Have the commercials finally emptied the north sea?

[stavey]

how many of you guys no of the done deal that this goverment has just signed up to. re [eu constitution] which has given spain the running of all the fishing through out the whole of europe including ours. now there is something we do have a chance to stop. if blair and is rear end licking ***** get in again next year, just vote NO on the eu constitution referendum. i think all politicians are hypocrytes and they are going only to do things for thier own personal benefit, when are people gonna realize that, you are far better off writing to your local newspaper high lighting the problems with over fishing in your erea, atleast some of the general public have a chance of seeing your views. one other point i would like to make, i dont think the people who make money directly from sea angling do enough, and i think they would like the situation to stay the same, ie if you could catch a 20lb off the beach why would you pay 50-60 quid to a skipper to try and catch one 30 miles over a wreck? think about it, and whats this youve got to have all this expensive tackle like rods that cast half a mile because, and reels thats got mag breaks etc, in the sixtys you could go down the beach and they did with a hand line and catch that 20lb cod, its all a load of crap what you are told from them, and they are no help what so ever, and if they dont agree ask them what have they personally done to stop the commercials from over fishing

[stavey]

missed word cod, meant to say,20lb cod off the beach.

[Guest jay_con]

ok, we get out of europe, perhaps this is good? perhaps its bad news? if we control our own waters what will happen then? ? ? ? ? ? ? more fish for our greedy fleet to help themselves too?

is there anychance Blair would do something worthwhile to protect stocks?

[stavey]

no as ive said, he has already sold the rights to europe, spain to be precise, the only way to stop it is for you and me and 51% of the turn out at the referendum to vote NO

[stavey]

it the reply button to soon. maybe if us anglers donated a few billion to the labour party we might be able to get something out of them???? dont think thats gonna happen..........

[Leon Roskilly]

stavey:

how many of you guys no of the done deal that this goverment has just signed up to. re [eu constitution]which has given spain the running of all the fishing through out the whole of europe including ours.  

er, Can you post some links to where the details within the new constitution state this please Stavey?

 

 

Tight Lines - leon

[chesters1]

a few interesting bits ,probably biased but interesting

 

"Land-locked Austria

So here we have it.

 

Fishing vessels owned by land-locked Austria will have the same rights in British waters - which provide 80 per cent of the fish stocks within the Non-Mediterranean EU - as British fishermen.

 

Spain, with the largest fleet and the biggest beneficiary in the Brussels £600 million annual fisheries subsidies, opposes the plans as it wants more access.

 

Spain, which has 65,000 fishermen compared with just 16,000 in Britain, also objects to Britain retaining a 12 mile limit. "

 

"There will be little future for what remains of Britain's fishing fleet. Within a few years, it seems, the only serious part that Britain will play in European fishing policy will be to provide Royal Navy ships, acting under the direct orders of foreign officials, to enforce Brussels regulations in the seas round our shores from which most British fishermen will be excluded." (Christopher Booker - Sunday Telegraph 23 June 2002)

 

In the fleet reductions wanted by the E.U strangly the northern sector has to lose 20% but the southern sector 10% ,i`l let you guess who is in either

[stavey]

well leon, i dont know if its in black and white, but i did see it on one of the news channels when they first drew up the constitution. and youve got to ask your self what is the largest industry spain has in the eu, fishing, and they get the biggest rebate, and they want to build more modern trawlers and not decommission them. our goverment wont care about a dying industry here, and besides, us anglers will fill the small financial gap with the proposed sea fishing license, and the 1.3 billion generated as already stated, the only thing us anglers can do is to help scupper the constitution and vote NO at the referendum.

[Leon Roskilly]

If we come out of the CFP, our boats will only be allowed to fish up to the median line.

 

'We' have over 80 species that need to be managed internationally (they wander about between states) (Iceland has 20 and are in a strong bargaining position as they have no close neighbours).

 

European stocks would still be managed by the EU, being outside of the CFP we would have no say at all in that management.

 

Few fish wiould be allowed to wander onto the British side of the median line to be caught by British boats.

 

Meanwhile, free of EU conservation rules, our boats would continue to slaughter any fish they could still find this side of the median line.

 

I'm not convinced that coming out of the CFP would not be a bigger disaster than staying in.

 

Certainly those politicians who I've spoken to who advocate coming out don't have a well thought out British fisheries policy to replace it, other than to independentally negotiate fisheries agreements with the EU where necessary (little Britain against the full might of Europe!), or to vaguely mutter about the Faroes Islands and Iceland, totally ignoring that our fisheries and general trading position are nothing like their's.

 

And those who are pressing hardest to come out are those that fight for relaxation of existing conservation rules at every opportunity, and scream loudest when any new proposals are put forward. That says something!

 

Two major studies have come down with the view that it would be in Britain's best interest to stay in and negotiate reform of the CFP (as has been happening recently.

 

Instead of relying on snippets of information, largely generated by those with their own agenda, and reported second hand (with spin), anyone who wants chapter and verse on what's really on the table should start with these links:

 

http://europa.eu.int/pol/fish/index_en.htm

 

"In the past, decisions on fishing opportunities and related measures were taken annually. The amounts fishermen were allowed to catch and the periods when they were allowed to fish could vary considerably from year to year. Under the new policy, it will be easier for fishermen to plan because fish stock objectives are set several years ahead.

 

Stakeholders, particularly fishermen, but also scientists and others, now have a greater say in managing the policy through regional advisory councils on which they all cooperate in identifying how best to achieve sustainable fisheries in their own areas.

 

Greater powers for European Commission inspectors and closer cooperation between the relevant authorities are making it more difficult to break the rules. Controls and sanctions are becoming uniform across the EU, so that all fishermen will face the same risk of getting caught and punished for over-fishing. An EU Fisheries Control Agency is being set up in Vigo, Spain. A compliance scoreboard casts a spotlight on member states breaking the rules.

 

The latest reform tackles the chronic excess capacity of the EU fleet by restricting public sector financial assistance to the industry. It is acceptable to provide funds to improve security and working conditions on board. But aid to buy new vessels or modernise existing vessels is being phased out. In a parallel development, the EU has proposed within the World Trade Organisation that the rest of the world take a similar approach to subsidies in the interest of sustainable development."

 

http://europa.eu.int/constitution/index_en.htm

 

Tight Lines - leon

 

[ 01. November 2004, 08:45 AM: Message edited by: Leon Roskilly ]

[Leon Roskilly]

stavey:

well leon, i dont know if its in black and white, but i did see it on one of the news channels when they first drew up the constitution.

I think it's this stick that has been grasped at the wrong end.

 

"An EU Fisheries Control Agency is being set up in Vigo, Spain."

 

Note that it's an "EU Fisheries Control Agency" not a Spanish Agency.

 

Just as it's the EU commission that sits in Brussels, but the EU isn't run by the Belgians, so where the agency is situated doesn't have a bearing on who runs it.

 

Tight Lines - leon