(13 Apr 1995) English/Nat
Fishermen of the West Country in England today (Thursday) held a meeting in Plymouth to protest against European Union fishing policies which they believe to be responsible for the depletion of stocks.
Many skippers specifically blame Spanish trawlers which have access to British fishing grounds for ignoring all regulations concerning the size of nets and fishing quotas.
Feelings ran high during the meeting as fishermen gathered to vent their anger at the current crisis in their industry. The meeting was organised by the "Save Britain's Fish" , which are calling for changes in E-U fishing policy. One speaker, a lawmaker from the ruling Conservative Party, Robert Hicks, tried to explain why Spanish trawlers had access to British waters.
SOUNDBITE:
Rightly or wrongly, rightly or wrongly, we have been locked into this situation since we joined the European Community an 1973.
SUPER CAPTION: Robert Hicks, MP, Conservative Party
But tempers ran high against the MP . Fishermen here that the government has failed to protect their fishing grounds against foreign trawlers, especially against Spanish vessels.
SOUNDBITE:
We've got to stop the rape of the seas of Europe and of the world by the Spanish. We're getting at the Spanish all the time because it is the Spanish we see, it's always the Spanish, nearly always the Spanish that land these vast quantities of immature fish.
SUPER CAPTION: Bill Hawkins, Chairman of Plymouth local fishing society
Many in the audience were wearing sweatshirts emblazoned with the Maple Leaf, the Canadian national flag which has become a symbol for resistance against the presence of foreign fishing vessels.
In the fishing harbour of Brixham near Plymouth people are worried about losing their livelihood as fish stocks continue to decline.
SOUNDBITE:
When you're trained for fishing, you're not trained for a lot else. I mean, a lot of the fishermen would end up on the dole queue I should imagine until they were retrained. But I'm like 44 years of age and a lot of the generation like myself, and the skipper of this boat who is 50...it's going to be a bit late to, sort of, change.
SUPER CAPTION: Chris Hendriksen, boat owner
SOUNDBITE:
But what annoys me and what annoys most of the boys, them telling them their job, and they don't know nothing about it. They don't know nothing about it, they're in their armchairs every morning. ..
Well these here buggers in, what do you call in, what do you call them....
Reporter: Brussels?
Brussels, that's right... I bet you if you went there and took some fish they wouldn't know if it was a plate or a lemon sole
SUPER CAPTION: "Ticker", local fisherman
Whatever solution is found to the conflict between the E-U and Canada, the world-wide decline in fish stocks will continue to cause tensions between fishing nations.
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6 окт 2024
