Hugh's fish fight

[Chris]

Guys, I am not a great activist, nor am I a campaigner. I did my protesting when they banned pistol shooting. But I have just watched the programme on fishing and discards with Hugh Fearnley Eatitall and it is a long time since I have been this disgusted and outraged. I don't know who I am angry at really, but boy am I angry.

EU policy means that we throw fish back in the sea. Not little tiddlers but bloody massive great big fish. If you are cross at the price of fish n chips, you need to know why it's so expensive. I cannot see why this Government cannot just say f*** your EU rules, we are landing what we catch in our waters so go and p155 up a rope you EU f888wits. And do you know what, the continental Europeans will probably say 'Well zis is what we all do, you know?'

It is utter madness. If you don't care, then that is entirely your prerogative. If you do care, then at least sign the petition. I shan't bang on about it any more, but if these images don't make your blood boil then, well, I dunno, go and by a bloody Landrover.. or something.

Chris

http://www.fishfight.net/

 

[Brett]

Your right Chris.

My Mums family were fishing people, my great grandad had a herring drifter at Great Yarmouth in the glory days of the industry & also had our own fish restaurant so this really does rile me.

What annoys me even more is like fools we adhere to these ridculous policies inflicted on us by the EU but they don't comply themselves.

You've only got to look at the unlicensed Spanish boats fishing off our coast, they don't throw anything back as they prize small fish, particularly hake.

Can't we get Tommo to blow them out of the water or something

 

[Tommo&Claire]

Unfortunately the most we can do is board them, arrest them, seize their vessel and escort it into port and then stand as testimony in court the next morning..... where they promptly get let off by our legal system.

"Well alright as long as you promise not to do it again you naughty boy"

PATHETIC

 

[Chas]

That is outrageous, I've just posted it on Facebook so perhaps more will join in and protest.

 

[Gary Mead]

I watched it too,absolutely disgusting to see all the fish being dumped back in to the sea,How on earth can this be in the name of conservation??
I think its being done to keep the prices high as if everything got on to the market that was trawled up there would be to much to sell....when i see these trawlers hauling up tons and tons of fish in 1 sweep i do wonder how that is sustainable??

cheers gary

 

[Brett]

It'd be more environmentally friendly to use them as fertiliser than just dumping them back dead.

The thing is there is a maket for this fish, it's just the quota & discard system is insane.

 

[AndyCook]

what also riles me, is the fishermen up here use up their quota of cod for example, so then the supplier import the cod from Norway!!!!
whilst our boys are chucking cod overboard, dead...., since they have used up their quota's

how can chucking dead fish overboard be conserving them...

 

[Chas]

Something puzzles me though, if the fishermen have reached their quota, why do they trawl up more just to throw them overboard?

 

[Tommo&Claire]

It's not as simple as that. When they haul their nets they then have to sort their catch in the fish room, throwing back all that are, too small, the wrong sex, the wrong species etc...

Thats what we check when we get onboard, we measure their nets and check everything that they've caught. If they break any of the rules then they get busted with fixed penalties or at worst arrested and escorted into nearest port.

Problem is, once it's caught it caught... the system isn't perfect but the irritating thing is that it's dictated to us by the Eurocrats in Brussels.

 

[AndyCook]

had an interesting chat with someone this morning who works in the industry.

what the TV programme doesnt tell us, is a lot more fish used to get dumped into the sea, even before the quota's
the trawlers used to use finer nets, and then dump the species and small fish they didn't want! in great quantities
the crews moan about having to dump fish due to quota's, when in fact they used to do that anyway!

 

[Brett]

Something puzzles me though, if the fishermen have reached their quota, why do they trawl up more just to throw them overboard?

Because they haven't used their quota on another species e.g. monkfish, the problem with trawling is it's not selective, you can't trawl exclusively for cod or whiting etc you are always going to land a mixed catch.

If they quit fishing after reaching the quota of cod they'd probably be fishing for a couple of months a year.

what the TV programme doesnt tell us, is a lot more fish used to get dumped into the sea, even before the quota's
the trawlers used to use finer nets, and then dump the species and small fish they didn't want! in great quantities
the crews moan about having to dump fish due to quota's, when in fact they used to do that anyway!

The difference now is though Andy they're dumping prime cod (& other species) not just small fish.

 

[Chris]

I never believe 100% (or even close) of what I see and read, but they were definitely fish going back into the see, dead. Is there a back story to this? It wouldn't surprise me at all. But I like HFW and trust him for what he is. I don't know him, but I like what he stands for and someone who is prepared to stand up nowadays is a rare thing. He has the ability, front and connections to be able to be a nuisance. I like that.

Chris

 

[24Seven]

The Licensed Professional UK fisher men I know, OK only two boats, would fish the sea dry of all the fish they could to make a buck until there was nothing left without the law stopping them.

I'm amazed people have only just noticed that over catched dead fish get dumped back in the sea.

So whats the answer? How would you stop over fishing?