ANGLERS who catch fish from the Isle of Man’s piers and beaches will have no excuse for keeping under-sized fish in the future. The Department of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries (DEFA) is erecting 20 Fish Identification and Size boards at the Island’s favourite fishing spots, giving clear advice on the species and minimum sizes. DEFA [...]

Ministerial Statement on the creation of a network of Marine Protected Areas (laid in The Scottish Parliament on 1 September 2010). The Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the Act”) created new powers for Scottish Ministers to designate Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Scottish territorial waters in order to protect marine biodiversity and geodiversity and contribute to [...]

The EC announced on 01/09/10 a decision outlining the criteria necessary to achieve ‘Good Environmental Status’ (GES) for Europe’s seas the definition of which is a requirement under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive which aims to achieve GES in all EU marine waters by 2020. According to the EC’s Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik “We want [...]

The Panorama program of 30/08/10 discusses the impact of overfishing and the decline of species on land which has left some experts saying it is getting both harder and more expensive for the UK to feed itself. The Clyde is the subject of a couple of segments (starting 03.30 and 24.00 minutes in) containing interviews [...]

A new book – Water in Burgidale – by Cunningsburgh-based writer Charlie Simpson charts the amazing revolution which has taken place in marine navigation over the past 60 years. Until the mid-20th century navi­gation at sea relied on a combination of observation and memory. Most fishing was done within sight of land, and “meids” were [...]

SIX skippers have admitted making illegal landings worth almost £15 million in the biggest scam in the history of Scotland’s fishing industry. The six included – David Hutchison and  Robert Polson – vice chairman & director of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association who admitted 49 landings totaling £3,698K and 46 landings totaling £3,682K respectively. The [...]

A Swedish government report FISKE2020 on its fishing industry is proposing radical changes to allow a better distribution of fishing rights between the commercial and recreational sectors. The report which is over 120 pages long is published by the Swedish Board of Fisheries which says FISKE2020 aims to provide a basis for the debate on [...]

You may remember the furore from last year when recreational sea angling was dragged into the EU common fisheries policy proposals in the guise of control regulation Article 47. After we led an email campaign and contacted MEP Struan Stephenson, he organized a protest in the European Parliament; this along with the efforts of other [...]

The latest strategic plan by the Environment Agency for England and Wales has shifted from a vision which opened with "a better quality of life for people, and an enhanced environment for wildlife", plus other commitments regarding cleaner air, water and soils, sustainability, climate change adaptation and finally reduced flooding risk, to one with four [...]