Tag Archives: Brexit
Jimmy Buchan: Embrace Brexit for the sake of fishing industry
All arguing aside, the country has made a choice. It’s a fast-moving situation as we all know with new political shockers hitting the news wires on an hourly basis. The First Minister has certainly done well over the past week to make sure she was in there good and early with a strong message that Scotland doesn’t want to be dragged out of the EU against its will. I applaud her media-savvy team on this, but what she’s guilty of forgetting is that Scotland is still in the UK, and regardless of the majority, a huge number of Scots want to leave. The UK made a decision as part of our democratic society which we should accept. My fishing industry colleagues and I don’t want a situation where we’re being dragged back into the EU against our will. Ms Sturgeon should concentrate on working with the UK government rather than against it. I started a career in the fishing industry over 40 years ago and in that time there have been huge changes. I have witnessed colleagues and friends forced out of business and lose their livelihoods, all under EU governance. Although I’ve enjoyed good and bad years, I cannot console myself that the current EU treaties work in my best interests or ever did when I have witnessed what fishing communities right around the UK have had to endure. I’m also well aware that other industries have also endured economic hardship because of EU powerhouse decisions. Read the rest here 08:47
Fisherman upbeat after EU vote opens door for leaving institution
Leave-supporting fishermen have spoken of their delight and positivity after Britons voted to leave the EU. Gary Smith is skipper of the whitefish trawler Devotion. From a fishing point of view he said it was the right decision and is positive about the industry. “The common fisheries policy has been terrible for fishing, forcing British men to dump fish while huge foreign vessels plunder the stocks,” he said. He admitted UK fishermen were not entirely blameless, having largely taken the law into their own hands with black landings (the landing of over quota fish) in the 1990s and early 2000s, as well as the mass dumping of good fish back to the sea. “But with a governing body so far removed from reality I feel we had no option, these immoral and illegal acts were done totally unwillingly for survival. “I believe now more than ever before we need to unite as one voice, everyone agrees that fisheries science is at best a two-year-late guess. That is simply not good enough. Read the rest here 15:28
Brexit – Entering uncharted territory,turbulent waters, with challenges and perhaps also opportunities.
Two things can be said with certainty: 1. At this stage there are more questions than answers 2. In this new world, fishermen will need a strong, cohesive, national organisation to defend their interests during the upcoming transition It is not difficult to understand the strong anti-EU sentiments within the UK fishing industry. The European Commission has too often behaved with arrogance, and the EU Parliament with ignorance, to escape their share of the blame. To understand this, you need to go no further that the Commission’s proposed EU ban on small-scale drift nets – to solve an enforcement problem in Italy but which if adopted would have extinguished many sustainable, viable small-scale fisheries in the UK. This is but one example which just illustrates the roots of the frustration that has built over many years. Read the rest here 14:41
After Brexit – Fishermen chart course away from Europe
The EU referendum results marks “a seismic change” for the fishing industry, according to many in it, as it will restore the UK’s long-lost control over the greater part of the northern European fishing grounds. In Scotland the fleet has declined during Britain’s time in Europe. The 2007 workforce of 4,408 fishermen regularly employed on Scottish-based fishing boats, was approximately half that employed in the early 1970s when Britain joined what was then the European Economic Community (EEC). The number of fishing boats over 10m long was 1318 in 1990, 958 in 2000, and only 583 in 2014. The numbers fell as the European Commission exerted more and more control over how much could be caught, in an efforts to conserve fish stocks which scientists warned were at risk. Read the story here 11:47
BREXIT! Fishermen say Leave promises on quotas must be delivered after EU referendum result
Leaders of the West’s fishing industry say they will be looking for Leave campaigners to keep their promises in the wake of the historic referendum result. Paul Trebilcock, chief executive of the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation (CFPO), said there were challenging times ahead but it was time to look towards the future. “The dice has been thrown and now we have got to see what the future holds,” he said. “The promises that the likes of George Eustice has made have to be delivered. Read the rest here 08:02
Newlyn fishermen to stage protest ahead of EU referendum
NEWLYN fishermen were among those who decorated London-bound boats to campaign against Britain remaining in the European Union last week – and they’re not finished yet. While Nigel Farage and Bob Geldof were making headlines on their flotillas last Wednesday, the west Cornwall fishermen and their supporters also decorated their boats with red Vote Leave flags and sailed to the Thames to support ‘Brexit’ campaigners. “We have seen a lot of support from our local fishermen,” said Liz Lane, the co-ordinator for Vote Leave in Cornwall. “Last week’s event, even though it was slightly interrupted by Bob Geldof’s actions, has really woken up a sleeping giant,” she said. Read the story here 18:20
Brexit: Bob Geldof’s Boat Funded by Goldman Sachs!
