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WHY are the EU trying to ban spearfishing ??

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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My understanding of it is they just want to ban the sale of any marine organism that has been caught using a speargun? Thats how it read to me?
 
hi all

only thinking of starting spearfishing when i saw that bombshell while searching for a good forum to join.

here is the actual extract from the document and it does relate to catching fish.

S​
ECTION 4

M​
EASURES FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Article 12​
Destructive fishing practices​
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.

the one thing im not sure of is does this apply to all european waters, i think it does.

the one good thing is this is only a proposal so it will probably change, i dont know when a decision has to be made on this proposal.

i hope it doesnt mean i have to stop before i even start,

Dan
(im glad i voted no, if it means were going to see more of this sort of euro pollitics)
 
Just been told about this , Looks like the EU want to ban spearfishing ???

Club Apnea - Sustainable, Ethical Fishing

And why can't the English speak proper English?

Sorry for the sidetrack, but as soon as I saw the title, I knew the writer must be from the British Isles. In the colonies (or at least the colony now known as the United States) the EU would be considered singular, and the title would read "Why is the EU- - -"

and then the text would read "looks like the EU wants to ban spearfishing."

I know we have a lot of differences in the use of our language, but that is the one that stands out to me. You folks would say "Parliament are considering a law" and we would say "Congress is considering a law."

As the saying goes, "two great nations separated by a common language."

But I guess you have first claim on the language, so we colonists will just have to adjust.
 

Uh-uh! Seniority bedamned. We out-number 'em.
 

This appears to be another case of ignorant bureaucrats trying to do the right thing but being totally clueless. I suspect that what they wanted to do was forbid the use of airguns and firearms on fish. That would go with the "toxins and explosives" reference. However, the Law of Unintended Results (also known as Murphy's Law) again reigns supreme. And the ruling elite just can't understand why the voters refuse to approve any increase in EU power?
 

Nope, you're absolutely right. Should be singular. Some of us brits get it wrong sometimes.
Although maybe it stems in this case from the EU/UK relationship being very much THEM vs US. There's an awful lot of resistance to roughshod EU legislation, and this seems to be another example.
 
Reactions: Mr. X
Re. the proposed EU ban, it was apparently unintended as Sarge guessed, a consequence of a careless attempt to simplify the existing law by combining two existing articles into one. See the aforemention thread (link in my signature at the moment) for the facts as they emerged. The most recent posts show the responses coming back from the public servants involved.

Bill & Patrick are right about "correct English" but many dialects are relaxed about such details or sometimes prefer the "incorrect" form. Margaret Thatcher used to make a point of calling the TUC the Trades Union Council (rather than Trade Union Council or Trade Unions Council). Someone might consider the EU to be singular (e.g. the Union is) or as a group/collection plural (e.g. the cattle/fish are), of countries/MEPs/civil servants/citizens. The United States is rather the United States are?!
 
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I would say "The United States is-" in spite of the fact that origin of the name was that we were a collection of previously poorly organized states. It refers to the name of a single country.

But it would seem that the BBC says it the way that jars my ear. I think I first heard this usage perhaps 20 years ago during one of our four bicycle tours of Ireland. We tuned in to the "telly" in our B&B and heard them speaking that way.
 
Reactions: Mr. X
I would say "The United States is-" in spite of the fact that origin of the name was that we were a collection of previously poorly organized states. It refers to the name of a single country.

*steps up to lecturn, adjusts glasses on nose, opens lecture notes*

Ahem! The entirety of the American Civil War (called in the South the War Between the States) was fought on that very issue. An examination of historical documents from the period reveals that before 1860 the official term was, indeed, 'the United States are' but afterwards read 'the United States is.

Thenk-yew,
 
The proposed ban is strange cause it was only 2 years ago when the EU stated its first ever set of rules about fishing sports and recreational fishing, which included spearguns in the "good" list of legal, fair, acceptable tools for catching fish all over the Union.
Now this new proposal for the Atlantic waters only...must be unintended, or maybe it's some subtle attempt of some ultra-environmentalist taliban insiders of the EU bureaucracy who hate spearfishing (hate is the word) for such a looooooong list of reasons each of which is totally inconsistent.
But what really scares me is: did I spell "bureaucracy" correctly or not?
 
Reactions: apneaboy and Mr. X
bureaucracy, bureaucrocy, bureaucr#cy . . .
I think you got it.
 
Reactions: Mr. X
bureaucracy, bureaucrocy, bureaucr#cy . . .
I think you got it.
Yes those French words have way too many vowels to be proper English. If in doubt, add 3 or 4 more unnecessary vowels randomly throughout the word - close enough

Welcome back Spaghetti!!! We've been missing you.
 
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The EU can rot in hell! This is an Island nation and we will fight them on the beaches etc. etc. Fortunatley lots of people stood up and made themselves heard which I suppose says something about democracy. It wouldn't have stopped me and I daresay countless others, how the hell they would have policed it is beyond me; let them cast the spotlight on pair-trawlers, gill-netters and all the other f*****s who truly impact fish stocks and leave us alone. They can unravel my cold, dead fingers from my speargun.
 
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