That's the opinion of Newlyn fish merchant Robin Turner who is 'very sceptical' about the effect the Marine and Coastal Access Bill will have.
This week the Bill completed all its stages on its passage through the House of Commons with cross-party agreement and has now gone to the House of Lords.
Not thought through
It is expected to create a number of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZ) which could see fishermen banned from working in certain areas.
But Mr Turner says the Bill has not been properly thought through and is not properly funded.
"Thanks to 40 years of lobbying by Cornish fishermen, there is now in place a massive area of 240 square miles off Padstow which is a no-go area for fishermen during the spawning season (January to April)," he said.
"That works really well. But this Bill looks to introduce bans in relatively small areas which could nevertheless have a major impact on the livelihoods of small, independent fishermen.
"The Government has not provided the funds to carry out a proper benchmarking exercise in which fishermen could have participated and contributed their knowledge.
"They really do not know enough about what they are doing and it is not good enough to be making changes on the cheap." Mr Turner added that most fishermen were conservation-minded in any case.
"The first thing that most of our customers ask is if the fish was sustainably caught," he said.
St Ives MP Andrew George has broadly welcomed the passage of the Bill through the Commons, saying it was 'a move in the right direction'.
Enhance
He led the Lib Dem front bench team in the debate and proposed a number of amendments which he hoped would enhance the role of science in the designation of Marine Conservation Zones and make sure that fishing communities were given a voice before new rules were brought in.
"Although each were rejected or defeated the Bill is a movement in the right direction," he said. Other changes for the fishing industry to consider have also been announced recently.
Cornwall councillors have agreed a by-law that would stop scallop fishing close to Cornwall's shore between 7pm and 7am within six miles (10km) of the county's shore.
The measure, which still has to be approved by fisheries ministry Defra, has been prompted by recent increased pressure on local scallop stocks.
And the Government has moved to ban the practice of 'shark-finning' in the hope of preserving the UK's remaining sharks from destruction by fishermen.
Neither measure will have any noticeable effect on the Newlyn fishing industry according to Mr Turner.
article copyright THE CORNISHMAN