Half of all the fish caught in the North Sea is thrown back overboard dead, according to a new campaign supported by the Marine Conservation Society and TV chef and campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
It’s all to do with quotas and the Common Fisheries Policy which was established to help conserve fish stocks. Quotas put limits on how much of each species fishermen can catch. The trouble comes when they reach their quota but are still netting the ‘wrong’ species along with other fish. This means that prime fish like cod, haddock, whiting and plaice have to be thrown back into the water dead.
Everyone, fishermen, conservationists and politicians know this is a senseless waste of good fish. The CFP comes under review early in January and the Fish Fight Campaign is asking for supporters to sign up to try and get the rules changed.
You can read more about it at www.fishfight.net. The campaign will launch in January with the start of a new Channel 4 series presented by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall called ‘Hugh’s Fish Fight’. So if like us you care about the fish in our seas, sign up now.