Bob Geldof and his despicable tirade against fishermen in the Thames has been exposed as a Goldman Sachs funded operation. Reports from insiders also reveal that the BBC director was on board the boat as Geldof made vile remarks and gestures to bemused fishermen protesting the loss of their fishing grounds to EU regulations. Bob Geldof was seen on the boat swearing and shouting at the fishermen, and the millionaire champagne socialist compounded his ridiculous protest with a continual barrage of insults from his Goldman Sachs funded boat. Geldof, who recently lost his daughter Peaches to a heroin overdose, encourages negligence at every turn and is not a good example of human fortitude unlike the fishermen he was berating. Bastards. Link 14:13
Americans would choose Brexit
Britons are less than a week away from a referendum about whether to exit the European Union (EU), or remain. British commentary on the debate has been unreasonable enough, American commentary is worse, but the American choice would be clear. Some Americans have mischaracterized Brexiteers as opponents of a “liberal democratic capitalist project“. That’s not how either side is characterizing the EU: the EU admits its philosophical mission to “force people to be free,” while Brexiteers characterize the EU as an undemocratic, centralizing socialist enterprise, in opposition to Britain’s liberal democratic capitalist traditions. A similar falsity is to mischaracterize Brexiteers as opposed to “free markets“: Brexiteers want to trade with the larger and better managed markets of the world; the EU is a free market within its own borders, but also a protectionist area from the perspective of the rest of the world. Read the rest here 08:26
Brexit: Prominent Fisherman Calls On Geldof To Apologise
A leading fisherman has demanded Bob Geldof apologise for his Remain campaign flotilla stunt which was “disrespectful to hard working communities”. Skipper Jimmy Buchan added he’d never seen such a blatant attack on working class people. On Wednesday UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage and Labour MP Kate Hoey led a flotilla of fishing boats up the Thames supporting Brexit as better for fishermen. Interrupting the fishermen’s plea to take back control of British waters, multi-millionaire singer Geldof sought to “intercept” HIJACK the Fishing for Leave flotilla. Jimmy Buchan, a Peterhead skipper, was on one of 30 fishing boats among the flotilla and called on the celebrity activist to apologise. Mr. Geldof’s gesturing and everything about it was so wrong. I was on the boat standing next to Nigel Farage when this happened and I could hardly speak. “I’ve seen a lot in my 56 years but I’ve never seen hard-working people attacked like this. Read the rest here 19:19
Brexit flotilla: Bob Geldof and Nigel Farage have massive horn-off in the Thames
In the Leave slipstream: Ukip’s Nigel Farage, and a navy of fishermen on board for Brexit who sailed up the river with him in a parade of up to 60 trawlers. Urging Remain, musician Sir Bob Geldof is giving it back to him on a boat of ‘In’ supporters holding pro-EU banners in protest and blaring out ‘In With The In Crowd’. As they tried to outdo each other with their foghorns, Brexiters soaking the Bremainers with their hoses as they passed. Fishermen campaigning for Brexit argue their industry is being damaged by European Union quotas. ‘The governing principle of the common fisheries policy is that of ‘equal access to a common resource’,’ Farage said. ‘Fish stock that should be within the UK’s internationally-recognised territorial waters is now shared with our European partners. This has led to a 60% drop in oversized landings and the loss of tens of thousands of jobs in our industry.’ Lots of images, and video streams, click here 09:04Brexit: Aberdeen University study reveals 92% of UK fishermen plan to vote Leave on June 23.
The poll, conducted by researchers at the University of Aberdeen, also revealed a majority of fishermen did not think leaving the European Union would detrimentally affect their trade. Over three in four believe leaving the EU and its common fisheries policy would enable them to catch and land more fish. Around the same number think Brexit would have no impact on the trade of fish between the UK and other European countries. 93% of fishermen believe leaving the EU would boost the industry’s fortunes, the survey also revealed. The researchers behind the poll admitted Scottish fishermen, despite having the largest fleet in the UK, were “slightly over-represented” in the survey, accounting for 68.4% of respondents. “Fishermen view the EU very negatively and this further marks them out from the general UK public who are far more split over positive and negative feelings towards the EU.” Read the rest here 14:07
EU referendum: Would Scotland’s fishermen be better in or out?
