Fishing in peril

Industry deserves more support

YORKSHIRE’S FISHING industry has suffered for decades, as foreign competition and quotas on catches have combined to put extreme pressure on those who depend upon the seas for their living.

Now a new threat emerges to the fishing community – the mysterious deaths of thousands of crabs and lobsters. This is a particularly cruel blow for the east coast, since the development of the shellfish industry has been an outstanding success in recent years, with Bridlington now Britain’s leading port for the catch.

It is imperative that the Government works with the industry to establish what is causing the decimation of shellfish and finds solutions to the problem. In the interim, it should also accede to the request by the York-based National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations for financial aid. In common with farming, fishing is one of those industries that receives scant Government attention. In the case of both, ministers seem somehow to believe that they will survive and prosper without backing.

That is not the case. Just as our farmers deserve to have the special and demanding nature of their work understood and supported, so do our fishermen.

Their survival – and the economies of the east coast ports that are home to their vessels – is an issue that should receive much more help from the Government.

Ministers should treat these unexplained shellfish deaths and the effect on the fishing communities as a matter that demands urgent action. Livelihoods, as well as the ecology of the sea, depend upon that happening.