February 1977 Newsletter Highlights

Brian Tudor is still the secretary and the headquarters is on The Quay in Looe.

The newsletter begins by hoping that 1977 sees more sharks than in 1976, especially Blues as although it had been a good year for records the quantity was low. Brian concludes that the prolonged heatwave had made the water become cloudy and dead which was not good for sharking. The total number of sharks caught from Looe in 1976 was 928. In 1975 this had been 2083.  The 1976 season had been the worst in the last 10 years

Inflation was still inflicting financial damage to the club and subscriptions had to be increased to £3 for full members.

The Holt Awards which had replaced the Bacardi Sponsorship were proving to be very popular and the club was happy to be able to report that the Holt sponsorship would continue for another year.

The 75lbs qualifying weight was now being spoken of as the 34kg qualifying weight due to the metrification happening at that time.

The qualification weights for the Axminster Trophies had to adjusted and from now they would be limited to one tapestry per member per years and one per skipper every three years. The new qualification weights were; Blue – 130lbs, Mako – 350lbs, Porbeagle – 300lbs and Thresher – 150lbs.

The Caunter Room continued to be popular and sound projector equipment had been purchased so commercial and members films could be shown during the winter months.

There was an issue with a line class claim and where it appears the line had failed the test. Reading between the lines the claim had been rejected which had been challenged. After an extensive investigation the club was confident that the line test result was correct and had refused to retest using another line sample forwarded at a later date.

The treasurers report noted that post and printing accounts were increasing at an unprecedented rate and that the Shark Weigh account had operated at a loss due to the lack of sharks.  The Caunter Room had paid off all the equipment purchases, including the projector but the issue of “unpleasant debts” remained.

At the AGM, the Chairman stated that the aim of the club was to catch sharks, but now there was a new breed of member, namely the Social Member, who was a welcome asset to the club and he hoped that many of them would endeavour to qualify for the SACGB.

Tagging Programme Results

1. Tagged 17 September 1973 off Falmouth at 40lbs by Colin MacGillivray. Recaptured 28^th April 1975 north of San Sebastian, Spain at 60lbs. Distance travelled 475 miles. At liberty for 588 days
2. Tagged 15^th August 1973 off Newquay at 28lbs by Bob Perrington. Recaptured by Spanish Vessel off Concha de San Ciprian at 44lbs. Distance travelled 520 miles. At liberty for 880 days
3. Tagged 7^th August 1970, 11 miles off Salcombe at 25lbs by J Stevens. Recaptured 5^th March 1976 by a Korean long-liner. Distance travelled 3155 miles. At liberty 2036 days
4. Tagged 24^th October 1975 at Sagres, Portugal, length 120cm by W Persoon. Recaptured 5^th June 1976, 20 miles off Cape Espichel Sesimbra, Portugal. Length 132cm. Distance travelled 105 miles, At libersty 225 days
5. Tagged 17^th July 1974 off Looe at 45lbs by Bill Cowan. Recaptured by Korean long-liner. No size given. Distance travelled 3085 miles. At liberty 700 days
6. Tagged 13^th June 1976 at Looe at 50lbs by Ernie Curtis. Recaptured 20^th June 1976, 25 miles south of Plymouth by French vessel “Incroyable ll”. Distance travelled 12 miles. At liberty 7 days.
7. Tagged 1^st July 1974 at Looe at 70lbs by Ernie Curtis. Recaptured by Tuna long-liner Korean Dong Soo N21 at 88lbs. Depth of capture 150 metres. Surface temp 27.8 C. Distance travelled 2470 miles. At liberty 783 days (recapture position mid-way between West Indies and West Africa)
8. Tagged 9^th September 1973 at Sagres, Portugal at a length of 98cm by W Persoon. Recaptured 30^th August 1976, 15 miles off Belle Isle. Distance travelled 831 miles. At liberty for 1086 days.

New Records:

World Record – all tackle: J Potier 465lbs Porbeagle

British Records:

All tackle – J Potier – 465lbs Porbeagle

130lbs line class – A Jiovanny – 365lbs Porbeagle

130lbs line class – Dr. G Hamza – 365lbs Porbeagle

80lbs line class – C C Stubbings – 257lbs Thresher

50lbs line class – B Chittocks – 256lbs Thresher

20lbs line class – B Bowyer – 114lbs Blue

80lbs line class – K Parkin – 184lbs Blue

80lbs line class – P Higgins – 246lbs Thresher