Day: May 9, 2011

End the Fisheries Discard Disgrace


Subject:  End the Fisheries Discard Disgrace.

Dear Rt Hon David Willetts MP,

As one of your constituents, I am writing to ask you to sign Early Day Motion 1123: Fish Fight campaign, which calls on the new government to eliminate discards from our fisheries.

Discarding is an environmentally and economically damaging practice: up to half of the fish trawled from the North Sea are thrown back dead or dying because of the current quota system imposed by the EU’s disastrous Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) which is due for reform.

I am supporting the Fish Fight campaign because I am deeply concerned about this senseless waste of food and I want this shameful practice to end. The campaign is backed by the fishing industry, environmental groups (including environmental law organisation ClientEarth and the Marine Conservation Society among others), and fast-growing numbers of the general public.

Now it needs all-party government support.

As my representative to parliament, I urge you to add your signature to this Early Day Motion, to show the UK has a united ask for the CFP: end discards.

For your convenience, the text of the Early Day Motion is reproduced below this letter. More information on the campaign can be found at the Fish Fight website.

Thank you for your support,

Yours sincerely

Havant Constituent

Hughs Fish Fight Letter


To Commissioner Damanaki, Members of the European Parliament and all member state governments, 

I have seen images of dead and dying fish discarded in European waters.

I understand that the current Common Fisheries Policy leads to discarding on a vast scale; for example, half of all fish caught in the North Sea are being discarded because of the current quota system imposed by the CFP.

I want this senseless waste of food to end. I want you to use your influence to  stop this unacceptable  and shameful practice.

I am supporting the Fish Fight campaign to help bring about this vital change in our seas.

http://www.fishfight.net/letter/

Sympathy For Cleggy ?


Nick Cleggs position in this coalition government has been tenuous at best right from the very beginning.

He must be really worried now after his parties performance in last weeks elections.

While David Cameron is secretly dancing with glee the Labour party is making suggestions that the Liberal Democrats step down from this government and join them to fight the Conservatives. If that doesn’t sound like an admission that they cannot beat the Conservatives then I don’t know what does.

Surely Nick Clegg will stay where he is. The alternative is obscurity, to join the ranks of the also-rans.

Common Sense Prevails


The British Electorate sounded a resounding “NO” to the Alternative Vote. They voted two to one against the AV and therefore to retain the “first past the post” system that has been in place for the last couple of hundred years.

That was the common sense vote. The only people who would vote for the AV are probably members of the also ran parties. Parties that are so desperate to get into power that they are prepared to gamble that they might win a vote on people’s 2nd choices.

Who on earth would want to be governed by a 2nd choice government ?