Tag Archives: Thanet Fishermen’s Association
Fishermen’s dismay as funds diverted to port upgrade
Fishermen in Thanet say they have been “pushed to one side, forgotten about and ignored” after money for new facilities was redirected to a plan to reopen a Kent port. Thanet District Council (TDC) said it had no choice but to reallocate £3.5m slated for fishing upgrades to reopening Ramsgate’s port due to government rules. Some £3.5m from the fishing facilities upgrade programme was proposed to instead be redirected to the port and for a £4.5m grant to be given to any prospective operator of the port. John Nichols, a committee member and a former chairman of the Thanet Fishermen’s Association, said the loss of funding was “extremely disappointing”. “We need these very basic facilities, we don’t need to be pushed to one side, forgotten about and ignored,” he said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:39
The UK’s offshore wind boom is great for the climate.(is it?) But what about the fish?
On the deck of the Razorbill, docked in the English port of Ramsgate, Steve Barratt runs thousands of feet of nets through a squeaky pulley, getting ready for another long night of fishing in the North Sea.,, Barratt will head out this night in search of more sole and other fish and on his way, he’ll pass right through a relatively new feature on the water here — the Thanet Wind Farm,,, But he won’t stop and set his nets there.“For some reason — I don’t know if it’s the sound, the humming, the motors — I don’t know what it is, but the fish are not in the wind farm,” he says. “It’s virtually barren apart from a few whelks and a few lobsters.” >click to read< 11:32
Fishermen fear a catch during negotiations over Brexit
Fishermen around the Kent coast are fearing for the survival of the industry after Brexit as they do not believe the government will deliver a clean break with the EU. The Thanet Fishermen’s Association and Whitstable Fishermen’s Association have thrown their weight behind a 90 page document by Fishing for Leave, an independent campaign aiming for withdrawal from existing EU fishing regulations in order to regain control over the country’s fishing waters and rejuvenate the industry. “When we went into the common market, we had the largest fish stocks and the largest fleet,” explains Mr West, who owns West Whelks on Whitstable harbour. “Now we have the smallest fish fleet and the smallest stocks left as our waters have been abused by other countries. “A lot of people that set the quotas are sitting in an office and haven’t got a clue about how our industry works. We’re told we are allowed to catch haddock, when we haven’t seen a haddock in almost 50 years. Read the story here 12:07
Border force agents check EU Fishing Quota’s instead of stopping ‘illegal migrants’
Fishermen have hit out at “absolutely shocking” Border Force agents who are using their migrant patrol boats to instead check they are sticking to EU fishing quotas. The Home Office has been told to get its priorities straight as fishermen in Ramsgate are regularly being targeted by security agencies. John Nichols, chairman of the Thanet Fishermen’s Association, said: “There’s more border agency and security boats around than in the past because of migrants coming across the Channel, but out of boredom they have a look at our fishing boats. “We’ve seen more boardings of fishing vessels recently than at any stage in the past.” Video, read the story here 13:05
