CHOUGHS HAVE RETURNED TO PENWITH THEIR SPIRITUAL HOME.

Saturday was a glorious day following a fine week when spring well and truly sprang, to have actually had two definitive seasons in their due time since last years appalling summer seems to have reset the  growth clocks of plants, so that for the first time in many years they actuallly know where they are. A couple of weeks ago much of the countryside was brown and dreary blasted by wind and frost during the long harsh winter months we are now emerging from.

Suddenly the long period of enforced dormancy has exploded into a riot of growth with at least forty shades of green systematically snuffing out the drab uniform beige of winter. Have the incredible magnolias or camelias or for that matter gorse and celandines that thrive in our part of the world ever looked better?

What a great pity that humanity cannot experience a similar rapid change of  season allowing new growth to displace the incredible amount of deadwood our often vexatious species seems to accumulate. This  is particularly relevant in the political spectrum given the impending election which, tragically, singularly fails to inspire any great degree of confidence or indeed optimism. Its more a matter of  holding ones nose while trying to decide who willl be the least bad choice to deal with the immense problems that have manifested themselves in the recent past.

Enough of that, this is timeless Cornwall, its spring and a time for optimsm, however bad things are or might get its all been seen before, we are still hanging in there albeit in reduced numbers as inward migration swells Cornwalls overall population in tune with Government imposed targets and housing quotas.

I had a particularly rewarding mission pencilled in to keep a promise made on St Pirans day to my Father in Law who at eighty five on that auspicious day is not as well as he was until recently. He wanted to see, possibly for the final time, the Cot Valley at St Just where in the 1920’s his Father, the renowned Captain John Gribbin, managed the small Wheal Hermon mine at the foot of the valley close by Porth Nanvan which is famous for its distinctive rounded granite boulders. Incidentally Capn John also managed the much larger Killifreth mine at Chacewater, of which Hawkes Shaft is considered the queen of engine houses on account of its graceful tall and slender chimney. As well as this he worked in India and Ashanti in Ghana, now the biggest gold mine in the world with in excess of 120 shafts of which he was involved in the sinking of the first.

HAWKES SHAFT ENGINE HOUSE AT KILLIFRETH WITH ITS GRACEFUL TALL STACK.

We got there by the scenic route from Marazion to Newlyn where even though frail he managed a portion of Jewells lemon sole and chips along with a tub of Jelberts ice cream topped with proper cream as we watched the world go by from the end of Newlyn’s New Pier. On through Mousehole to Lamorna by the backroad through Castallack to rejoin the main road at Lamorna Gate and on to Penberth Valley. There are always roadside flower stalls in the valley, that  in spring, sell the most amazing varieties of daffodil, of the type rarely seen in supermarkets, they are picked later in fuller bud so that they last longer in the vase. Having purchased a few bunches payment was made into the honesty box which is now securely fastened down to deter potential tea leaves who would have the lot away otherwise (what a sad reflection on current times).

A quick detour to the Minack at Porthcurno to look at the beautiful bay in the warm spring sunshine lifted our spirits even further for the final leg to St Just via Lands End and Sennen. I love entering St Just which can at first sight seem grey and dismal but which in reality is vibrant and surprisingly large, a real town rather than a village that boasts a mighty mining legacy which is now part of the World Heritage site.

At the top of Cot Valley, freshly turned out, up to their guts in lush new grass we passed the younger part of a beautiful herd of ruby red Devon cattle owned by the Thomas Family whose stock usually sweep the board at agricultural shows and produce the finest traditional beef from an amazing landscape on the ridge that straddles the Cot and Kenidjack Valleys. Next port of call was Botallack to take the unmade coastal by-way past the Crowns to Levant. In a  verysmall bare field between the track and the cliff I spotted a “crow” probing the soil with its beak, closer approach revealed this to be no ordinary crow, for the first time in my life I was face to face with a wild Chough, Cornwalls fabled National Bird. It eventually flew inland flapping its wings and undulating in the manner of a large butterfly, then suddenly from the opposite direction a flock of five or six appeared flying in front of us towards the fearsome drop at the cliff edge. To say that this made our day was an understatement, it was something I was not expecting, a real symbol of renewal perhaps an omen of better things to come?

The rest was an anticlimax after that show, the coastroad to St Ives via Zennor is never dreary but we were homeward bound, in St Day I drove the Old Man into the graveyard so he could watch me putting the flowers on the graves of his Wife who passed away recently and two Sons who died in tragic circumstances over twenty years ago. This was a fitting end to a memorable day made up of all the right ingredients to bring some little pleasure to the Old Mans restricted life since he was forced to give up his car.

