Seafish, the Sea Fish Industry Authority, today expressed its disappointment with the government’s decision to close the Lyme Bay fishing area.
Fishermen in Lyme Bay have demonstrated for the last two years their willingness and enthusiasm to undertake their activities in a responsible manner that safe-guards marine biodiversity. But as a result of the government’s decision, both trawl and scallop dredge fisheries will be prohibited from traditional fishing grounds in Lyme Bay.
A number of marine experts, including Professor Mike Kaiser (University of Wales, Bangor) Chair of Defra’s Marine Stakeholder Forum and the Government’s own scientific advisors Cefas, have stated that a restricted fishery, rather than an outright ban, was compatible with the bay’s marine conservation interest.
Dr Jon Harman, Development Director at Seafish, said: “The South West coastal fishing industry, particularly the boats that tow fishing nets and dredges to catch flatfish, cod and scallops, have made strenuous efforts over recent years to respect the environmental priorities of Lyme Bay. They have endeavoured to protect key habitats and species by voluntarily closing existing fishing grounds, developing codes of conduct that include non-compliance reporting, and establishing a memorandum of understanding with Natural England to improve communication, information exchange and collaborative working.”
Professor Mike Kaiser, Chair of Defra’s Marine Stakeholder Forum, commented: “International authorities on wildlife conservation, such as the World Commission on Protected Areas, have recognised that the success of Marine Protected Areas relies on stakeholder support for compliance, data gathering and collaboration.”
Dr Harman continued: “We believe that the closure of inshore fishing grounds using the precautionary principle at the extreme lacks good evidence. Furthermore, the refusal to recognise the value of voluntary and well-supported industry measures to protect areas of the seabed not only jeopardises future industry engagement in local marine conservation initiatives, but also contradicts the direction in which fisheries governance is going, which is to encourage fishermen to become environmental stewards or ‘custodians of the sea’.
“The government’s decision today places at least £3 million of Gross Value Added to the local economy under threat. We will continue to work with the government and local industry leaders to determine how best to implement this decision with the lowest possible impact on local jobs and the local community.”
