Dr Crayfish wrote: » I don't know, people are trawling the ocean floor, wrecking entire ecosystems. What's to admire about these people? We just need to stop eating fish for a while. I love seafood and fish but would gladly leave it alone for a few years to replenish stocks.
SEPT 23 1989 wrote: » Dr Crayfish wrote: » I don't know, people are trawling the ocean floor, wrecking entire ecosystems. What's to admire about these people? We just need to stop eating fish for a while. I love seafood and fish but would gladly leave it alone for a few years to replenish stocks. Storm force winds huge seas hundreds of miles from shore not many other jobs would have you dancing with death for small money
donegaLroad wrote: » 6 months ago there was a Dutch super trawler fishing off the coast of Donegal while all our boats were docked in Killybegs harbour. It's absurd.
Shenshen wrote: » I honestly think that the fishing quota system the EU has implemented is deeply flawed. I appreciate the conservationist thought behind it, and I would agree that we do need measures to ensure that fishstock and marine life everywhere are managed properly and not damaged or destroyed by overfishing. However, trying to regulate this by placing a quota on the fish that can be landed does absolutely nothing to address this. Fishermen can't control what goes into their nets, and by the time they've sorted through what does and what doesn't fall within the quota, the fish that were meant to be protected by the quota are dead. So all they do is throw dead fish back overboard. I can imagine how utterly frustrating this must be for the fishermen, and how absurd this is. I wonder if a maritime equivalent of close season may not be a good answer. We already use it to protect our wild birds and game from being overhunted, so why not our fish as well?
Romantic Rose wrote: » When I sea how much plastic and rubbish washes up on my local beach, I'd say they are catching more plastic than fish. I've completely gone off fish recently. Just can't get over the psychology of eating plastic that fish have digested. It's a pity our world is so polluted!
flatty wrote: » I personally would just ban boats over a certain length. It could be patrolled with a tape measure, bring back the smaller trawling industry at the stroke of a pen, conserve fish stocks as the boats couldn't travel all those many miles out to sea, and greatly reduce waste. The factory ships seem to me to be the great ecological threat, and to be the mainstay of the developing aristocracy in the fishing industry
Dr Crayfish wrote: » Fishing isn't really sustainable the way things are going. Fish farming seems to cause serious problems too. Wouldn't it be nice if we could all just be sensible for once and stop fishing for 5 years or so in all European waters? Let the stocks replenish. Maybe they could pay fishermen some kind of living wage in the meantime to shut them up.
Jawgap wrote: » Size isn't everything A medium sized boat with powerful engines, the latest sonar, using drone technology etc is a much more efficient vessel than a larger one. You need to limit where fishers can fish, limit engine hp, limit the days at sea and have quotas to even try and keep up with the technological developments that the industry regularly brings forward. Personally, I reckon if we ate more fish, there'd be more sustainable fishing!! Because we'd be more informed consumers which would mean we'd place more of a premium on quality which would encourage fishers to look after their catch better, giving them a higher margin which means less going after quantity and more going after quality........but I'd be pessimistic about that virtuous circle ever kicking off!
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/worlds-second-largest-supertrawler-enters-irish-waters-30058458.html Its crew of 50 normally conducts round-the-clock fishing operations in a region for six to eight weeks before landing its processed catch.
The former owners of Atlantic Dawn, which once was Ireland’s biggest-ever trawler, stand to gain a bounty of at least €135 million from a series of decisions by successive governments about the rules pertaining to the Irish fleet.
Capt'n Midnight wrote: » Bottom line is that the small guy has no clout. Big business can buy past them. One supertrawler can replace many smaller family boats. In the UK one Dutch boat has 23% of the quota , UK based inshore fishermen only get 4%. Just in case anyone thinks politicians care about local fishermen. And even when no longer here they can still hoover up money :mad:Fishing rights: ‘Big corporations win out, because they have clout’
Jawgap wrote: » Supertrawlers are not competing against single-deckers......and the supertrawlers don't come inshore.....they don't even fish offshore.....they fish off the continental shelf, in the mid-ocean.
Capt'n Midnight wrote: » The thread is about fishermen. Like farming there's a lot more small farmers than big farmers. There's no question that the larger boats are much more efficient, if the fish stocks were at pre industrial levels it's even possible a single one could land our entire quota. And that means if it's about catching fish then more fishermen will be unemployed every year as technology and efficiency improves. If it's about jobs and livelihoods and supporting communities then smaller boats and restrictions are the way to go, but it's not.
Jawgap wrote: » Personally, I reckon if we ate more fish, there'd be more sustainable fishing!! Because we'd be more informed consumers which would mean we'd place more of a premium on quality which would encourage fishers to look after their catch better, giving them a higher margin which means less going after quantity and more going after quality........but I'd be pessimistic about that virtuous circle ever kicking off!
Shenshen wrote: » I'm not convinced about that, to be honest. We consume an awful lot of chickens, but most of the "informed customers" want it as cheap as they can get it and don't really care all that much about quality - and certainly not about the quality of life the bird may have had. If anything, we should look at making fish a special-occassion type of food, similar to game, to increase margin and move from quantity to quality.
Jawgap wrote: » If we ate more fish we'd be more discriminating about what we buy - you see it in Spain, Italy etc They don't just consume fish at levels you'd never see here in Ireland they'll only by the good stuff and as a consequence the local fishing fleet have to provide quality fish - which means going after market sized stuff and looking after it when you land it, rather than going for volume. And actually the problem is that Irish consumers only see fish as an "occasion" food - they'll happily pay upwards of €30 or even €50 for a small bit of monkfish tail in a restaurant but would never dream of paying half that amount to get twice as much fish and lash it under a grill at home (preferably with a bit of butter and freshly ground pepper :pac:). Likewise something like hake - there's tonnes of the stuff knocking around but no one thinks of grabbing a few for dinner, or during the late summer getting a few mackerel for the bbq! In general, the Irish are poorly informed consumers when it comes to their food (not just fish, but also poultry and beef) - and yes they'll nearly always go for price and convenience - but cheap food doesn't always offer the best value.
Jawgap wrote: » If we ate more fish we'd be more discriminating about what we buy - you see it in Spain, Italy etc They don't just consume fish at levels you'd never see here in Ireland they'll only by the good stuff and as a consequence the local fishing fleet have to provide quality fish - which means going after market sized stuff and looking after it when you land it, rather than going for volume.
Dr Crayfish wrote: » I really think you're romanticising how the Spanish eat, I can't speak for the Italians, but I spend a lot of time in Spain. They sell cheap crap imported from all over the world in their supermarkets to satisfy their desire for fish and seafood. In general I find the quality of food far better here than in Spain.
Jawgap wrote: » Seriously laughable if Killybegs is complaining about super trawlers after the respective sagas of the Veronica and the Atlantic Dawn. Btw, It's quite possible the Killybegs boats had used up their quota or were managing their days at sea.
