Deepnet : Bradshaw takes action?

[Leon Roskilly]

http://www.seaangler.com/Seaangler_MCS2.html

 

In 1998, John Gummer, former UK Fisheries Minister, described the process of fisheries management as doing nothing for conservation, "if you are a Fisheries Minister you sit around a table arguing about fishermen, not about fish. You are there to represent fishermen, you are there to ensure that if there are ten fish left you get your share and , if possible, a bit more. The arguments are not about conservation". And therein lies the problem - political expediency.

 

http://www.foundation.org.uk/pdf17/fst17_5.pdf

 

In Britain, we have a Fisheries Minister for the UK, one in Scotland, another in Wales and yet another in Northern Ireland – all these fisheries ministers for an industry that is smaller than the British Lawnmower Industry. Yet we do not have a single Lawnmower Minister, let alone four.

 

 

 

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/l...xt/10205-13.htm

 

The overwhelming evidence we took showed that the common fisheries policy has been a failure, is a failure and will continue to be a failure. The Fisheries Minister's job, quite frankly, to quote a previous Minister of Agriculture, Mr John Gummer, is,

"to ensure that if there are only ten fish left in the sea, you get your share and if possible a few more".

 

That is not a policy at all. If it is a policy, it is a policy of despair.

 

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4110921.stm

 

Mr Gummer is now a backbench Conservative MP, and chairs the board of the Marine Stewardship Council.

He told the BBC News website: "I think the government is being misled again. It should have supported the tough European line

"Whenever there's an effective suggestion for improving the situation, there's a huge tendency for a pull-back which comes from the fishing industry.

"The problem with the EU's common fisheries policy is not that it's common - it has to be that - but that the ministers represent the fishermen, not the fish.

"And the fishermen whose interests they're talking about are today's, not tomorrow's.

"All over the world we've underestimated the speed at which fish stocks have become depleted, and that's the trap Mr Bradshaw has fallen into."

 

 

Tight Lines - leon

 

[ 01. April 2005, 10:06 PM: Message edited by: Leon Roskilly ]

[Jaffa]

What is a tough European line? There is no UK example of what is happening in Deepnet, or the kind of "pencil" hake landings you see in a Spanish market.

 

Whatever our faults I can't see that European fisheries, from the Baltic to the Med offer much optimism.

 

Iceland, Norway, Faroe et al seem to offer more. Its the "tragerdy of the commons" big style in the EU.

 

[ 01. April 2005, 10:18 PM: Message edited by: Jaffa ]

[Leon Roskilly]

Then there's this:

 

http://www.fishupdate.com/news/fullstory.p...g_industry.html

 

 

Tight Lines - leon

[Jaffa]

OK, what now?

[Leon Roskilly]

Jaffa:

OK, what now?

IMO

 

The 'industry' has to start listening to the likes of Wurzel.

 

Tight Lines - leon

[Jaffa]

Good again. Perhaps this new fangled angling "industry" will listen too.

[Leon Roskilly]

er, it's a 'sector'.

 

Tight Lines - leon

[Jaffa]

Whatever name you want Leon, but if its going to take its part its about time time it realised how screwed up things are and thought about it...

[Ken Davison South Wales]

Hi Jaffa,

 

Have to say since I been on this site everyone is very aware of how low fish stocks are and despite this no action is beening taken.

 

Whilst fishing today I met a chap who had fished this area for 50yrs. From where we were fishing double figure cod were a regular occurance during the winter period, bass to double figures and so many mackeral you could not fail to catch them, sole were as common as flounders. Now days a 8lb cod is a clonker, half a dozen doubles a year for bass and mackeral put in only the odd appearance. He was surprised I caught sole last year even though I could count them on two hands.

 

I have fished this area for five years and even though I consider my bass catch to be good in quantity I still have not cracked 5lb.

 

The mackeral were so small I only got to souse 5 last year, the rest were only good for bait.

 

What we need is a well organised partition signed by hundreds of thousand anglers, tackle shops, manufactures, charter boat skippers and then circulate it to all of the news papers and mps, then we may get some action.

[Jaffa]

Ken, I agree most people that post here seem to be aware that theres a problem. Is that common though? and do we all think the same thing is causing it?

 

A petition for what kind of action? My areas fishing has gone downhill due to commercial fishing yet I don't blame them because I saw how crazy the rules were and how this monster was created. Subsidies to increase capacity and catching power? Subsidised advertising to tell everyone how wonderful it is to eat fish driving the demand up. Quotas that only increased effort and caused even more fish to be killed, quotas that restricted a vessels ability to move or switch species according to what they were finding on the grounds. Quotas that totally screwed the accurate landings reports needed for the scientists. Quotas brought in without any effective means to enforce them.

 

The politicians did all this, not the fishermen.