Proposed Scallop ban in Falmouth Bay

[UK Spearo]

let us know the feed back Dave..... hope it ends up as a sensible vote!

[dave]

If anyone fancies doing some more emailing, here is a list of Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee members

Committees: Committee Membership

If you click on the names you get email address etc for each member
Since the councillors on the committee are elected officials, emails from concerned members of the public may just make a difference
I think the big issue here is the complete lack of public consultation before closing off a huge area to recreational users.
If anyone wants suggestions of what to write, email or pm me

cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

[dave]

Went to the Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee meeting today. Possibly one of the most depressing experiences of my life. The motion to ban all scallop collection in Falmouth Bay was carried
I still cannot believe that this bunch of ignorant, mouthbreathing cretins (and others like them around the country) are in charge of our inshore fisheries.
Despite some excellent points from the Cornwall Wildlife Trust and Environment Agency reps, everyone else seemed to think that if scallop dredging is banned, it would not be fair to allow anyone else to collect scallops (the fact that dredging is being banned because it destroys seabed features seemed not to compute) Out of the 25 committee members present, I think 14 had direct commercial fishing connections, and 2 of the County Councillor members admitted during the debate that they know nothing about the fishing industry or fisheries issues.
Recreational users were not just disregarded, they weren't even mentioned. As far as the Committee were concerned, the seas around Cornwall exist only for the benefit of the commercial fishing industry
The next stage is the public consultation, which is led by DEFRA. Hopefully something can be salvaged at that stage

cheers
dave
Spearguns by Spearo uk ltd finest supplier of speargun, monofins, speargun and freediving equipment

[fearthespear]

Dave, thanks for your efforts...

[devondave]

Yeah Dave thanks , i fear laws and by-laws promoting sustainable and ecologically sound methods of taking fish & shellfish are a long way off , sad indeed .

[Mr. X]

Afraid I only just discovered this thread. Maybe as a group we need to decide how we fit in with commercial fishermen, as they seem to be the powerful lobby in UK fisheries discussions. Do we join them and fight each new restriction or do we take a stance on green fishing.

I think it needs to be the latter, we need to be green, although we need to be sympathetic to folk who depend on the sea to make a living. Truly destructive practices, practice that harm the environment on a significant scale, like dredging the sea bed are indefensible and living on borrowed time. Clearly by continuing to dredge they have jeopardised greener forms of fishing that are sustainable. UK commercial fisherman have historically shown insufficient restraint and fished themselves out of business on several occasions in the past (herring, pilchards).

I'm usually against making concessions but in this case, perhaps a bag limit on the scallops taken per person would help allay fears that its "all the same". Although I think the point about dredging is that it destroys the sea bed environment as well as taking the scallops - it's not the taking of the scallops that is the issue.

[scottie3030]

this country going to pot

[Mr. X]

Originally Posted by scottie3030

this country going to pot

Gone to pot. "Only" 2 more years till you get to kick the encumbants out. Will there be anything left? We'll be back using horse & cart by then. Reckon we (the voters) need more frequent elections. More referendums. More say in Europe. More say in Britain/England for that matter.