Letter TT - Response to Steen's fishing article Sept 04

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Sat 25th Sep 2004

Dear Editor,

Mr. Steen's comments on the Common Fisheries Policy in his recent column highlight many of the problems that exist, and there is much with which I can agree. It is a scandal that we throw back huge quantities of excellent fish through the discard system. It is a scandal that we continue to allow pair trawling for bass with the subsequent slaughter of dolphins. It is a scandal that quotas are set on an annual basis with little or no regard for the views of fisherman or experts in the region.

However, it is naïve to suggest that we can unilaterally pull out of the Common Fisheries Policy. There is no legal mechanism to do so and it is hardly likely that foreign fisherman are going to respect a self imposed 200 mile or median line limit. Are we going to go back to gun boat diplomacy and the days of the Icelandic cod wars?

For better or worse we are in the Common Fisheries Policy, and don't forget we had a Conservative Government when it was introduced in 1982. It has to be changed from within. We must change the quota system and stop ministers having an annual haggle behind closed doors. We must continue to campaign for a ban on pair trawling for bass and, most fundamentally of all we must ensure that local fishermen have a real say in how fishing is managed. That is the Liberal Democrat position. It is, after all, Liberal Democrat M.P.s and M.E.Ps who have lead the fight in the European Parliament for a pair trawling ban.

I am delighted that Mr. Steen judges Europe on its merits. That is precisely the Liberal Democrat view. Where European Legislation is successful and in our interests we support it. Where we disagree we seek to change and modify, often with considerable success.

Yours sincerely,

Mike Treleaven

Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate - Totnes Constituency