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Sunday, 21 December 2014

No end to the EU’s crazy fishing policy

There's no end to the EU’s crazy fishing policy - Few people under 50 can recall a time when Britain had Europe’s largest fishing fleet, writes Christopher Booker.

There could be no more eloquent epitaph on the destruction of Britain’s once-proud fishing industry than the recent revelation that 23 per cent of the entire fishing quota Brussels allows Britain now goes to a single giant Dutch trawler, the Cornelis Vrolijk, to land all its catches in Holland.

Few people under 50 can recall a time when Britain had Europe’s largest fishing fleet and 80 per cent of all its fishing waters. But back in the 1990s, this column was almost alone in reporting what had followed after Edward Heath was so desperate to enter “Europe” that he gave way to Brussels’s new demand (not even legally authorised by the treaties) that all fishing waters must be merged as a “common European resource”.

The only way fishing rights could then be parcelled out among the member states was by a complex system of national “quotas”, which allowed Britain’s fishermen just 13 per cent by value of this new “common resource”. To allow everyone a share required drastic cuts in fleet sizes, such as the time when we were ordered to make a further 19 per cent cut, while Spain’s huge fleet lost only 4 per cent. This was hailed by John Gummer, our then-fisheries minister, as “a good deal” for our fishermen. Related Articles

TransferWise, the smart new way to send money abroad Sponsored by TransferWise But another inevitable consequence of the new system was the appalling “discards” scandal, forcing fishermen to chuck back into the sea millions of dead fish for which they had no quota.

Eventually, I found this dreadful story so depressing that I stopped reporting it. Now, years later, after yet another dismal meeting in Brussels, we are told the environmental “discards” disaster has been ended. Fishermen must now bring all their catch back to land. But only so that millions of fish can now be discarded to landfill instead.

So Britain’s fleet continues to shrink, while 43 per cent of the UK’s quota has now been bought up by foreign-owned vessels (32 per cent going to just five boats, including the Cornelis Vrolijk). And still we hear our latest fisheries minister telling us that this new deal represents “the best possible” outcome for Britain. Bah, humbug.

Full story courtesy of the Daily Telegraph

Bara Ar Vro French trawler incident off the coast of France.

Des recherches en cours au large de Lanvéoc pour tenter de retrouver un marin du chalutier le Bara Ar Vro, qui est tombé à la mer
— Bleu Breizh Izel (@Francebleubzh) December 21, 2014

It seems two merchant ships have diverted course to assist with reports that the trawler Bara Ar Vro has been involved in an incident off the French coast with a crew member lost overboard in the early hours of this morning....

The last recorded position from her AIS was at 05:48 this morning...

to the north of her a large group of trawlers are working together...

right on the edge of the south bound traffic separation zone off the west side of Ushant.

Advice from the RNLI - applies to all boats not just fishing boats - the negative affects of free surface water and watertight integrity.

Loose kit, fish and excess water on or below deck can all shift and raise your boat’s centre of gravity. If left unchecked, the effect of their movement can capsize your boat within minutes. Find out how to avoid the problem before it develops.

Next time you’re on your boat make sure you: check all scuppers/freeing ports are open and clear stow catch and loose gear securely at all times, preferably below deck keep it watertight: check critical pipework, stern and rudder glands before each trip and check bilge alarms regularly.

Saturday, 20 December 2014

New RNLI safety films for fishermen - as the most dangerous month of the year comes round again.

Statistically, January sees more fatal accidents than any other month in the commercial fishing industry.

Modifications to your boat, such as installing new equipment or changing internal layout, can affect its stability at sea. Find out what effects these changes can have – and how to counteract them.

If you’re planning to make changes to your boat:

ensure adequate freeboard
consider weight creep (also known as stability creep)
when working out the maximum load allowed consult an MCA surveyor, naval architect or Seafish Marine Services before any major changes, whether it’s an addition or position change.

Get free advice at seafish.org or email marineservices@seafish.co.uk.

Penlee 33 years ago.

Twelve hours after the Penlee lifeboat was lost the Nelwyn trawler Fern under skipper Alan Goddard searches for any signs of survivors off Tater Dhu alongside the St Mary's lifeboat and Rescue 192 from Culdrose.

Fishing in 1991

There's a familiar ring to the stories from this TV report on the fishing - even though it is 1991!

1500 fish merchants and 100 trains were operating out of Grimsby in its heyday. Listen to the minister (10:30) talk about technical measures and regional control. Little recognition that the government was just as complicit in building a huge fleet of modern boats as the fishermen with the resultant decline in stocks. Today, Wick, Scrabster, Banff, Buckie, Peterhead, Fraesburgh, Eyemouth, North Shields, Whitby, Scarborough, Grimsby and Lowestoft have but a fraction of the boats there were in 1992.