LONG MAY OUR ICONIC NATIONAL BIRD SOAR ABOVE THE CORNISH CLIFFS.

AERIAL VIEW OF THE HARBOUR WHERE PASSIONS HAVE BEEN RUNNING SO HIGH BECAUSE THERE ARE SEVERAL VIEWS AS TO WHAT IS BEST FOR PENZANCE.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would warm to or indeed appreciate the, to me, previously irritating phenomenon of “tweeting”. However after previously suffering from a “Meldrewesque” sense of outrage that Cornwall Councillors were tweeting in the Council Chamber during meetings, this afternoons real time reporting via a series of tweets  relating to the meeting of the Cornwall Council Strategic Planning Committee forced me to revise my opinion of Twitter.

Unable to make the crucial planning meeting, I saw on the excellent “This is Cornwall” website that twitter was being used to disseminate the latest titbits from the fast moving hard hitting debate as the drama unfolded, I took a look and was soon hooked by the constant bite size updates that were flashing up on my screen.

The fractious, convoluted and needlessly costly, long delayed, process to build a ferry terminal to serve the Isles of Scilly has finally been approved by Cornwall Councils Srategic Planning Committee marking a significant victory for commonsense, laying bare, in the process, the flawed arguments of a collection of vociferous granite hugging recidivists who came so close to blighting the future of Penzance as a living breathing constantly evolving  commercial Port.

The “Friends of Penzance Harbour’s hollow victory at the previous Planning meeting in December was the final straw for the sensible silent majority who suddenly realised that they needed to nail their colurs to the mast and urgently get their case across. Subsequently a lot of latent support has emerged for option A while Mr Maggs and his cohorts have rehashed the same tired arguments ad nauseum.

It increasingly appears to have been a good strategy to have let Mr Maggs have his say for so long as most right minded people soon saw through the very flawed arguments that he peddled with such evangelical fervour, eventually, as is always the case, he became yesterdays news, by having nothing new to say the Gentleman simply became tedious.

Hopefully todays good news will become the catalyst needed to kickstart Mounts Bay’s long awaited, desperately needed renaissence, being the first step towards realising its stunning marine based economic potential. 

At the very least the bruising process thus far has been a rip roaring, rollicking example of democracy in the raw, neither side have any room to complain that their arguments were not fully and frankly aired, in the end, quite simply the best argument carried the day but it was close. It certainly reinforces the fact that the silent majority must never be complacent while organisations like the “Friends of Penzance Harbour” take it upon themselves to speak for us, ignore the likes of them at your peril. 

THE HOTLY DISPUTED FERRY TERMINAL LOCATION IS NOT ACTUALLY VISIBLE FROM THE TOWN.

THE BEN LOYAL – A CLASSIC SCOTTISH BUILT SEINE NETTER BASED IN NEWLYN AS A TANGLE NETTER FOR MANY YEARS NOW HEADING BACK TO NEWLYN TO FISH ALBACORE TUNA IN BISCAY.

In my former career I was a fisherman, after 24 successful years ashore I have taken the decision to invest in a company to fish albacore tuna in the Bay of Biscay, this is a seasonal fishery which takes place during the summer and early autumn from north of the Azores to west of Ireland following the albacore’s annual northerly migration along the edge of the European continental shelf.

This decision has not been taken in haste, there has been a lot of research involved into this exciting fishery which the Spanish or more particularly Basque fishermen have prosecuted in the same manner for around three centurys. There is so much gloom and doom around currently but I am convinced that things are at or very near rock bottom, to affirm my conviction that there is a future it is necessary to put my money where my mouth is and wholeheartedly back a fledgling enterprise that dares to be different. A fishery that is fuel efficient, does not create any discards or harm other sea life in any way must be encouraged to move forward.

LINE CAUGHT ALBACORE STRAIGHT FROM THE OCEAN, THE QUARRY FOR THE BEN LOYAL.

Newlyn boats have been involved in this fishery for several years with varying degrees of success, originally using drift nets which were banned on environmental grounds by the EU. After a break when no British vessels took part  a small albacore trolling fishery has evolved out of Newlyn mirroring the methods of a substantial Spanish fleet which continues to fish albacore very sucessfully.

