Tag Archives: Small-Scale Fishermen

Help small-scale English Fishermen by ScrapTheApp.

English small-scale fishermen with vessels under 10m are mounting a legal challenge against the Government and need help to fund the case. The new rule via a fishing license condition requires fishermen to estimate within a margin of tolerance of 10% the weight of their catches when they land. Accurate fisheries data, of their catches, is already submitted to the MMO via the Buyers and Sellers Act which requires auction houses and fish merchants taking catches to provide this information after weighing the fish and within 48 hours. It is impossible to consistently estimate and guess the weight of catches, accurately. Governments’ own data demonstrate that c.40% of estimated landing data for larger boats is outside the 10% margin of tolerance, and when it is wrong, it can be out by as much as 116%. >click to read< 10:28

VMS a ‘perfect storm’ of red tape for small-scale fishermen in England

Vessel monitoring systems are an essential tool towards fully documented fisheries. Across the UK, the devolved nations worked in harmony over the past 20 years to install on vessels first over 24m, then 15m and finally over 12m vessels. But now, small scale fishermen with under 12m vessels in England say the long delayed roll out of the Government’s inshore vessel monitoring system is discriminatory and unfair to their class of vessel and has a timeframe that is impossible to comply with. Felixstowe Ferry fishermen James Whyte said, It’s just another example of the Government putting pressure on us to meet an arbitrary time frame we just aren’t ready for because of their delays and their shortcomings. In our area we often have to book technicians weeks in advance because we have none locally”. >click to read< 13:54

Small scale fishers get rock lobster quota lifeline

Fishing communities have hailed a decision for the West Coast Rock Lobster quota to be increased from 600 tons to 700 tons for the 2021/22 season. In October hundreds of small-scale fishers were up in arms and protested against cuts in the quota. They demanded the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment review its decision and consider the plight of the small-scale fishing communities who depend on the resource for a living. >click to read< 12:53

English Channel Fly-Shooter Agreement Breakdown – Opinions are divided!

For some, fly-shooting is seen as a gentle method of fishing, with low fuel consumption and limited seabed impact. This is a technique has become increasingly popular, although in the Eastern Channel region and in other parts of France it has come in for criticism from small-scale fishermen, who claim the fly-shooters are stripping their grounds bare in record time. Fly-shooting is now prohibited inside the 12-mile zone off the coast of Brittany, and in the Channel, the situation has become critical, with more and more French, Belgian, Dutch and English fly-shooters operating in the region. >photo’s, click to read< 13:29

This is why small-scale local fishermen fear being ‘put out of business’

Together, Sean and Bill Hunter have fished Littlehampton’s waters for more than 85 years. But the father and son duo fear the ‘life could be squeezed’ from their livelihood by laws to stop them fishing near the coast.,, The Sussex Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authority wants to introduce a byelaw which could mean Bill and Sean would need a permit to fish using nets, and would stop them netting between 0.5 and 1.5km from the coast ‘to protect both migratory and juvenile fish stocks’. >click to read< 10:12

Time to rethink halibut bycatch regulations

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) is meeting in Homer, A major item up for discussion is Bering Sea/Aleutian Island Halibut Abundance Based Management (BSAI Halibut ABM).,, Directed halibut users are often small-scale fishermen harvesting halibut one hook at a time. Many operations are family owned and contribute to the livelihoods of captains, crews, vessel owners, and communities throughout Alaska. Therefore, if we want small boat fisheries to remain viable and to support sustainable fishing practices and economic opportunities for Bering Sea and Aleutian Island fishing communities, we need to design management plans to do that. By Josh Wisniewski >click to read< 22:32

Fishermen plead with MP to throw them a lifeline

14069152-largeSmall-boat fishermen are being penalised – for not catching enough fish. And they warn that the move could drive them out of business and end centuries of tradition. Defra, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, is capping the quotas of under-10 metre boats which did not land their full entitlement in the years 2010 to 2013. The fishermen say that Defra bureaucrats have got it wrong. A group of small-scale fishermen from the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall told their MP of their plight in a meeting in the tiny village of Cadgwith this week. Read the rest here 18:39

What It’s Like to Fish in the Shadow of a Nuclear Power Station

A beach sandwiched between a nuclear power station, a baron wasteland of shingle, and the vast expanse of the English Channel probably isn’t where you’d expect to find a family fishing operation. But the headland of Dungeness in England’s southeastern corner is home to the Thomas family, who’ve been fishing the waters of this coastal Kent community for generations. As I head down to the water, I’m greeted by a man leaning against a rusty yellow vehicle. Read the rest here 10:40

Costa Rica: Tuna company, fishermen and environmental groups squabble over unpublished fishing decree

Expected restrictions on industrial tuna fishing have been stalled pending the publication of a decree signed by former President Laura Chinchilla (2010-2014). Though Chinchilla signed the decree, it does not officially become law until it is published in the official government newspaper, La Gaceta. Chinchilla failed to give a publishing order before she left office,,, Read more here 10:18

Many small-scale fishermen are threatening to turn to organised crime in order to sustain their families

Public protector investigations of mismanagement of the fishing industry are mounting against Minister of Agriculture, Forestries and Fisheries Tina Joemat-Pettersson. Many small-scale fishermen are threatening to turn to organised crime in order to sustain their families after losing their long-term fishing rights. “Since there is absolutely nothing else I can do, I will have to join the army of illegal fishers,” said Charles America, one of the fishermen who have been declined a line-fishing licence. “I will have to run the gauntlet between legal and illegal fishing. It is sad, but there’s absolutely nothing else I can do.” Read more@timeslive  19:40

Endangered Species: Small-Scale Fishermen Written by M. Ben-Yami —

They have solid sea legs, good seamanship, and first-hand experience in reacting to weather and sea vagaries and in handling navigational and working deck emergencies; but they are increasingly squeezed. In many developed countries small-scale/artisanal fisheries mainly supported by small family businesses (SSF) are dwindling. There’re several causes to this process. Read More http://fisheryworld.com/