Illegal Fish Landings

[TeeAyBee]

Can you clarify your position Fleabee? Are you saying that the fishermen charged with fraud haven't in your opinion done anything wrong and that it is all the fault of Westminster?

[Guest Anonymous]

if you can understand its no better as 50/50 on principal then your no doin bad , and if you can digest its maybe 40/60 against the politicians your doin well. These are the people who are ripping the "wee wees' " out of of thier own rules, canna get it much easier as that ??

[paulb]

how does bent mps make it ok for bent fishermen if proven in both counts. both are facing trial so both are still innocent . every country/ group of countries need quota's even if shetland was independent there would be quotas. it maybe a crap system but its there to prevent fish stocks depleting and to protect other fishermen.

[MJ]

is no anyone else worried about the jobs thing here?

The catch is an large employer in the isle. Could the outcome of this case be something to look at in the terms of the effect to the economy of Shetland, directly and indirectly.

In no way am I defending what's been done. But instead of worrying about folk with money hundreds of miles away, can we worry about those up here who could possibly end up out of work through no fault of their own.

I'm sure there's a mp's expenses thread somewhere else.

[paulb]

have they not been taken over since then

[Kavi Ugl]

Whatever the rights and wrongs here what sticks in my throat is that successive British/Scottish Governments are more than willing to throw the book at and cut the throats of those they should be fighting for.

 

We often hear folk pleepsin about the hard line Norway takes in fishery negotiations but at least their Government sticks up for their fishermen and fishing industry.

 

This is just another example of what happens because we(Shetland) have no control over any of our our land or seas.

 

If we had full control of them what a different place Shetland would be in terms of a sustainable fishery and employment. And, the other aspect of it is that it would also force us to take more responsibility for what happens in those waters and fisheries.

 

We muck it up, it's wis who loose but if we make it work it's wis who benefit.

[paulb]

and they would still be in the dock. they over fished. even if we had control they would have still done it. assuming they did it of course.

[Guest Anonymous]

Paulb your last posts show a complete ignarance of the fishing industry here or anywhere else.

The men here invested money in new boats then had the quota imposed on them while thousands of tonnes of our fish were handed to foriegn boats.

90% of the fishing effort in our waters is by foriegn boats yet 90% of boats boarded by the fisheries cruisers are local, roughly 1 in 10 of those boardings result in some infrigement of vastly over complicated rules, yet when foriegn boats are boarded about 1 in 10 boardings result in no infringements of rules being discovered.

our own goverment seem hell bent on criminalising evey fisherman that sets to sea unless of course his name in pedro or pierre.

The rules are a complete load of bollox set by pollititions who are clueless in how things are and don't give a hoot for those men trying to make a living for their families.

get us out of the EU and the UK and we might have a fishing industry in 10 years if not then there is no hope for our fishermen or the fish stocks around our shores.

[Ghostrider]

^^ The lion's share of the profit of fish taken in Shetland water has gone foreign or straight in to some old laird's kist ever since the Dutchman could sail as far as the Guttery Soond ta lie at anchor. Its long past time it was put an end to.

 

At least a century ago and before the most of them lay in at a helly and did a bit for trade for stores and such, it was precious little, but it was a help. The only thing the Danes gave back in the '70's when there was a fleet of them hoovering up everything that swam aff aest, was a bit of beer profit in the Thule when they'd had to run in from a SE'er. Its worse now, there's Frenchmen nort o' Flugga, and Spaniards here and there to wastard scooping away, and they're never seen unless when they gets their ass in a sling and need us to bale them out.

[Skunnered]

^^Well said, absolutely right.

[Skunnered]

how does bent mps make it ok for bent fishermen if proven in both counts. both are facing trial so both are still innocent . every country/ group of countries need quota's even if shetland was independent there would be quotas. it maybe a crap system but its there to prevent fish stocks depleting and to protect other fishermen.

Problem is, it doesn't prevent fish stocks depleting because it's illegal to land the "wrong" kind of fish, or fish over-quota, so if the fishermen catch the "wrong" fish they have to dump them (dead!) over the side. It's a criminal waste. God knows how many tons of good saleable fish are destroyed. Hardly conservation!

And yes, it does protect other fishermen - French, Spanish, etc. etc. but not our fishermen.

[paulb]

yes it would be nice if we had control but we don't. this over fishing was not a few extra boxes of fish it was thousands of tonnes. whatever the justibication this was not a political act or error.

[Guest Anonymous]

thankfully theres more as me would like (if possible) to defend the fishing industry and have some knowledge about it, and in no way condoning breaking the rules,never mind how mind blowing imbicilic they are. On a level playing field, if such a thing exists in UK, the wieght of responsibility ought to fall on those supposedly in charge, setting the rules, and playing by them, i.e. MPs "takin the wee wee", if they are going to then why should everybody not? . In reference to previously mentioned figures ,which will definately be cooked books, the MPs fiddled only £1.1m , yeh right, this is the first year they been caught n we all know fine well they've mostly all been at it all the time. Good old uk , one law for the fat cats n a totally different one for them prepared to try n get ahead

[Guest Anonymous]

yes it would be nice if we had control but we don't. this over fishing was not a few extra boxes of fish it was thousands of tonnes. whatever the justibication this was not a political act or error.

there likely isn't justification at all , same as the MPs scams which weren't errors either and the act/moral is the same but who's going to get off n who's not ?

[jz]

there likely isn't justification at all , same as the MPs scams which weren't errors either and the act/moral is the same but who's going to get off n who's not ?

 

As regards the fishermen, it is for the legal process i.e. the courts to decide.

 

They will "get off with it" only if they have committed fraud and get found not guilty (or not proven, to be pedantic).

 

Neither outcome is certain yet.