Overcrowded seas

SIR – Many oceans of ink have been expended over the management of European fisheries. What I will say is that the stock levels of some fish are now so high that it is threatening vessel safety.

The southern North Sea and eastern English Channel are awash with skate. English fishing vessels have minuscule quotas allocated to them from the EU. When these are then divided between individual vessels, it works out at only 200 kilos of fish per month.

Stock levels of skate have reached such a high number that they are interfering with other fisheries. They fill the oyster dredgers and lift them from the sea bed, and block up the mouth of trawls, thus preventing shrimp from entering. They take all the baits and hooks on long lines for cod. The trawlers are catching so many so quickly that they are struggling to find grounds where they can fish for sole without catching skate. These small boats are not built for hauling in such huge volumes of skate, all of which has to be thrown back – exhausting work for the crews.

We fishermen need someone to champion the fish and to bring this huge waste to an end. We do not want an open fishery, but one that reflects the availability of the stock. Paul Gilson Leigh-on-Sea, Essex