European Union Consultation – Including ban on use of projectiles .

[mattbarlow]

I`ll never, never vote green again. Always thought they were a good bet in terms of protecting the environment, but actually they are a bunch of nutters who want to dictate not only what we do but also what we eat!

What we need is a scientific study which suggests that plants feel pain and then they will starve themselves to death!

Has anyone sent any messages to the angling press?

 

[KWM]

Hi all, response from HM government to petition

Read the Government’s response
Under existing EU rules, the “sale, display, or offer for sale of marine organisms caught using methods incorporating the use of any kind of projectile” is prohibited. However, the European Commission is proposing to extend these controls to include the “catching, retention on board, the transhipment, storage, landing, sale, display or offer for sale” of marine organisms caught using methods incorporating, among others, “any kind of projectile”. As such, this would effectively ban spearfishing.

Government’s response to the Commission on their proposals, which we developed after consultation with stakeholders, interested parties and the Devolved Administrations, made the case that the UK is not convinced of the conservation value to be gained from now prohibiting the practice completely (given that this is often a more selective and less intrusive method of capture). We will certainly repeat this view as the negotiations develop, and ensure that spearfishermen and their representatives are kept up to date with developments.

Meanwhile, we have been informed by the British Spearfishing Association that the Information and Communication Unit (of the Commission’s Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries) think that an outright ban on spearfishing was not intended. The Commission intends to clarify this at a later date (possibly by defining what is meant by a “projectile”) - this should, hopefully, be a fairly straightforward issue to resolve.

Negotiations on the Commission’s proposals are on-going. The French Presidency has set itself the ambitious target of agreeing the Council framework regulation before the end of the year, so that it can apply from the start of 2009. However, given the complexity of the necessary discussions, we anticipate the negotiations will continue into next year.


Kev

 

[Mr. X]

Typical govt., they got the first sentence of the response wrong!
Number10.gov.uk Spearfishing - epetition response

The thrust seems fairly positive although I note the use of duplicitous/"forked tongue" weasel-words which make it rather meaningless. They could for example accept a ban except for leap days and spout that it is not a "complete" or "total" ban.

Spearo Dave proposed sensible guidelines early in this thread.

 

[Mr. X]

X EU Sea Fishing Licenses!! X

Heard some bad news today. Apparently here was an article in yesterdays newspapers. They (British Govt./DEFRA at the EU) are pushing to introduce mandatory sea fishing licenses (knowing those toe rags, they'll no doubt want to include us in that). It was very unpopular when suggested in the Sea Angling mags (British Sea Fishing Capt./journo Alan Yates spoke out in favour - perhaps hoping for funding - but the reader backlash was significant). Typically the proposal is aimed at the Atlantic waters only and not the Med. (I think the French, Italians, Spanish, & Greeks must just tell them to f-off. Quite right.).

 

[sunfish]

IMHO, if licenses and bag limits are introduced then that's fine as long as it's across the board. eg, angler/ spearfisher-2 bass a day, trawler with 6 crew-12 bass a day. If the license fees paid for enforcement of that then maybe they'd be worth considering.
Does anyone know what's happening with the spearfishing ban? Any news yet?

 

[KWM]

looks like the european union have finally gotten their act together.

Proposed amended Article 12

The catching, retention on board, the transhipment, storage, landing, sale, display or offer for sale of marine organisms caught using methods incorporating the use of explosives,
poisonous or stupefying substances, electric current or any kind of projectile shall be prohibited, except for hobby fishing with spears and pulse trawl fishing.

BSA Secretary
Steve Mullineaux

may thanks to Steve for posting this on the BSA site.


Kev

 

[scottwilson]

Much Better!!!

 

[Mr. X]

Sounds OK. I would rather see a very specific ban of a few very specific activities (i.e. poisons, explosives), rather than a blanket ban with a few specific exclusions (i.e. "hobby spearing). For example, isn't a cast fishing lure a projectile? But I think I'll leave that one to the 3+ millions anglers in Britain to sort out

 

[Kars]

I also wonder how "hobby spearing" is defined?

Knowing the enemy... and their tricks..

Love, Courage and Water,

Kars

 

[basilisladias]

For the vast majority of us these are good news!

 

[MrCoombe]

was fenuinley surprised and impressed by the speed in which my letters were returned, and with such a positive result as well. Amazing what a bit of hassling will do.

 

[Mr. X]

European Elections - who represented us?

With the European elections coming up, perhaps now is an opportune time to review how well our MEPs represented us.

I was surprised to hear former Conservative Party Chairman, Norman Tebbit, declare on Radio 4 this week that he would like us to vote for non-major parties in the EU elections as a way to show our displeasure at the tawdry behaviour of our MPs in London. This strikes me as a rather unfair, as the General Election would seem to be the appropriate place to express displeasure with MPs - albeit a rather dangerous one. It particularly concerns me because one of the parties, the Greens, that will benefit from such a protest will ban spearfishing given the opportunity and other forms of hunting. Another party that would benefit from such a protest did not IMHO see this through as I had hoped and expected; I suspect they could not be bothered to pursue this.

Anyway, this campaign which stopped the inadvertent banning of spearfishing, gave us an opportunity to see first hand which MEPs responded (at least one in the South West never did) and which MEPs saw this through to the end (quite a lot never did). I would suggest and urge everyone to at least consider our experiences and, perhaps, vote for those that you think represented us best. Or failing that, at least to consider not voting for those that opposed us or did not represent us.

 

[MrCoombe]

I like the idea of the smaller chaps who didn't get an allowance saying we should show what we think by voting for them, because obviously if they were in power they wouldn't have touched a penny of the moeny allocated for them and would have got saturday jobs to cover their second homes......................................

