Petition to protect resort’s trout fisherman hits 16,000 signatures

A PETITION to protect Filey’s trout fishermen has reached more than 16,000 signatures.

As previously reported in March, new rules to protect salmon stocks could badly hit the fishing industry along the Filey coast.

Now people across the country have added their voices to the outcry. The Environment Agency wants to reduce the length of the netting season in Filey next year by two months, with a new closure date at the end of June.

The agency hopes this will lower the number of “vulnerable” salmon getting caught up in the nets, which are predominantly used to catch trout. In Filey, the fishery is down to just seven small-scale, artisanal boats.

Fishermen have inherited their licenses from their fathers, and want to pass them on to their children and grandchildren.

But all of this is at risk due to new proposed regulations from the Environment Agency. The issue is that some salmon are caught in the trout nets, though not as many as are caught by anglers.

According to recent communications from the Environment Agency, which issues the licences, it is unclear whether after 2019, the Filey netsmen and their colleagues from neighbouring Bridlington and Scarborough will be able to continue with their way of life.

“If we’re forced out of business, then a light will be extinguished, never to be relit, ” warned fisherman Rex Harrison.

“The netsmen of Filey have been the lifeblood of the community here for successive generations and even though we only number six now our importance to the incomes of countless local businesses, through just being a tourist attraction, is unquestionable.”