|
Just a day after MP Andrew George warned that young Newlyn fishermen were
on the brink of bankruptcy, Fisheries Minister, Ben Bradshow has lifted
the threat of a crippling fishing ban.
The Minister's dramatic U-turn came following an emergency meeting at
DEFRA when Mr Bradshaw announced that the planned ban on smaller boats
catching valuable monkfish - which caused a furore locally - would not
now be imposed. There was uproar at the weekend when news of the fishery
closure came in a letter to industry leaders telling them that a total
closure of the fishery for under 10-metre vessels would begin on Saturday.
A furious St Ives MP Andrew George branded the ban as "pointless"
and "surreal" and he warned: "Young men and their families
face the prospect of bankruptcy before Christmas, because of the gross
incompetence of a bureaucratic system which is unable to take a decision
in Europe which would otherwise be giving our fishermen a larger quota
rather than closing them down altogether."
He and other Westcountry MPs called on Mr Bradshaw to intervene to reverse
the "pointless" ban.
He warned: "Unless the Minister takes this issue by the scruff of
the neck, I fear that hardworking local fishermen who deserve better,
could be put out of business through no fault of their own, simply because
the paper chasing exercise of a heavily bureaucratic system has, once
again, let them down."
David Muirhead, chairman of Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee said the
closure would have meant "financial ruin."
Now fishermen will be permitted to keep fishing for the rest of the year,
albeit on a reduced quota of just 200kg per boat per month, thought to
be around half their normal catch.
After the announcement that the ban would be lifted, Mr Bradshaw said:
"I recognise that the catch limit falls short of what the fishermen
and we would wish. However, discussions with the local fishing industry
representatives have been positive and together we will explore options
for securing extra quota to cover the continued opening of the fishery."
Had the ban gone ahead around 1,000 fishermen in the Westcountry faced
losing up to three-quarters of their income before Christmas. Monkfish
has taken off in popularity in recent years and now represents a significant
income to most inshore trawlermen and net fishermen.
In Newlyn, monkfish can represent over 75 per cent of some incomes.
Article copyright THE CORNISHMAN
 |
