A Fisherman’s Tale
As presented to Stuart Agnew MEP

 

Saturday 19th October 2013, Stuart Agnew headed to North Tyneside, his mission – to meet some of the last few fishermen in North Shields and to answer some of the pressing questions they were asking.
His first task was to rendezvous with North Tyneside Branch Chairman Gordon Fletcher, the meeting place, as so often happens in UKIP circles, the dizzying heights of … a layby north of the Tyne Tunnel. Having successfully achieved this momentously difficult task he was taken to meet a local fisherman who relayed a tale of woe such as Stuart had never heard before. A tale of how hard working men are being driven to the edge of existence by petty and ludicrous application of laws meant to stop hardened criminals, and being used instead to prevent British Fisherman from making a living at their trade. In addition to this Stuart met with local fishmongers on the Fish Quay in North Shields in a fact finding trip to see what types of fish were on sale and to find out where the fish were sourced from.

Later that day an open meeting was held for those interested in Stuart’s reply to the questions that had been put to him. Stuart made several references to the fact that Fishing and Agriculture have a lot in common; the agriculture industry has been through a period of great change and has had to respond to pressure from large customer groups such as supermarket chains in new and innovative ways. Stuart made reference to Producers Organisations and how they helped to protect farmers from exploitation, he suggested that this should be the way forward for Fishermen as well, but the story he had been told earlier that day showed that may not be the case all the time.
Various points were raised and a lively debate was held over Fish Landing Size limits and whether undersized catch should be discarded at sea or still landed for processing as fishmeal. The fishermen who, after all, are the husbandry men of the sea, took the view that to discard at sea is still to feed the fish stock, while the agriculture men took the opposite view. It was the view of most people present that the fishermen should know what is best for the habitat they are working. It is worth noting that the fishermen present were working 10-20 metre boats as opposed to the larger industrial sized boats favoured by sailors from other countries.

Stuart was called upon to present a bouquet of flowers to Margaret Rycroft for her dedication to raising funds for the North Tyneside Branch. The evening concluded with a fine buffet which was much appreciated by all present.