|
A Newlyn skipper who has had to dump tons of Cornish cod back into the
sea, has taken the Government to task over its failure to respond to his
challenge over the EC's by-catch ruling.
Jon Turtle, skipper of the 70ft netter, Ben Loyal, says he is "curious"
to find out if fisheries minister, Ben Bradshaw ever saw the eight-minute
video he made in August capturing the shameful act of dumping fish.
The video, which he entitled: "Is this Conservation?" was delivered
to Mr Bradshaw, Prime Minister Tony Blair and to the EU Fisheries Commissioner,
Franz Fischler.
"To date I haven't even had a single letter of acknowledgement from
anyone," said Mr Turtle this week.
In a subsequent letter to Mr Bradshaw, Mr Turtle said: "It comes
as no surprise to me that not one of you replied to my letter and/or video
or even if you watched it.
"You haven't even had the decency to reply to what has become such
a major issue, the dumping of good fish in the name of conservation."
Mr Turtle and his three crewmen will shortly be forced back into dumping
winter cod off the Cornish coast, since Britain has a low share of the
EU cod quota and scientists still fear the stock is in trouble.
Mr Turtle told Mr Bradshaw: "I believe the way forward in fisheries
management is using effort-control (restricting the amount or type of
fishing gear used, or the time allowed for fishing."
"Coupled with satellite surveillance you could quickly build up
a real data base of true fishing effort on fishing grounds all over Europe.
"Using a cut in effort control (days at sea) by an equal amount
to all states, would be a fair alternative."
He added: "If we were allowed to land onto fish markets everything
we caught - other than undersized fish - without the added expense of
leasing and buying quotas, there would effectively be 20 per cent less
fish caught. It is a simple measure."
The Newlyn crew's video message to the Government was supported by fishermen's
spokesman, Sheryl Murray who claimed that dumping fish was polluting the
sea.
She is currently investigating whether the EU Commission is breaking
the law by calling for fish to be dumped.
article copyright THE CORNISHMAN
 |