The search for a suitable vessel was not straightforward as certain hull characteristics are necessary which are not a feature of modern boats, generally built with trawling in mind, to conform with EU dictated size constraints. The number of suitable older vessels was decimated by various decommissioning schemes designed to reduce the fleet, this actually led to the huge ongoing problem with so called rule beaters, many of which were built with the money from decommissioned larger vessels.

To sucessfully troll for albacore a vessel needs to move through the water while creating the absolute minimum underwater noise signature which means fine hull lines and a quiet engine and propellor, in this respect the Ben Loyal ticks every box apart from age as she was built in 1960. She is powered by a legendary Gardner 8L3B engine which is very fuel efficient and utterly reliable, the fishroom is modern with superb refrigeration to ensure catch freshness in warm summer conditions and the wheelhouse and accomodation are are of a high standard to ensure crew comfort on long trips.

Another plus in the Ben Loyals favour was the fact that she already has a track record albacore trolling  in  her previous ownership which could be significant if licensing or quota rules change. It is fully understood that she will only work during the trolling season however this period will hopefully be intensive unlike the  netters who effectively only work for half the year anyway due to tidal constraints.

Knowing how well the vessels hull was maintained by previous owners indicated that despite her age she was worth a further look, yesterday she was slipped at Tom’s Yard at Polruan for a full survey to be carried out. This afternoon the surveyor reported that the survey, for insurance purposes, was very satisfactory so the money changed hands and the Ben Loyal passed into the ownership of Cornish Tuna. com Ltd of which I am a director along with Quentin Knights who has been a major player in the development of the fledgling Cornish albacore trolling fishery.

This encouraging news initiates the next piece of the jigsaw as  the planned pre season refit proceeds over the next eight or nine weeks so that fishing can commence during the first week of May. We will be paying a visit to Bermeo later in March to collect the specialised Basque style equipment which has worked well on the other two vessels Nova Spero and Charisma. The Ben Loyals previous owner had been using American style gear which Quentin never rated highly, given Quentins proven track record in this job I am happy to accept his judgement on preferred gear types and methodology. Hopefully it will also be possible at the same time to catch up with the local fishermen who have been so helpful to us in the past.

Quentin has establshed that albacore can be successfully caught by Cornish boats prepared to learn the Basque methods, great credit is due to the Basque fishermen from Bermeo who have offered Quentin and his colleagues every assistance to learn the methods they so successfully employ.

BERMEO, SIMILAR IN SIZE TO NEWLYN, IS THE TUNA CAPITAL OF BISCAY, BERMEO FISHERMEN HAVE DONE SO MUCH TO ASSIST THE CORNISH SUCCESSFULLY CATCH ALBACORE BY TROLLING.

The biggest obstacle to the long term viability of this highly sustainable single species fishery has been marketing, early on Newlyn merchants seemed unable or unwilling to create outlets prepared to pay a realistic price for the high quality line (sustainably) caught produce from this wonerful niche fishery, this I feel will prove to be their loss in the long term. Plymouth Trawler Agents saved the day at that time but despite a lot of effort were still unable to place the large quantities of fish on an ongoing basis while the merchants continued to treat the fish as an occasional windfall that they were unwilling to pay a decent price for.

The situation was salvaged by one forward thinking firm of merchants, who recognising the considerable potential for a unique niche premium product, offered a viable fixed price for all the albacore landed. Unfortunately the appalling 2009 summer ensured that, for Cornish boats, the season ended early as the boats switched back to tangle netting. This year is highly unlikely to be as bad as last summer which broke so many records for its sheer awfulness which, apparently, was due to a rare shift of the high altitude jetstream. During August and September 2009 a long Indian summer saw heavy albacore catches west of Ireland for those Basque, French and Irish boats that had persevered which, unfortunately, the Cornish boats missed. High pressure is the key factor in albacore behaviour, warm sunny conditions bring them to the surface where they are caught by the trolling boats.

2010 will be a make or break year for Cornwall with regard to this fishery, the Ben Loyal is effectively a “one trick pony” she has a category C licence which effectively only allows her to fish albacore tuna. Given the real possibility of a normal summer weather pattern this is a viable option, the more so with sufficient quota available and a fixed price agreed for the catch.

MODERN BASQUE ALBACORE TROLLERS IN BERMEO HARBOUR - PURPOSE DESIGNED TO FISH IN A HIGHLY SUSTAINABLE ECO FRIENDLY MANNER - A FAR CRY FROM THE TYPICAL BRITISH PERCEPTION OF SPANISH FISHERMEN WHO, IN REALITY, ARE IN SO MANY RESPECTS LIGHT YEARS AHEAD OF US.

