Fishermen’s concern over industry future

Filey fishermen have joined forces with coastal colleagues campaigning for a change in scallop fishing bylaws amid concerns the local industry is being destroyed.

The Scarborough and Filey Inshore Fishermen’s Association met with MP Robert Goodwill to express the urgency of extending the current by-law where large scallop dredgers can only fish outside the six mile exclusion zone.

Issues such as gear damage, destruction of the seabed and increased incidents of lobsters and crabs being dredged along with the scallops is a cause of real concern.

Fisherman Patrick Ford said if the rule was in place for another year there would be more chance of allowing the sea bed to repair itself and allow more pickings for the smaller boats as the larger ones can still work from outside of this zone.

He said: “They can make money by going further out to sea, but we can’t. One fisherman has just lost 80 pots to dredgers and replacement pots cost £80 each – a shocking amount by anyone’s standards.”

The Association says patrolling of waters by North Ea s te r n In shore Fisheries and Conservation Authority’s Guardian vessel has made a difference in discouraging the by-law from being broken but they are still not sure of the extent of the damage to the sea bed.

They are worried about the result the damage being caused is going to have on fishing long into the future.

Mr Ford said: “Large boats are coming back into the harbour with 500 bags of scallops and this is not sustainable fishing.

“We’ve had a real good living for four local boats, and this is what we want to protect. We know how good our grounds have been and this is why the l arger boats are prepared to travel 200 miles up here to fish’.

“My son comes fishing with me and I’d l i ke to encourage him into the industry, but not if there is going to be nothing left in a few years time”.