Euro Myths - Fisheries (Andrew Duff MEP)

Andrew Duff MEP <info@andrewduffmep.org.uk>

Fisheries

We need to reject a Common Fisheries Policy to save Britain's fish. This is untrue. Without international cooperation Britain would be unable to stop foreign fishing fleets over-fishing our stocks as they migrate through international waters. North Sea plaice, for example, need to be protected in the coastal waters of Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands where the juvenile plaice congregate.
Joining the Common Fisheries Policy meant sacrificing Britain's historic 200-mile fishing rights to foreigners. This is untrue. When we joined the EU in 1973, our fishery limits extended only out to twelve miles: most of the waters which are now within our fishery limits were then international waters. There has never been a time when all other countries were excluded from UK fishery limits out to 200 miles.
Because we are in Europe, our fishermen cannot stop the Spanish quota hoppers. This is untrue. The Spanish quota hopping only exists because British fishermen have decided to sell their quotas to Spanish fishermen. If they did not sell them then the Spanish could not buy them.
Brussels regulations oblige fishermen to wear hairnets when aboard their fishing boats. This is untrue. European hygiene agreements covering fish-processing plants and all staff who process and package fish mention that dockside staff who cut fish should wear suitable clothing including head cover to avoid contaminating the processed fish. This does not however mean wearing a hairnet, does not cover ordinary fishermenand does help to minimise the risks to consumers of food poisoning from unhygienic fish.
Brussels forces every EU fishing boat to carry 620 medical items. This is untrue. EU agreements classify ships into three categories, with the required amounts of medical items varying accordingly. Thus the smallest inshore fishing boat would need no more than 18 different treatments.

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