My carefully considered investment will not as a sleeping partner, fishing a long way from home dictates that boats engaged in this exciting fishery in clear blue deep Biscay waters must carry two tickets or certificates of competency, due to the upheavals experienced by the industry in recent years tickets are in short supply as so many have left the industry and few youngsters are bothering to qualify. My ticket has been dormant for too long given the brain twanging involved in getting it, so for better or worse I will be playing an active role in the venture at sea.

I regard it as a last great adventure before I get too old, I am sure we can catch the fish given reasonable summer weather. We intend focusing on the marketing angle which is the key element to real long term success, telling the story of this adventure will hopefully encourage potential customers to sample this superb fish caught sustainably in an eco friendly manner without harm to other fish, dolphins or birds.

Follow the adventure here and at www.cornishtuna.com or www.newlyn.info we hope we keep you all informed and entertained in the coming months.

THE BEN LOYALS CLASSIC LINES DEFINE A SUPERB SEA BOAT MORE THAN CAPABLE OF HANDLING THE POOR WEATHER THAT WILL INEVITABLY BE ENCOUNTERED FROM TIME TO TIME, THE OLD MAXIM “IF IT LOOKS RIGHT IT PROBABLY IS RIGHT” COULD HAVE BEEN COINED WITH HER IN MIND.

On a personal level I have probably assumed the popularity of wind broken within a space suit which tends to indicate that things may just be going the right way as the opposition exhibit distinct signs of transferring their weight onto the back foot. I am in favour of the admittedly second rate option A only due to the lack of funding for, or indeed time to create  anything more inspirational, which is a sad symptom of the  true state of our currently beleaguered little Country. If this scheme were proposed elsewhere on Europes Atlantic Arc it would have been embraced with panache and delivered expeditiously complete with the obligatory large notice bragging about how much dosh had been screwed out of Brussels (I have the photo’s to prove it)

THIS IS THE  CONSTRUCTION PHASE OF THE RECENTLY COMPLETED NEW FISH MARKET AT LLANES ASTURIAS NORTHERN SPAIN A PORT THE SIZE OF MOUSEHOLE AND HOME TO A SMALL FLEET OF ULTRA MODERN BOATS. THIS IS THE FINAL PHASE OF A COMPLETELY REBUILT HARBOUR THAT MAKES BATTERY ROCKS LOOK LIKE A TWO BIT SIDESHOW.

A SAMPLE OF THE BOATS BASED IN LLANES

 A SHOT OF THE OUTER WALL WHICH ABSORBS THE FULL FURY OF THE FREQUENT NORTHERLY STORMS.

ANOTHER SHOT ILLUSTRATING THE SCALE AND VISION EVIDENT BROUGHT TO FRUITION BY ENTHUSIASM AND PRIDE FOR GODS SAKE WAKE UP PENZANCE AND REJECT THE FALSE PROPHETS AND SNAKE OIL SALESMEN.

 Contrary to the blog post shown  below I am quite capable of independent thought and am not in cahoots with anybody except Mr C Sense who contrary to rumour does cling to life despite the best efforts of the PC  brigade to finish him off.

Welcome to our newsletter.

 Hi  home

An anonymous email was sent to me with the most disturbing contents.

Basically Penzance and District Tourism Association, Chamber of Commerce Mike Waters, Councillor Graeme Hicks and Tim Wood from Route Partnership are all meeting up at 7.30pm in the Penzance Newlyn RFC in Alexandra Road with their new found friends from Consol Oil. It seems that this Kerrier based oil company is teaming up with the aforementioned to try to put together a plan to over turn the decision of the strategic planning committee. The email goes on to mention that plan “A” is the only plan that they will accept and are quite prepared to waste even more time and tax payers money to find a away to put pressure on the democratic process.

Funny how Route Partnership are quite prepared to meet with these people and associations but refused point blank to meet at the public meeting….. so more behind the scenes pressure coming up then.

The email sums up with a comment from Mike Waters who suggests that those supporting plan “C” have “shot their bolt” and they have a clear way forward to manipulate businesses through forming their own pressure group.

Kevin Bennetts sums up his observations of us all as “very selfish and small minded”

Sorry the news isn’t great… but we do hope you all have a fantastic New Years Eve and we’ll see you on the other side.

Please send this email to everyone you can!

