Nigel Farage came into some criticism recently from certain fair-weather urban 'environmentalists' after his Thames fish-dumping spectacle. They should, in fact, have thanked him profusely for raising the issue; after all, it is what they claim to expound!
His recent Westminster high-jinx was highlighting that an estimated one whole trawl of fish is thrown back into the water for every three that are kept. i.e. 25% of all fish caught are thrown back into the sea; DEAD.
This isn't because the fish are not wanted. When sorted, certain fish are designated slightly 'too small', and must be discarded. But if they've been caught anyway, and are already dead, then why not eat what is perfectly good food rather than throwing it away. Go to any fish restaurant in mainland Europe, and you will find undersize fish on the menu; why is it that only the UK follows EU rules to the letter?
Farage is right to highlight this stupidity (he's right about many things), I hope that when we quit the EU that this fishing nonsense will be rectified. Even if the 25% was used as fish-meal, it would be better than the current irresponsible waste.
Three trawls where everything is used, must surely be far better for fish stocks than four trawls with a quarter thrown back dead.
Agree, it's scandalous stupidity. While we don't have absurd EU regulations to rail against in this neck of the woods, wanton waste of food happens as a result of there being a supermarket duopoly here and they dictate what can and can't be sold under the pretext that it's the customer that's fussy. For example 40% of the banana crop is dumped at the source as it's the wrong shape, size or bendiness. So exasperating.
ReplyDeleteWith world populations rising, this has to stop.
DeleteAn Austrian firm is using bread that would be thrown away to make beer. Now that's a good idea!
ReplyDeleteHere in France we use stale bread to make soup (Tourin). With your beer to accompany our soup; that sounds perfect.
DeleteAbsolutely right, a shocking waste of perfectly good food, and something that has been brought to our attention by such celebrity chefs as Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall.
ReplyDeleteAlso an awful lot of "legal" fish was dumped because of being over-quota.
I fail to comprehend how dumping back into the sea already-dead fish can have any affect on preserving stocks or conservation. Quite the opposite I would have thought.
Why is it that everybody else can see this stupidity except the ones in charge who can do something about it?
Are we missing something here that the rule-makers can see? I'd love to have it explained.
I can't see how we can be wrong about this; logic must prevail.
DeletePeople who get jobs in charge are jobsworths and stupid in this country.
ReplyDeleteFar too many examples of this type of thing around.
DeleteI agree it is a shameful waste, but if you allow any kind of commercial use of these fish there is no incentive to improve fishing methods to reduce the non-target catch.
ReplyDeleteThat certainly is a problem, which will probably never be solved 100%. However, it's still best to use everything that is fished rather than throw it back.
DeleteSorry, Cro, but the row is over quotas, not the size of an individual fish.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, by your reasoning, there'd be no "small" fry on the quoted by you restaurant tables in mainland Europe as, presumably, the rest of Europe has to adhere to EU rules too.
I agree on the shameful waste of throwing good fish back into water - but please do keep the facts, ie reason why, straight. Anyway, smirk, Farage has fallen foul of British environmental law by dumping dead fish into the Thames.
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It's about both quotas and wastage. His throwing dead fish into the Thames was to demonstrate the latter.
DeleteNet fishing is also cruel. Net landed fish are landed on boats to thrash about and suffocate.
ReplyDeleteIf there was a way of stunning them or killing them humanely. Any unwanted fish could be then made into animal feeds.
I've never heard anyone campaigning against cruelty to sea caught fish; but I have about freshwater angling. A tricky subject, I suspect.
DeleteWhen Farage was on Have I Got News for You a few years ago he was one of the funniest and knowledgeable guests I have ever seen. He also happily laughed at all the jokes both for and against him.
ReplyDeleteSome of the films of him speaking in Brussels are wonderful; especially when he's discussing Junkers etc. He never holds back.
DeleteLiving and working in a community that once relied heavily on the fishing industry (and in some sectors fished it to extinction) and as someone who was involved in lobbying for the fishing industry on occasion I can say that there is no simple way of regulating over-fishing. The fishing industry is seen a a very simple industry but, in reality, it is one of the most complex. The fishing lobby is a large and powerful one. Of course waste on that scale seems terrible and it is terrible. But the solutions are far from as simple as some think.
ReplyDeleteAs I replied to Susan above, it's a problem that will probably never be acceptably resolved. I fear we will have to live with a certain amount of vaguely unacceptable practices, in order to meet demands.
DeleteI know little about the politics and regulations of other nations and don’t feel it would be polite to comment, but this seems very wasteful. I would not be surprised if the US does this also, but I have to choose my battles or I would be overwhelmed.
ReplyDeleteThe whole European fishing industry is controlled by Brussels. There are quotas, rights of foreign boats, and sizes of fish caught, just to name a few. It's caused entire UK towns to lose their once proud fishing traditions, as they were simply out-fished by the Spanish etc. EU Fishing policy has been a disaster for the UK.
DeleteGood point Cro. I bet fishermen themselves eat undersized fish - small usually means sweeter, more tasty where any kind of flesh is involved.
ReplyDeleteOf course, and certainly in Marseilles (the home of Bouillabaisse) they understand that small is good.
DeleteTotally agree!
ReplyDeleteGood.
DeleteDiscounting the fact that the Russian trawlers have been known to net tons of fish to spread on the fields back home as fertiliser, the British fishery's biggest problem is that in order to continue the 'negotiations', Theresa May has promised the E.U. that every European country will continue to be allowed to fish in Scottish waters for 'about' 2 years after exit, whereupon there may - or may not - be a review of the situation. She has lost all Scottish support now, and rightly so.
ReplyDeleteWith the way Scottish sentiment has been over the past few decades, I don't suppose she could give a toss.
DeleteJust one more reason why the Brits were so p***ed with the status quo that they voted out.
ReplyDelete