 

[KWM]

Unfortunaterly I have had it with all of them. I think that voting only serves to legitimise the system. Thoughts that springs to mind, UKIP, this lot are elected but will not vote, but take the money. The greens would ban all hunting, ban our sport. Can you really ever trust the Tories? are you old enough to remember the Thatcher years. Are the rest any better.

Sorry for the rant, just fed up with being ripped off and not represented.


Kev

 

[Huan]

To be honest, I have little faith at all in the EU system.
Last time round Ireland was the sole country in the whole EU that had a vote on the Lisbon Referendum.
I/We voted NO. and will have to vote again to get the "right" result.
Democracy at gunpoint it feels like.
I am quite sure that if more countries had a vote Lisbon would not have passed, but most Govts including the UK slyly approved it at cabinet level without giving the People a chance to vote.
The Whole EU project is a farce, albeit it a very sinister and dangerous one.

 

[Mr. X]

Unfortunaterly I have had it with all of them. I think that voting only serves to legitimise the system.

I think we've all experienced that feeling in the past & probably a lot this last couple of weeks especially. That was my brother's opinion at the last election - he'd just moved and couldn't see any great point in voting. He regrets it now, because his new MP is particularly bad and in a marginal seat; the one issue that he raised with her, he found she was stridently against and promised to use her influence against his wishes!

I totally understand Huan's position. Thank heaven for Ireland taking a stand (we weren't even allowed a vote)! The EU involves surprising little democracy -- what was WWII about? Public servants?! They don't act like it.

 

[Mr. X]

David Cameron announced on Radio 4 this morning that the Conservatives are going to push for a General election now. They've created a petition:
The Conservative Party | Campaigns | Sign for Change |

Although ironically, in a Sky News poll last night, when asked how much MPs should be paid, the majority of voters chose the category that would give them around a £25K a year pay rise (the same amount as the allowances that are causing so much grief at the moment) - or more!:head

 

[Kars]

Hi Mr X,

KWM and Huan made some valid good points in my opinion.
Here in The Royal Kingdom of the Netherlands we were allowed (for the first time!) a referendum about the 'EU constitution' and the overwhelming NO vote made it very hard for the establishment to cheat with the voting machines. People were suspicious of the unified political spectrum and the fear tactics employed (including hinting at mass murder) if we would vote against. Thanks to the Brave French, The Dutch had the courage to vote NO en masse as well. Now the politicians took this clear mandate as them having not explained it well enough, a very polite way of saying : "YOU ARE TOO STUPID". So with those psychopaths in mind, which one would you like to represent YOU?

In Russia and Belgium the solved it by obligatory voting.

Anyway "democracy" under a MONARCHY, who's kidding who?

Well in a year or so the shiny iron fist Town halls hire citizen snoopers as young as SEVEN to spy on neighbours | Mail Online will be fully exposed in our lovely stazi EU, and 'democratic government' replaced by governance.
In practice some people are more equal than others: Internet Archive: Free Download: The Gangster & The Pervert Peer

NO I won't vote for any of those people, even though they can only speak under 2 minutes a YEAR, and only delay any proposed legislation. I have seen enough EU Tyranny:
Wise Up Journal - Extradition judgement of the information mailer *

I wish the Irish to remain courageous and stick to their original choice. Remember YOU show the world what the EU really is, a totalitarian tyranny.

Maybe in the future I can come over and spend some money there on a vacation, or buy Irish stuff here with the little money I got.

Love, Courage and water.

Kars

 

[stone_shot]

To be honest, I have little faith at all in the EU system.
Last time round Ireland was the sole country in the whole EU that had a vote on the Lisbon Referendum.
I/We voted NO. and will have to vote again to get the "right" result.
Democracy at gunpoint it feels like.
I am quite sure that if more countries had a vote Lisbon would not have passed, but most Govts including the UK slyly approved it at cabinet level without giving the People a chance to vote.
The Whole EU project is a farce, albeit it a very sinister and dangerous one.

True. If they didn't want us to have a choice then why give us one in the first place?

 

[Kars]

True. If they didn't want us to have a choice then why give us one in the first place?

Good question Stone Shot.

Politics is about mass psychology and control.
In search of more power, total control is the end goal.
Merely subduing through fear is not enough.
Total control means total control of any group down to every individual, including their mind.
Like a Ted Bundy they want the victim to want to submit 'voluntarily', be their willing slave - before being sacrificed.
Being born predators, having studied their prey from birth, they intuitively know which buttons to push to get Joe average where they want.

It's a mental trick to control the public.
1) Once the majority of public said yes it's mentally very hard for them come back on their decision, admitting they have been fooled - once again. An excellent way to stifle future opposition.
2) Having support of the majority, legally and morally in their view the vote validates and reinforces the public's acquiescence and their submission to them. It also affirms their -perceived- superiority over the commoners also referred to as: the herd, useless eaters, the slaves, the dead.

I know it's a dark subject, and many people find it most difficult to jump the final hurdle.
I think this hurdle is higher for those who want things to stay the same, for those who wish things were like in their happy memory times.
From my own experience, it's not an easy road, not due to the traffic, but rather to the mirrors one needs to look back into in order to understand how your own perception of the landscape has been shaped. The trip will be taking you to your extremes, questioning every part you thought was you. Yep this 'waking up' starts with yourself.
And that takes courage, trust in your heart.

Ok, I'm preaching... maybe I missed my 'calling' but why spent a life just doing one thing?

Love, Courage and Water,

Kars