:31 AM
I suspect that most of the time the mackerel will be bought locally before the trip. In this case the fish are initially caught/killed because the fisherman could make money by selling them. How those fish are used once they’ve been sold is secondary and doesn't impact demand.
Both are true but it is the change in distribution which has led to the failure to control catches for the reasons I outlined. This in turn has led to the sharp decline of the stock. The ICES advice I linked to gives the most recent information on the stock status.
July 29, 2026 at 10:30 AM
Both are true but it is the change in distribution which has led to the failure to control catches for the reasons I outlined. This in turn has led to the sharp decline of the stock. The ICES advice I linked to gives the most recent information on the stock status.
I think the key issue here is the continued failure to reduce total catches of mackerel to sustainable levels. Against that background, the fact that a tiny proportion of those catches is used to bring gannets closer to photographers seems neither here nor there.
July 29, 2026 at 9:56 AM
I think the key issue here is the continued failure to reduce total catches of mackerel to sustainable levels. Against that background, the fact that a tiny proportion of those catches is used to bring gannets closer to photographers seems neither here nor there.
While there is clear scientific advice on the need to reduce catches (ices-library.figshare.com/articles/rep...), the states exploiting the stock have not been able to agree on how the total catch should be shared-out between them. Hence, everyone sets their own quotas and catches remain too high.
Mackerel (Scomber scombrus) in subareas 1-8 and 14 and in divisions 9.a, 12.a, and 12.b (Northeast Atlantic and adjacent waters)
ICES advises that when the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) approach is applied, catches in 2026 should be no more than 174 357 tonnes.
ices-library.figshare.com
July 29, 2026 at 9:48 AM
While there is clear scientific advice on the need to reduce catches (ices-library.figshare.com/articles/rep...), the states exploiting the stock have not been able to agree on how the total catch should be shared-out between them. Hence, everyone sets their own quotas and catches remain too high.
The with the main issue mackerel stock in the North-east Atlantic is that the summer distribution has shifted north and west due to climate change. This means that fisheries have developed in areas like Iceland and Greenland in addition to those off the UK, EU and Norway.
July 29, 2026 at 9:43 AM
The with the main issue mackerel stock in the North-east Atlantic is that the summer distribution has shifted north and west due to climate change. This means that fisheries have developed in areas like Iceland and Greenland in addition to those off the UK, EU and Norway.
I struggle with the idea that 'huge amounts' of e.g. mackerel are used in this way. I've never been on one of those trips but I'd guess they'll take a couple of baskets of mackerel on each trip so around 20 to 30 kg. For context, recent commercial catches have averaged around a million tonnes/year.
July 29, 2026 at 9:36 AM
I struggle with the idea that 'huge amounts' of e.g. mackerel are used in this way. I've never been on one of those trips but I'd guess they'll take a couple of baskets of mackerel on each trip so around 20 to 30 kg. For context, recent commercial catches have averaged around a million tonnes/year.