Shocking!

[Allan Carr]

In the Sunday Times Rich List a couple of weeks ago, there were two brothers who owned a couple of enormous factory trawlers which apparently have been banned by some countries. Apparently, one of these trawlers is capable of catching more than the entire Peterhead fishing fleet at its prime. No wonder the small fisherman are suffering. There is no way that fishing on this scale can be sustainable - which is a great pity because I'm a great fan of seafood.

[Dr Stevil]

Originally Posted by John Gulliver

Correct me if I'm wrong, Steve, but is it not so that much of the UK fishing flight is owned by multinationals like Unilever, who literally own hundreds of trawlers?

That's something similar to my understanding John, that's what's so annoying about the Bird's Eye and Youngs adverts, they make it look like Hemingway's "The old man and the sea" when it's more akin to the production line at... erm, trying to think of a British car manufacturer but can only think of Nissan.

[NotDeadYet]

Originally Posted by Steve W

The only ones who choose not to listen are the big fleets with pound/dollar signs where their minds should be, because the guys behind those businesses will simply move on an exploit something else.

Let's be candid, these are not "the little guys" from Seahouses or Craster or suchlike, this is big, faceless Industry that has done the damage. The little guys and the environment have been stuffed by masses of exploitative technology.

That's my point exactly. As long as I can remember there has been quite rigid government control of fishing both domestically and from abroad. A lot more could have been done to protect the small inshore domestic industry. But no, successive governments sought to protect big business instead or placate the EU. Which boats are laid up or decommisioned now? Not the ones owned by the big concerns.

People are seeing their entire cultures, a way of life that goes back centuries, being wiped out while the government nods it head. Is it right to expect a community to give up a traditional way of life, tell them to work in Asda, B&Q or a call centre when they have had 3, 4, 5 centuries of living this way? If these weren't domestic cultures then there would be an outcry and the government would spend millions on them. Try telling halal or kosher butchers to stop what they are doing. But I guess small villages don't make much in tax or have many voters to sway.

[Jeremy H]

Hi

I agree with the sentiments re inshore fisherman and tradition but technology and politics have moved us into the final act of what appears to be an inevitable crash of practically all our fish stocks.

If you want a chilling bedtime read buy 'The End of the Line' by Charles Clover. It's on Amazon at:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...947074-8725267

On a personal note: My dad used to take me fishing in Dorset in the 70's. We used to fish some of the inshore wrecks we now all dive. At the time I can remember having to put 'big' weights on because we were after black bream and if you didn't get your bait down really quickly it would be taken by the huge shoals of big pout, whiting and pollack that hung above the wrecks - which at the time we didn't want. We also didn't bother to buy bait - we just handlined for mackarel on the way out. When we had a fish box full we'd then potter off to do some 'proper' fishing.

I went fishing once last year for old times sake with a friend (30ish year gap) and everyone on the boat was delighted to catch a few small channel whiting. I don't think anyone apart from skipper believed me when I mentioned what I'd seen landed as a 10 year old boy.

Never mind - there's still some stock left in the deep water zones - we should be Ok for fish fingers for a few more years and the trawler fleets can keep going for a (little) while longer...

[Brian of Aquanauts]

As divers we all know this is happening but the average Jo still doesn't so nobody cares... all Jo wants is a decent fish for a decent price and so the industry continues. We can talk to each other for years on the subject but we'll all still eat fish.

If you look at the resources that we're all depleting (oil, gas, coal, rainforests etc) we're all as guilty as everyone else. We can talk but there's still no action.

This is a hairbrained, midnight, after a Friday night in the pub idea but maybe taxes could be the answer, a fish tax where the the procedes went to encourage fisherman to use other methods (same as farming) could be the answer. If people really do want fish to eat then they should pay to support a controlled method of it's collection. The main problem is the public don't realise that it's really a problem as they're all too busy looking after their families and trying to enjoy a bit of life. A friend of mine Howard Jones only eats fish if he catches it himself, i do the same (so i normally eat chicken coz i'm no good with a spear gun).

IMHO