- Target:
- Voters in the Maidenhead Parliamentary Constituency.
- Region:
- United Kingdom
- Website:
- www.ffl.org.uk
IN THE STREETS OF THE MAIDENHEAD CONSTITUENCY WE HAVE COLLECTED ALMOST A THOUSAND SIGNATURES FOR THE PAPER PETITION, BUT WE NEED PEOPLE TO SIGN THE ON-LINE PETITION. IF YOU LIVE IN THE CONSTITUENCY ASK YOUR NEIGHBOURS AND FRIENDS TO SIGN THIS PETITION.
Seventy percent of the European Union's fish are within the UK's territorial waters: the 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone. Currently the other EU countries are allocated 70% of the fish in the UK's EEZ, leaving the UK with 30%. But it's even worse than that: under EU law foreign fishing vessels are allowed to register in this country and utilise a large part of the UK's fishing quota.
For example one Dutch supertrawler, which has never visited the UK is entitled to nearly a quarter of the English fish quota (1) and foreign owned ships take up to half of the 30%, leaving UK vessels with just 15% (2)&(3). This came about because the European Court forced the British Government to repeal the 1988 Merchant Shipping Act and to pay tens of millions of pound in compensation to foreign fishing companies (4). We need to re-instate the 1988 Merchant Shipping Act, and reclaim our country's fishing zone,
Although the UK has 70% of the EU's fishing assets, we are a net importer of fish. Each fisherman supports several jobs onshore. Reclaiming the UK's EEZ would add billions of pounds to this country's economy and revitalise Britain's ailing coastal towns.
In the past British governments have not supported our fishing industry and have conceded to the EU's demands; this must not continue. A recent article in the Guardian (5) illustrates just how poor governments have been when negotiating for British fishermen: "If we look at quota shares in Channel cod, the French have 84% and Britain has 9%." The Guardian article also refers to Britain's fish exports. But to comply with EU quotas, we export mackerel and herring and import cod! If only, when visiting fish and chip shops, the British public had ordered mackerel and chips, we would not have needed to import from the EU fish caught in our territorial waters! If we reclaim our waters, there would be no need to import fish from the EU, and we would have fish to spare, to export.
1. http://britishseafishing.co.uk/cornelis-vrolijk/
2. http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/half-of-english-fishing-quotas-controlled-by-overseas-firms-9836970.html.
3. http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/tags/Cornelis-Vrolijk
4. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7581
5. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/feb/15/uk-fishermen-may-not-win-waters-back-after-brexit-eu-memo-reveals
To the Prime Minister, The Rt. Honourable Mrs. Theresa May MP for Maidenhead, from one of her constituents:-
I hereby petition the Prime Minister that upon repeal of the European Communities Act 1972, her government should immediately take all necessary measures to allow this Kingdom's fishermen exclusive access to fish in the United Kingdom's 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone, that the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 be reintroduced, and that no part of the European Communities Common Fisheries Policy or Regulations should be adopted in a Great Repeal Bill or introduced in any other legislation in the United Kingdom.
(The Prime Minister's constituency includes Maidenhead, Cookham, Bray, Cox Green, Hurley, Bisham, The Walthams, and the Wokingham Borough Wards of Charvil, Coronation, Twyford, Sonning, Hurst, Wargrave, Ruscombe, and Remenham.)
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The Maidenhead for Fishing petition to Voters in the Maidenhead Parliamentary Constituency. was written by reclaim-our-fish and is in the category Environment at GoPetition.