The Picture Penzance Team

FOOTNOTE:-

 CHAPS &CHAPPESSES WHO CIRCULATED OR RECIEVED THE ABOVE, WASTING TAXPAYERS MONEY??? THATS A LITTLE BIT RICH IN VIEW OF THE MONEY THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN WASTED AS A RESULT OF YOUR SHENANIGANS WHICH JUDGING BY THE COMMOTION AT THE ACORN AMOUNTED TO MOB RULE. OR IS IT OK FOR YOU UNTIL A FEW OF US DECIDE WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR NONESENSE AND JUSTIFIABLY FIRE BACK.

REMEMBER THIS  -IF AS A RESULT OF A TRULY DEMOCRATIC PROCESS YOUR WILL DOES EVENTUALLY PREVAIL AND THE ENTIRE PROJECT COLLAPSES YOU WILL HAVE BEEN THE ONES WHO CAUSED SO MUCH TAXPAYERS MONEY TO DISAPPEAR DOWN THE PLUGHOLE FOR ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN RETURN BAR A GAPING HOLE IN THE ECONOMY OF PENZANCE.

A COPY OF MY REPLY TO ANDREW GEORGE WHO I RESPECT FOR FINALLY ENGAGING IN A MEANINGFUL MANNER.

Dear Andrew

I do appreciate the poisoned chalice you are required to sometimes drink from but it’s a tough old world we are forced to share and we all have our crosses to bear.

 I put it to you again that there are parallels between Helford and Penzance insofar that, actually, Penzance also has planning approval by way of the Harbour Revision Order. I do appreciate the depth of feeling currently coursing through the streets of Penzance but that is carefully orchestrated hysteria. You ought to bear in mind that part of me originates from the same gene pool as the Bennetts Shipping dynasty, the welare of Penzance and its Harbour is instinctive to me.

 I operate in the real unforgiving world of a small family business that survives like a barnacle on a storm battered North Coast rock by playing hardball whenever necessary. I have until a few weeks ago refrained from becoming involved in this as I have been deeply involved in trying to inject some commonsense into that other disaster zone across the Bay.

 I am a North Coast Cornishman, a Perraner whose greatest privelige in life was to be born Cornish. My education was sound but basic, from farming I graduated to fishing gaining my skippers ticket in my mid twenties, I also did a brief spell underground at Mount Wellington. All of these traditional Cornish occupations have been decimated and emasculated by the global economy and politics. My life seems to have been one long series of effing retreats so in my current incarnation it is time as a Cornishman to make a stand.

 I am not a lunatic fringe bitter and twisted Nationalist, I have never had the time to learn Kernewick, but I do feel very priveliged to be in a position where I can contribute to our local economy in a productive worthwhile manner.

 My job is to run my business and time is precious, that said there comes a point where one has to become involved to a degree in public life, I am non political and non denominational believing both issues create more problems than they solve, so I can hopefully operate outside the box, dealing with practicalities that actually generate wages.

 You allege that I resort to name calling, I reserve the right to call a spade a spade without rancour, I presume that in this case you are referring to my description of certain people as psuedo academic blow ins. I reassert that in my opinion exactly this type of person has degraded my identity as a Cornishman because deep down I sense that they despise me and my kind, I experience it first hand in the course of my work on a regular basis. The term blow in was I believe coined by the Irish in their inimitable way, I am thus comfortable to use it as both my Great Grandmothers were Irish.

 I agree wholeheartedly that it is not the job of an MP or indeed Government to micro manage, what is required is stewardship and throughout our National life this is sadly lacking, I feel this as a productive taxpayer, totally abandoned and let down by a system of which you and your fellow MP’s are a major constituent.

 I am not a journalist but I do try my best to check facts, I presume you refer to the Scillies and Christmas Cards? My source was an article in the Western Morning News of the 26/10/09 which referred to the Scillies Councils disgruntlement with the progress of the Penzance end of the link and their reported rejection of you as an MP. With the best will in the world referring to an MP’s office of any complexion will invariably elicit a response that is bang on message and so often patently waffle, designed to deflect, that is why I and many others are so utterly disillusioned with you all. At the end of the day any story is a product of the writers interpretation and we all see things differently.

 FACT IF THE SCILLIES FERRY SERVICE RELOCATES TO FALMOUTH 50% OF PENZANCE HARBOUR REVENUE WILL VAPORIZE WITHOUT THE UNQUANTIFIABLE COLATTERAL DAMAGE TO THE TOWN ITSSELF.

