SACN: Your help needed

[Leon Roskilly]

The letter below was delivered by the European Angling Alliance to all MEPs.

 

What we need now is for every angler to send a copy to their MEP, MP, Newspaper etc.

 

The more noise that anglers can make now, the more fish we will be catching in the years to come, and the more the authorities and politicos will take notice of us in future.

 

Tight Lines - leon

Sea Anglers' Conservation Network (SACN)

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/sacn

 

------------------------------------------------

 

OPEN LETTER

to the

President of the European Commission Romano Prodi

Brussels, 25 April 2002

 

Concerning the delay of the CFP reform and the removal of Steffen Smidt, Director-General, DG Fisheries

 

Dear Mr President,

 

We were shocked to learn of the telephone discussion between Spanish Prime Minister José Maria Aznar and yourself last weekend which resulted in the postponement of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). This was reported in the Agence Europe newsletter on Wednesday, 24 April, taken from the Spanish newspaper El Pais. We were further shocked to discover CFP architect, Steffen Smidt was removed from his post as Director-General of DG Fisheries on Tuesday evening on your direct orders as stated by the press bureau Ritzau.

 

From Agence Europe and El Pais we know that Mr Aznar, supported by the French, Portuguese Irish and Italian governments, is opposed to the adoption of the proposals by Commissioner Franz Fischler in their current form. Your spokesman said the proposals will be "discussed in coming weeks".

 

By your interference you make it difficult for the Danish Presidency to finalise the CFP reform during the second half of 2002 as planned. Instead Greece -member of “Friends of Fisheries” group- will have to deal with it during their EU Precedence first half of 2002. This is not promising! Millions of anglers, sport-fishers, the tackle industry and angling tourism sector and millions of common European citizens want changes now after having experienced the well known damages from more than 20 years with a non-sustainable and mis-managed European Fishery policy. By your latest actions, Mr President, you send us all the very poor signal, that our opinions and hopes for a better CFP don’t count at all if we are not in line with some minor group of members of the Council dubiously calling themselves “Friends of Fisheries”.

 

Last year, on the request of the Commission DG Fisheries, hundreds of stakeholders took part in last year’s CFP Green Paper consultations in the hope that this would change the European Fisheries policy for the better. But it seems like one telephone call from Spain is worth more than thousands of peoples hard work and commitment in this matter. So much for “bringing the Union closer to the Citizens”.

 

Another public consultation concerning the Commission’s EUROPEAN GOVERNANCE – A WHITE PAPER, ended three weeks ago. In this White Paper the Commission states (p.7): “The Union is built on the rule of law; it can draw on the Charter of fundamental rights, and it has a double democratic mandate through a Parliament representing EU citizens and a Council representing the elected governments of the Member States. Yet despite its achievements, many Europeans feel alienated from the Union’s work.(..)Finally, many people do not know the difference between the Institutions. They do not understand who takes the decisions that affect them and do not feel the Institutions act as an effective channel for their views and concerns.”

 

Dear Mr Prodi, the citizens are not to blame!

 

The EAA and EFTTA call for:

 

 an explanation of the President's conduct

 the Commission’s CFP proposals published now

 and the immediate reinstatement of Steffen Smidt to his position.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Harm Minekus, President of EAA

Louis Tchertoff, President of EFTTA

 

Jan Kappel, Secretary General of EAA

 

EAA * 82 Rue F. Pelletier * B-1030 Brussels, Belgium

Tel: + 32 (0)2 732 0309 * Fax: + 32 (0)2 736 2858 * Mobile: + 32 0498/840523 * E-mail: eaa.aepl@skynet.be

[spasor]

Leon?

My EuroMP is getting tired of replying to me.

My wife actually had a meeting with him recently!

We always get the same old answers, `poorer nations`, `must respect local industries`, `As we`re in Europe we all have equal rights`?

I suggest that we all ban Spain as a holiday destination for the next 10 years? Then let`s see what the important industries are? Tinned fish or fishing tourism!!

Paul.

[Alan Taylor]

Originally posted by Leon Roskilly:

[QB]

 

Leon,

I am using this medium to contact you as you have not answered my emails. All I seem to get from SACN are stories from news papers.

 

In response to your plea for support I emailed Mr Fischler and had a two page reply from his office.

 

The reply was not the standard press hand out but a letter with his thoughts on Gill netting.

 

While the Commission agreed with a lot of what I said they just do not know the effects that netting has on the Cod stocks during the breeding season and can not see the difference between a netter landing Cod and a sport angler.

 

Question: Where can I find the bottom line of the report that was commisioned in Wales on the social and economic affects of anglers as opposed to commercial fishermen?

 

Question: Is the SACN interested in the conservation of our fish stocks or is it just interested in politics?

 

Sorry Leon, I joined SACN to try and help to conserve our fish stocks, it seems strange that a Minister in Brussels can take the time to reply to a simple angler but I get zero response from the organisation that I am supposed to be a member of i.e. SACN.

 

Elton and others, I apologise for using AN for this but I have to reply to Mr Fischler and do not have the ammunition.

I need some facts to present to them.

 

Alan Taylor

[Leon Roskilly]

Hi Alan,

 

Sorry your emails haven't been getting through to me.

 

Elton's server where the *.go-fishing.co.uk email addresses are hosted was attacked by a spammer. The result is that until Elton gets it sorted (or the go-fishing addresses are abandoned), anyone emailing to a go-fishing address won't get through

 

Any emails to me in the meantime should be sent to Leonrosk@aol.com or FishSense@aol.com

 

The study you are looking for is at:

 

http://www.nautilus-consultants.co.uk/pdfs/wales.pdf

 

Tight Lines - leon

[spasor]

Leon?

I`ve had a very rapid response from my MP? 13hrs to be exact!! He claims that Elliot Morely is working his butt off???

I think that means we`re all being a pain in the a*&e to them.

I`ll have a go at him next week in person. I`m on his next `surgery` list.

Meanwhile, all the rest of you give them a severe prod!! It only costs a few pence and we might make a difference?

Paul.

[DCB]

Leon - all done plus a few others.

DCB

[Leon Roskilly]

spasor:

 

I`ve had a very rapid response from my MP? 13hrs to be exact!! He claims that Elliot Morely is working his butt off???

 

I think that means we`re all being a pain in the a*&e to them.Paul.

Well done Paul

 

My MP usually sends me an acknowledgment saying that he is 3 weeks behind with his 'case load'but he'll eventually get round to it!

 

Not too long ago, no matter what was happening to our stocks, only the occasional, mostly ill-informed, letter was turning up in the mailbag - easily ignored and brushed aside.

 

How things have changed!

 

Recreational Sea Anglers are becoming a lot more well-informed, and they are writing in numbers.

 

Every letter to an MP, MEP etc, results in requests to the authorities for more information, and the authorities don't have it, so they have to set about finding it, and they learn about Recreational Sea Angling, and what they are facing!

 

EU and national consultations, on such as the management of fish stocks, really meant for the commercials to respond to, regularly draw a greater number of responses from anglers than their intended targets. Anglers talking sense!

 

And we are learning!

 

I just hope that anglers don't get too much writer's cramp and give up, particularly when they get the kind of reply which seems to brush their concerns aside, or sometimes no response at all.

 

Believe me, Morley and his civil servants have started to notice us, and so have EU politicians and officials.

 

There's still a long way to go, but we're moving now.

 

Thanks to everyone!

 

Tight Lines - leon

Sea Anglers'Conservation Network (SACN)

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/sacn