Gentlemen, (Mark and Steve); your comments are immensley important to this 'debate' regarding the proposals contained within the Guernsey Consultation document. Please, I urge all of you concerned and informed anglers/interested parties out there to read the document and the valid comments/opinions on this forum regarding it. As stakeholders it is vital that you do not lose this opportunity to write your views to the minister, Stuart Falla. (the address is Senior Sea Fisheries Officer, Commerce and Employment Dept, Raymond Falla House, PO Box 459, Longue Rue, St. Martins, Guernsey GY1 6AF). It is heartening that so many of us can see through these proposals for what they are. Any agreement with these proposals is to hand the 'power' straight back to the commercial sector; there will be no progress in any way in terms of conservation of stocks as we can all see. It's an exceptionally well written and clever letter, attempting to persuade us it has conservation as its aim. But just read Andy and Steve's contributions above and see how their awareness of the whole 'situation' throws a completely different interpretation on it and shows this letter to be the extremely dangerous publication that it is. The timing of it is also excellent in that it follows on from newspaper articles (Guernsey Press, Fishing News, Sunday Express) and radio statemnts from Deputy Duncan Staples in which various serious and unsubstantiated accusations have been made regarding 'black fishing' bu UK charter boats. This, I am sure, was intented to unite local opinion against and 'outside' element and thus shift the focus away from what so many Channel Islanders have been concerned about for so long, namely the Boue Blondel fishery. This looks like it's going to be some battle but maybe this really is the opportunity to clearly state our opinions, on invitation, to the powers that seek to impose restrictions upon us all.
Paul