I do believe the fishing for flatfish has deteriorated over time but there is still some great fishing for other species. Bass, for example, but these have lost their general appeal due to legislation, which is obviously the desired effect. Bream offer some fantastic sport, light line pollack, tope when they're there etc, etc. However, whether or not anglers would be prepared to make an extended and expensive trip for these species is another matter. For us, to a certain extent, it is not wholly about the fishing (although this would ultimately be the deciding factor) but also the excitement of an extended voyage and coming together with one's friends for food, beer and the craic in a place that we know and enjoy..
I still enjoy the trips enormously and am grateful to the skippers who offer me hospitality on their boats but, if another venue came up that offered better fishing, I think most of us would be tempted. Some people in Alderney recognise these facts and see it as a problem to their tourism trade but we all know there is a certain amount of complacency and inertia amongst those who regulate things in the Channel Islands.