Big smiles and Bravehearts
Holyrood considers requesting EU exemption
YOUNG dancer Richa Nayak smiles for the crowds as she takes part in the Glasgow Mela festival.
The 10-year-old was performing with the Desi Bravehearts dance troupe who have been regular performers at the multicultural festival, now in its 25th year.
The free event, which took place in Kelvingrove Park in the city’s West End yesterday, featured a range of acts from diverse backgrounds across three stages in the park. Visitors also enjoyed family activities and a range of craft stalls, while a large mix of quality world foods were also on offer.
The festival’s also included a special collaboration between the mighty Dhol Foundation and bagpipe rockers Red Hot Chilli Pipers.
Event organisers described the day as “spectacular”.
A BAN on using electricity to hunt lucrative shellfish could be lifted following calls for Scottish fisherman to be exempt from EU laws.
A controversial technique, in which electrodes are trailed from boats shocking razor clams in the seabed and causing them to rise up where they are easily collected by divers, has been banned across Europe since 1998, when all fishing using electricity was outlawed.
However, a report authored by Marine Scotland last year concluded that electrofishing did not do the environmental damage that had previously been feared and that while the electric current had stunned other species making them vulnerable to predators, it did not cause direct fatalities.
Scottish fisherman have been lobbying ministers for a rule change, while police have warned that gangs working off the coast of Argyll have flouted the law by using the technique to illegally capture the clams, a gastronomic delicacy, which can attract high prices in Europe and the Far East.
Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead has confirmed he is considering applying for an exemption despite admitting the longterm impact of electrofishing is unknown.
He said: “Scientific studies have been conducted and these suggest that electrofishing could be more environmentally benign than other traditional methods, but this study did not address the broader question of long-term sustainabil- ity of razor clam populations under various levels of commercial fishing.
“Further study and research will be required. In the meantime, the Scottish Government is considering whether to seek a derogation from EU law.”
Last year, a clampdown was announced on electrofishing, following a surge in complaints. Police Scotland said illegal fishing for the clams was proving more lucrative than drug dealing. It has proven hard to identify offenders as equipment could be easily ditched overboard.
In May 2011, a 42-year-old died while diving for razor clams in Largo Bay, Fife. The man was believed to be electrofishing, although a court case heard that it was not known whether electricity from copper wires caused the death. The boat’s skipper was jailed for nine months in March for health and safety failings.
In 2013, celebrity chefs including Andrew Fairlie and Tom Kitchin called for chefs to shun produce caught illegally, saying electrofishing was “one of the most damaging ways of catching food mankind has devised”.
However, advocates believe the Marine Scotland report is changing perceptions, after it concluded it “does not have immediate or short-term lethal effects, or prolonged behavioural effects, on vertebrate or invertebrate species exposed to the electric field generated”.
Michael Russell, SNP MSP for Argyll and Bute, said he now backed a pilot scheme, which he said was supported by evidence.
He said: “Science has supported this. The Marine Scotland report came to the conclusion that this practice did not cause environmental damage.
“The people who have been coming to me just want the chance to prove it can work. The conversation is ongoing, but I hope the Scottish Government will be willing to have a pilot scheme.”
Approximately 40 Scottish vessels currently fish legally for razors. In 2013, 897.3 tonnes of razors were landed into Scotland, with a value of £3.1 million. Between 2010 and May last year, only 11 vessels were issued with Fixed Penalty Notices for electrofishing with maximum fines only £2,000.
Alex Kinninmonth, living seas manager for the Scottish Wildlife Trust, said: “Crucially the law as it stands doesn’t allow this practice in EU waters and we could only have confidence in any derogation if it was determined beyond any doubt that opening such a fishery wouldn’t be detrimental in the long term to either razor clam stocks or other seabed wildlife.”
‘‘ The Marine Scotland report came to the conclusion that this practice did not cause environmental damage
THOUSANDS flocked to Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Park to join the fun of the Mela.
The west end park was a sea of colour as young and old gathered to soak up the atmosphere.
Musicians entertained the crowds and there were long queues to sample the wide range of different international foods on offer.
They included plantain chips, burritos, Thai green curry, crepes, Cullen skink, stovies and buffalo burgers. The Mela kicked off at noon and by the end of the day 35,000 people had turned up. This year the event celebrated its 25th anniversary with a packed programme of music and dance.
The headline act on the Maharaja Stage was a collaboration between bagpipe rockers the Red Hot Chilli Pipers and the Dohl Foundation which wowed the crowds.
It was hosted by Sanjeev Kohli of Still Game fame. Originating from Sanskrit and meaning to meet, the Mela features international artists and performers alongside local groups from across the city.