The fishing industry plays a key role in the economy of the North East of Scotland. Ahead of the EU referendum on 23 June, I spoke to two different camps of opinion-Ken Banks. “I have not met a local fisherman yet who would not pack his bags and leave the EU.” The words of Jimmy Buchan – skipper of Peterhead’s Amity II who featured in the BBC’s Trawlermen series. He has worked at sea since leaving school in 1976. The 55-year-old’s feelings on the forthcoming referendum on whether the UK should stay in the EU are clear – leave in a bid to secure a future for fishermen. The Aberdeenshire town of Peterhead is Europe’s largest white fish port, so the topic could hardly be more crucial. The Scottish government believes that EU membership is in the “best interests” of Scotland’s fishing industry. Read the rest here 19:21
“Much sympathy” around this coastline for fishing communities pro-Brexit campaign
An Irish fishing industry representative says north Atlantic coastal states, including Ireland, Iceland and Norway, should form their own economic union with Britain if it votes to leave the EU this month. Irish Fish Producers Organisation chief executive Francis O’Donnell told The Irish Times that there was “much sympathy” around this coastline for the “Leave” camp. The impact of the EU common fisheries policy had been very severe on coastal communities on both islands, Mr O’Donnell said. He said Ireland has one of the largest and biologically fish-rich sea areas, but has been allocated quotas for 18 per cent of the total catch. For this reason he believes there is tacit support here for the grassroots Fishing for Leave campaign initiated by a British skipper, which says it has been endorsed this side of the Irish Sea in Northern Irish ports like Kilkeel, Co Down. Read the rest here 20:44
Nigel Farage to lead 60-boat armada up Thames in call for Brexit
The Ukip leader revealed he will lead the fleet on a “small trawler” with Eurosceptic fishermen in protest against EU fishing quotas. Mr Farage told LBC Radio: “On June 15 I will be boarding a small trawler in Southend-on-Sea at 5am, so not much point going to bed really, and we will catch the flood tide, and there will be 60 boats in a flotilla coming up the Thames and we will arrive outside the Palace of Westminster at midday. “It will be big, visual and dramatic, and the demand will be clear – we want our waters back. “It’ll be commercial fishermen from all over, mostly from the east coast of England but some coming from further afield and if other political figures have got the stomach for it then they are very welcome to come and join me. Read the rest here 13:50
Salt in their veins and fire in their bellies: fishermen battling for Brexit
William Whyte has a new flag flying from the rigging of his vast blue-hulled trawler, its fabric snapping in the brisk breeze coming in off the North Sea. It features the cartoon of a militant-looking fish wearing armour, a union jack shield at its waist and the legend “Fishing for Leave”. These flags are appearing on boats around Britain’s coast. The country’s trawlermen are placing themselves in the vanguard of the campaign to quit the EU. There is talk of a flotilla massing on the Thames, as the country’s fishing fleets press the case for Brexit. For Scottish trawlermen such as Whyte, the EU referendum is a godsend. Striding over long, brightly coloured coils of rope, netting and sun-bleached floats laid out on the quayside at Fraserburgh, north of Aberdeen, Whyte hopes the UK will vote to leave the EU, finally releasing his industry from the constraints, the wheeling and dealing, and complexities of the common fisheries policy (CFP). Read the rest here 07:54
Cormac Burke talks common sense about Leaving the EU
FIGHTING FOR COMMON SENSE IN A SYSTEM WHERE A CORRECTLY ‘BENT’ BANANA IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN LIVELIHOODS, TRADITION AND HERITAGE
Although the final decision of a ‘Brexit’ will ultimately lie in the hands of voters who are looking at a wide range of economic impacts or possible benefits and not just one industry or sector, the ‘Fishing for Leave’ campaign believes that it is vital that these voters must be made fully aware of the destruction and decimation of the once ‘great’ British fishing industry since power of control was surrendered to the European Union. At the core of the anger of those wanting freedom and to break away from the EU is simply the fact that this is “not what we signed up for” — as a nation (indeed for all the individual nations who are members of the EU), the agreement was to join a European ‘common market’ which, in principle, was a reasonable proposal i.e. that a community of nations should work together as one to benefit the economy of each individual. Read the article here 15:33
Michael Gove mercilessly mocked over embarrassing fishy cock-up
Michael Gove was left red-faced after he said fishing was “very close to my heart” – but then blundered over the names of two major ports. The Brexit backing Justice Secretary was having a pop at the EU’s common fisheries policy. He blames the rules for the collapse of his father’s business as a fish merchant in Aberdeen. But he stumbled over the names of two Scottish ports – referring to Peterborough and Fraserhead rather than Fraserburgh and Peterhead. Of course, the internet was merciless in its mockery. Read the rest here 18:29
Brexit – Many in British Fishing Port Want E.U. Out of Their Waters
Brixham, England — Mike Walker, a retired fisherman here, sums up what many in this southern English port town think of the European Union. Britain’s membership in the 28-nation union has encouraged France, Spain, the Netherlands and “the rest of them lot” to “come rape our waters,” Mr. Walker said. Others here might use less extreme language. But Mr. Walker’s opinion resonates in this town of 17,000. And it signals a wider British discomfort with the European Union before the country votes in a June 23 referendum on whether to quit the union. Whether their grievances involve fish, immigrants or meddlesome rules, many Britons resent what they view as interference by European institutions and bureaucrats based in Brussels. Read the rest here 17:38
Fishing minister George Eustice – Scotland will have more control of fleet outside the EU
A UK Government minister claimed yesterday that Scotland will have more control over its fishing fleet if voters choose to quit the EU. Fishing Minister George Eustice was speaking on the eve of a visit to Peterhead, where he will talk to skippers as part of his campaign for a Brexit in June. Mr Eustice’s Leave message is sure to resonate strongly with many people in an industry which has always been deeply suspicious of Brussels, and suffered swinging cuts to quotas and fishing time under the controversial Common Fisheries Policy. Read the rest, Click here 11:40
