Great Idea.....

[DangerUXD]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21352617
Now how do we propose to get the rest of the EU to follow the rules? They don't even follow the existing rules so is this just another rule to be selectively ignored by our EU "partners"?

[emmie]

if they hadn't made these policies to start with then perhaps we wouldn't see this as necessary. Not before time.

[LazyGun]

I have been following this issue via this website
http://www.fishfight.net/

It would be nice to think that enlightened self-interest would come to the fore here. Recent news from Iceland and Norway however, who have unilaterally massively increased their quotas of mackerel suggest that this is not an EU issue. Mackerel numbers have been so reduced in such a short space of time that they are no longer on the sustainable fish list.

[jake-the-peg]

Isn't it the job of the local nation to enforce the EU fishing rules in their own waters?

The Royal Navy have devoted 3 ships to this task for the whole country all based in Portsmouth

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishery_Protection_Squadron

So would you still respect parking laws if there were only 3 parking wardens all based in Portsmouth?

[DangerUXD]

Indeed jake so why don't the French and Spanish enforce the EU rules on their own fisherman?

[jake-the-peg]

What? when they're in British waters or when they're in their own waters?

In the former case I'd have assumed that was obvious

In the latter case probably for the same reasons that we're not enforcing the rules well enough in our own waters - too much water and not enough vessels.

Looks like the French have about 4 boats

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&;sl=fr&u=http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garde-c%25C3%25B4tes&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dnavire%2Bgarde-p%25C3%25AAche%2Bwikipedia%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DUcl%26tbo%3Dd%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GB:official%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D842&sa=X&;ei=vo4TUf72L6W_2QWKqYD4CA&ved=0CDQQ7gEwAA

Don't know about the Spanish - but you get the idea

[pdq1]

As the size of the EU keeps growing the fish stocks have to be shared amongst more countries. Our scarce resource has just been handed on a plate. It did seem crazy to chuck good fish overboard because of quotas. Makes you wonder what will happen to this overcatch now when its almost impossible to estimate the final catch. Surely its not the job of the navy to enforce it and would be better handled at the quayside where the fish are landed.

[DangerUXD]

"What? when they're in British waters or when they're in their own waters?"
forgive me, we are always being told they are all "EU" waters, that's why the Spanish/French etc fish the Irish box with nets so small that I'm amazed the water gets out! 2 inch plaice wonderful for Piella but not so good for fish stocks!

Whilst our fishermen have to wear hair nets whilst gutting the rest of the EU have a party!