Gill Nets

[Paul D]

Was amazed at the reply to the recent Gill Net Petition on the PM website .

 

13 March 2008

 

We received a petition asking:

 

"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Ban the use of gill nets within uk territorial waters and push for a europe wide ban."

 

Details of Petition:

 

"Gill nets can be placed in an area to fish indistriminately until the owner retrieves them. In bad weather this could be a week or more which means the fish is useless, also if lost they keep catching and killing fish needlessly. Most inshore illegal fishing is aided by the use of gill nets and so may help prevent this practise."

 

Read the Government's response

 

The Government appreciates the concerns of the signatories to this petition, but gill nets are in fact a very selective method of fishing, governed by strict rules on target species and providing they are appropriately managed, should limit the scope for discards and indiscriminate fishing. Where there are concerns about their misuse however, local authority Sea Fisheries Committees who have responsibility for fisheries management out to 6 miles from the coasts of England and Wales, can introduce appropriate restrictions through byelaws. The petitioners should therefore approach their respective SFCs to take any necessary action.

 

 

So Southern Sea Fisheries can deal with them I guess ?