Do you want to support Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's campaign to change EEC Fish Quota rules?

[Whoever]

If you saw his programme last night and feel angry about thousands of tonnes of perfectly good fish having to be thrown back dead into the sea every day because EEC Fishing Quota rules have been exceeded, you can sign up here:

http://www.fishfight.net/

[sandyRoe]

What will fish eaters do when the sea is emptied? We need better enforcement of the quotas.

[ummmm]

Sandy...they have to throw dead fish back into the sea.

[EcclesCake]

I missed it last night but do know that HFW was planning on cooking jelly fish - the point being this will be the only thing left in the sea if we continue as we are.

I whole heartedly support his campaign.

[sandyRoe]

Ummm, imagine a boat had already caught its quota of cod. They set out to fish for sea trout but catch another load of cod. There'd soon be no fish left.
Remember, it's not so long ago that UK fishermen were selling their quotas to the Spanish.

[pastafreak]

It's terrible what gets thrown back...and totally wasted.
All because we will only eat 'familiar' fish like cod,or salmon

[ummmm]

Pasta - they had to throw cod back because they had reached their quota

[LoftyLottie]

I agree Pasta. I was buying Mackerel and Sea Bass today and a couple of ladies were turning their noses up and say they couldn't each such things. The Brits are so unadventurous with fish. They don't know what they are missing.

They bought some haddock!

[pastafreak]

I know ummmm...and all that other lovely fish that almost literally goes down the drain.

Lofty-I grew up eating flounder,haddock,perch,sea bass,sea trout...and of course mackerel-which is one of the tastiest fish going.

[ummmm]

I would eat all those fish Pasta...Problem is I've never seen flounder, perch or sea trout for sale...and we don't have any independent fish mongers here :-(

[LoftyLottie]

We are eating the mackerel tonight. I love it!!

[pastafreak]

I just googled them ummmm. Seems flounder has been over fished.
But I think there is still plenty of sea trout and perch......and lots of others.

[Old_Geezer]

Darn I missed the program. I was hoping to see how they were going to take the blame away from the fishermen.

Seems to me that if you have a quota, and experience tells you that you will catch x fish of that particular species after you've stopped trying to fish for it, then you should ensure you have caught x fish fewer than the quota when you stop and fish for some other species. I don't understand this attempt to blame the quota when the problem is mismanaging the catch.

It seems to me that thousands of tonnes of perfectly good fish having to be thrown back dead into the sea every day because some fool fished to the limit, and then cried crocodile tears when they caught more, as they knew they would.

[pastafreak]

They fish for what they can sell,also. They can have a net full of fish that no one wants. Part of this campaign is to try to get people to try other,more sustainable varieties.

[Old_Geezer]

Oh I fully approve of trying to bring variety. Problem is that folk often don't know how to cook something new. Or if they can make a guess, suspect they're being pawned off with something inferior. So they avoid it It's all in the marketing. The fishermen need knowledable folk on market stalls to educate the public. The food industry being more difficult to convince.

[squarebear]

The fishermen should be fined for catching and throwing dead fish overboard once they have reached their quota.

[mike11111]

Just a thought, there was never any shortage of fish before we joined the EU.

[squarebear]

There isn't a shortage now judging by all the giant cod they were killing and dumping.

[mike11111]

I also remember the time when people bought fish because they couldn't afford meat!

[shaneystar2]

Hugh Fernley eat it all knows naff all about fishing .A couple of trips on a fishing boat does not a fisherman make unlike my Dad who rocked around the North Sea for much of his life so people could have fish for dinner .
I live down the road from what was once one of the biggest herring ports in the country .If they had,had quotas back then the industry wouldn't have declined until we now have one trawler left in a port where once you could walk across the river on the boats .
Overfishing depletes fish stock and they take a long time to recover Hence the decline in herring fishing .
As Old_Geezer states it's mismanagement of the catch .
When my Dad went to sea any odds and sods that came up in the nets were sold at the fish market if only to go for pet food or fertiliser . They never threw anything back .I used to eat lobster as a child for nowt along with more herrings than I care to mention :)
.

[pastafreak]

squarebear
"The fishermen should be fined for catching and throwing dead fish overboard once they have reached their quota"

All that fish is thrown away because the EU says to....they set the quotas,and anything over must be discarded. It's the Common Fisheries Policy,and there is a move to reform it.
Of course-what's being discarded is dead-so there is less breeding-which in turn means less fish=higher prices for what fish there is.