Tag Archives: HPMA
MPA’s: Scottish island faces being ‘wiped out’ by SNP’s green crackdown on fishing in its rich waters
Tiree, population 653, is known as the Hawaii of the North but islanders say it will become ‘non-viable’ if a Highly Protected Marine Area is imposed by Holyrood ministers. Now the risk is that a new environmental protection area would kill the island’s fishing boat trade, which is one of the few economic growth sectors. Having gone from two boats in 1995 to nine boats today, which provide 20 full time jobs, the annual catch of crab and lobster has a value of £1million. Tiree fisherman Neil MacPhail said: “If this (HPMA) landed on top of us we would be wiped out overnight, with one stroke of the pen on a chart.”He added: “My boat alone puts food on the table for eleven people. One boat’s worth of economic impact is huge in a community such as Tiree. It’s the only industry in the island which has genuinely bucked the depopulation trend.” >click to read< 18:07
Whitehall fishing ban would ‘rip heart’ out of Holy Island, residents warn
For centuries, fishermen have been the lifeblood of the tiny Holy Island of Lindisfarne off the coast of Northumberland. But red tape from Westminster now threatens to kill off the profession and potentially the entire community, as officials propose banning fishing as part of a drive to rewild the sea. The Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs is consulting on designating the seas to the north of the island, a highly protected marine area, which would outlaw the crab and lobster potters who set sail from the island in the early hours. Fishing is the best-paid job on the island, and fishermen make up around 10 per cent of the population. If they were forced to move for work, they would take their families with them. At least three of these families include fully trained first responders who make up 50 per cent of the coastguard team, and it is said the 999 responses could not function without them. >click to read< 18:50
