Fishing as usual

There's hardly any fish left on the sea.... but we stumble on, blindly ignorant...

Cognitive dissonance, or just wilful ignorance? The European Commission has declated that EU ;cod< fishing quotas are to be the same as last year.

This is despite being advised by scientists that cod is completely overfished, and that all north sea cod fishing should cease, otherwise a fishery collapse will ensue.

Mind you, this was the recommendation last year too, but there was still an official catch of 22,659 tonnes.

More from New Scientist>>

Only a total ban on cod fishing will prevent a total collapse in populations of cod in Europe, according to new data to be presented to Europe's politicians on Friday.
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Cod fishing in northern Europe must be totally abandoned, because fish populations are on the brink of collapse, say the scientists who advise the European Commission.
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Proposals to slash North Sea cod quotas by more than half may do little to protect dwindling stocks, say fisheries experts.
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Quotas agreed for 2002 European Union fish catches will prevent further decimation of stocks, but will not allow critical species to recover, the European Commission says.
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Complete collapse of North Atlantic fishing predicted
The entire North Atlantic is being so severely overfished that it may completely collapse by 2010, reveals the first comprehensive survey of the entire ocean's fishery.
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Discussion on p45rant.com >>

(Thanks to MagicBastarder for the links)

UPDATE 11 December 2003
Fishermen giving out 11,000 free fish in Antwerp. Fishermen warned that the livelihoods of 200,000 people are at stake. "Europe's fishing industry is going to collapse," said a spokesman.
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BBC: French fishermen have lifted their blockade of the port of Calais.

Their action was part of a wider protest by EU trawlers who are opposing plans to cut fishing quotas.
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