Utter Stupidity

[bonami]

Surely after todays news the public will now realize utter stupidity of the EEC fishing conservation policy.A Shetland boat dumping tons of perfectly good fish because the law says he is not allowed to land them.The fish cought in the Norwedgian sector could not be dumped there because Norway ( not in the EEC) does not allow dumping.A bunch of do gooders in Brussels says the fish are scarce and should not be cought if they are cought they must not be landed so they are dumped dead back into the sea perfectly good food while millions in the world starve. This is in no way the fault of the fishermen the North Sea is a mixed fishery and all species swim together.Maybe now the fisherman will be listened to instead of a lot of suits sitting in offices.I VERY MUCH DOUBT IT.[disgust][disgust]

[Rheghead]

What was the species of fish that they were forced to dump??

[teenybash]

What was the species of fish that they were forced to dump??

I saw the news item also but, didn't mention breed only said 'white fish'.....I think it's a scandal the fish have to be dumped through no fault of the fishermen...EEC has a lot to answer for in relation to good food being wasted because of silly rules and regulations. [disgust]

[Rheghead]

I think the species has a lot of importance in debates like this in terms of species protection. I think fishermen's liveliehoods are of lesser importance than species survival.

[Moira]

I didn't see this news item on the TV but read it in today's P&J. It doesn't seem to be reported in the online version of the newspaper, so I quote from the printed one.
"He (Mark Anderson, skipper of the Prolific's sister boat Copious) said the vast majority of the fish dumped by the Prolific was not cod, as reported in the national media, but low-value coley or saithe....."

There was a thread on here previously with video footage of the dumping. Here's the link :-
http://forum.caithness.org/showthread.php?t=53954&highlight=fish+dumping

[Oddquine]

I think the species has a lot of importance in debates like this in terms of species protection. I think fishermen's liveliehoods are of lesser importance than species survival.

But they are intertwined, Reghead. The species can survive for posterity in farms, aquariums etc but the fishing boats can't.

Frankly, I think it was the most horrendous decision by UK governments to hand over control of UK.......not just Scottish, fisheries to the EU.......and without any representation on the negotiating committee representing the Scottish.....or any........ fishing Industry.

But then, what has Westminster ever cared for the need for the peripheries to make a living.

The UK government legislates for London and Greater London.......and if it doesn't suit the rest of the country...............well, hell.........that is a price worth the rest of the country paying!

And then they wonder why Independence is becoming a more attractive option.

[bonami]

The species was saithe a fish that is abundant as boys around every harbour knows this is the young of the species that they fish in the summer with rods. The seas around Scotland are teeming with them Scots boats are allowed a very small quota unlike boats of other countries who seem to fish as much as they want. Scots fishermen appear to be a breed best forgoten and would save a lot of trouble if there was none left as far as the UK government is concerned.

[armanisgirl]

The fishing debate is something I usually don't get involved in, simply because I don't like fish! However, the stupidity in this case doesn't really relate to the fishing guidelines/laws, but lies more with the fishermen involved! Surely fishermen that actually know what the fishing limits are can estimated the weight of the fish they have caught? I've watched the fishing documentary, and the men often said they had only caught so many kilos in a particular net - using their knowledge of many seasons of fishing. It's the same prinicpal as chefs who never use scales to weigh ingredients - they have been doing it for so long they can judge the weights. The fishermen in this instance should surely have known they had 'over-caught' and therefore released some of their catch prior to it dying?

As for the fishing regulations - what happens if the government do as so many people call for, and dissolve the fishing regulations? In no time at all, the fish stock in our seas will be reduced to nothing. Then people will blame the governent, yet again, saying they should never have lifted the regulations! As a society, we are appalling to please! Below is an example of how the careful zoning of fishing actually helps. (This report admittedley was about fishing in reefs, but the principals are the same!)

"Four reserves were established over an 11km stretch of coast and are interspersed with fishing areas in a zonation plan called the Soufriere Marine Management Area. Compliance with no-take regulations has been high. Following reserve creation we have documented an extraordinarily rapid increase in biomass of commercially important reef fishes. In just over three years this has tripled inside reserves. More importantly, biomass has doubled in fishing grounds. One reason for the quick response in fishing grounds may be due to the large area that has been protected. "

Yes, it may not help the livlihoods of the fishermen in the short-term, but surely ideas such as this can only be beneficial in the long-term? Oh, and it's not actually people in suits making the decisions, the decisions are made as the result of long-term and intense research by marine scientists! One of whom was educated in Wick!! (though he specialises in marine life in coral reefs!) The full report can be accessed on this website for those who are interested:
http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/eeem/people/roberts/roberts.htm#research%20activities

[bonami]

Although fishermen know quotas they are allowed to catch even with todays instruments they do not know what is in the net until it is hauled and certainly dont know what species will be there. What people dont understand is that most fish have swimbladders witch fill with air when they are hauled to the surface when the net is opened they dont just swim back to the bottom most of the catch is already dead when they land on deck. As for the idea that the sea would be emptyed of everything if there were no laws I dont think this is the case most fishermen are responsible law abiders who want a future for themselves and there sons and grandsons.Probably three quarters of the Scottish fleet has been scrapped in the last decade as empty harbours prove. Fishing is as big a part of Scotland as bagpipes haggis and whiskey may it always be so.

[TBH]

I think the species has a lot of importance in debates like this in terms of species protection. I think fishermen's liveliehoods are of lesser importance than species survival.The fishermans livelihoods are of lesser importance but the point is that there are thousands of tonnes of dead fish that are being dumped back into the sea, what exactly does that do to conserve stocks.

[Whitewater]

It was saithe that was dumped, there was a thread started here by Peter Macdonald a weeks ot two ago, it had the video clip of the fish being dumped included in the post. (the same video as was on the news a couple of days ago.

There is really no such thing now as ''low value fish'' although years ago many fish were dumped because there was no market for them.