Letters Page

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Making the fishing industry sustainable

SIR, – The fishing boat skippers in Scotland should agitate to change the regulations under which they must function. We all want a sustainable industry, but the present system does not work.

Throwing dead fish back into the sea is madness. The Norwegians forbid it. Some market for odd fish would become available, if only to feed fish farms.

Tying up expensive boats is rotten economics. At one time, the Boy Andrew, of Wick, had two crews and returned to port only to offload the catch, restock fuel and food, and change crews. All tie-up should be abolished.

Very extensive areas of the seabed, where fish are known to breed, should be off-limits to netting and scallop dredging. The areas should be clearly defined, seeded with artificial reefs, and be remote from the fishing harbours. Sea angling, long line, and lobster potting in these areas need to be debated. They would be suitable for submarine exercises.

Diesel will get more expensive, so limiting net fishing to areas closer to the ports will be a saving.

All limits on catches should be abolished, so eliminating “black” landing and much policing. If fish stocks fall, the no-fish areas would be increased. Control of the size of net mesh would continue.

The scheme need not apply to all EU waters initially, and could be tried out in Scottish seas as an experiment. This should make it easier to introduce.

Geoff Leet,

8 Burnside,

Thurso.

Concerns of skippers

SIR, – I find it hard to understand why a delegation of skippers from the Scottish White Fish Producers Association (SWFPA) met Fisheries Minister Richard Lochhead to express their feelings about the continued failure of the common fisheries policy (the Press and Journal, October 24).

The Scottish Government is committed to withdrawal and the implementation of an independent and regionally managed fishery.

The SWFPA has failed to support the Scottish Government in its brave and difficult drive to reverse the well-known result of decades of common fishery management that has meant the destruction of most of our fishing communities.

Until such time as the fishermen stop paying more attention to the value of fishing licences and start supporting a Scottish Government policy that cares for the whole of our fishing communities, they can have no argument about how they are being managed.

The SWFPA stance is it is happy with working within the common fisheries policy and it believes it is at the forefront of the UK ministers’ agenda during the shambolic annual fishing negotiations. If that is so, why was our Scottish fisheries minister left out in the cold?

If our Scottish skippers wish to change the fishery management, they should send a clear message to their leaders to give every support to the Scottish Government’s vision of an independent, regionally managed fishery.

Andrew Charles,

19 Crombie Road,

Torry, Aberdeen.

BNP leader on Question Time

SIR, – I do not agree with BNP policy any more than I agree with SNP policy, but Nick Griffin is an elected member of the European Parliament, with over 1million people having voted for the BNP during those elections.

One person on the Question Time programme stated that Mr Griffin was not elected by the majority, because if you added all those who voted for the other parties together they totalled more than those who voted for the BNP. That is a process called democracy, or, as it appears, only as long as it does not apply to the BNP.

I thought that Mr Griffin actually had some concerns that the average person in the UK could relate to – uncontrolled immigration, for instance, not particularly from any one group, but in general.

The fact that Britain chooses to operate an open-border policy while the vast majority of EU member states do not was a point in question.

While Mr Griffin fumbled his way though a pretty tough baptism, surely the one who made a complete fool of himself was Jack Straw, who continued to defend his government’s inability to recognise that the overwhelming majority of people in this overpopulated island of ours are sick to death of the government’s immigration policy.

Jim Hardie,

Monearn Gardens,

Milltimber,

Aberdeen.

‘Missing the point’ on immigration

SIR, – The BBC’s Question Time programme has always been about politicians submitting themselves to a cross-examination by the audience on policy issues – until Thursday night.

Proceedings degenerated rapidly, but there was one golden opportunity to return to policy when immigration was mentioned.

Sadly, they all missed the point.

The argument in favour is seemingly to ensure a satisfactorily sizeable and skilled workforce base to carry the supposed added costs of an ageing population. But we have such a base already, in our dole queues.

That point was made by an audience member; he was ignored.

He could also have observed that we are already embarked on a programme of “upskilling", with unprecedented numbers involved in tertiary education.

Richard Skene,

2 Roundhillock Cottages,

Inverugie,

Peterhead.

News reminiscent of the 1970s

SIR, – Watching the news the other night, I had to check it wasn’t the 1970s.

In a 30-minute broadcast, there were stories on a national strike, far-right politics and footballers with dodgy moustaches.

Political parallels are glaring, too. Jim Callaghan was a worthy but out-of-his-depth former chancellor who took over from a more-charismatic leader. The then Labour government was tired and had bankrupted the nation’s finances.

Do I need to search out my Evil Knievel Stunt Cycle toy, flares and Boney M LPs?

Stewart Whyte,

25 Crombie Acres,

Westhill,

Aberdeenshire.