 FACT THE HSE COULD CLOSE THE CURRENT PENZANCE FREIGHT OPERATION AT A MINUTES NOTICE GIVEN THE PRESENT UNSUITABILITY IN WHICH ALL OUR STAFF ARE CURRENTLY FORCED TO OPERATE TO MAINTAIN A SERVICE TO OUR CUSTOMERS.

FACT THE PENZANCE HARBOUR REVISION ORDER ACTUALLY ALLOWS THE DEVELOPMENT TO PROCEED, THE DECISION OF THE STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITTEE IS ACTUALLY A RECOMMENDATION THAT HAS TO BE RATIFIED BY THE FULL COUNCIL.

 FACT ACROSS THE BAY IN NEWLYN THE PORT IS BEING MALADMINISTERD WITH APPARENT IMPUNITY FREE OF ANY VISIBLE SANCTION BY THE GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT RESPONSIBLE.

 FACT IN ALL THESE VEXATIOUS ISSUES THERE HAVE BEEN NO MEANINGFUL SOLUTIONS BROUGHT FORWARD, THIS IS NOT MICRO MANAGEMENT, THIS IS SIMPLY BAD STEWARDSHIP THAT THEY HAVE  BEEN POINTEDLY IGNORED OVER TIME BY THOSE RESPONSIBLE.

 I would much prefer not to make comments about others, in a perfect world it would not be necessary, however in this scenario we are forced to play hardball because softball has not delivered. In conflict you must be prepared to receive incoming fire, I never ever start a war of words that I do not have a much better than evens chance of winning. All of this is conducted hopefully in a civilized good humoured manner but my pseudo academic opponents must always bear in mind, and allow for the fact, that I am merely an ignorant CORNISHMAN with his back to the wall who ALWAYS fights to win.

 I USED TO BE AN CYNICAL OPTIMIST BUT LIFE HAS TURNED ME INTO AN OPTIMISTIC CYNIC.

 Best regards

 Kevin Bennettts

 —–Original Message—–

From: Andrew George [mailto:wordpress@consolsoils.co.uk]

Sent: 31 December 2009 08:35

To: kevin

Subject: [Consols Oils] Comment: “JUST AN AFTERTHOUGHT BUT IS PENZANCE HARBOUR HELFORD JETTY ALL OVER AGAIN MR ANDREW GEORGE MP?”

 New comment on your post #1580 “JUST AN AFTERTHOUGHT BUT IS PENZANCE HARBOUR HELFORD JETTY ALL OVER AGAIN MR ANDREW GEORGE MP?”

Author : Andrew George (IP: 86.138.47.189 , host86-138-47-189.range86-138.btcentralplus.com)

E-mail : georgea@parliament.uk

URL    :

Whois  : http://ws.arin.net/cgi-bin/whois.pl?queryinput=86.138.47.189

Comment:

Dear Kevin,

It is kind of you to write at such length. I always welcome honest debate – no matter how robust – providing that it is based on fact.

 The Helford Jetty issue (on which I expect we agree and in which I certainly was and am still involved) is not comparable with Pz Harbour. The planning committee approved Helford but rejected Pz.

 It should not be the job of a MP to micromanage projects which are the responsibility of another tier of Govt. to deliver. I’m more involved in Newlyn than you appear to be aware of. No criticism of you for that. I’d be happy to supply some facts before you ventilate.

 Some of the information you may seek, or at least check, before pronouncements can be found on my website.

 I cannot insist that the media report what I do. When they do they often embellish or twist. Anyone can ask me or my office at any time.

 You will see that I was involved in helping to set this project up at it’s inception. I warned that the Pz Harbour plans may not be ‘politically deliverable’ back in August. The response was an astonishing mix of tantrums and name calling. It gives me no satisfaction to point out that my warnings were proven accurate. If the Councils had spent time dealing with the substance of my concerns rather than on hystrionics we’d be moving to the construction phase around now. These were not decisions for Parliament.

 I note you still wish to make comments about others. My advice is to avoid the froth. Check facts. And avoid saying anything for effect in public about anyone which you would not be prepared to say privately to them. Most folk find that unpleasant comments of a personal nature reflects more on the person making them than on those they are aimed at.

 I’d be pleased to meet. Please contact my office.

 Kernow bys vykken

 Andrew

 Andrew George MP

You can see all comments on this post here:

http://www.consolsoils.co.uk/blog/?p=1580#comments

A HAPPY HEALTHY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL MAY THE BEST SOLUTION FOR CORNWALL IN GENERAL BUT PENZANCE AND SCILLY IN PARTICULAR EVENTUALLY EMERGE.

It is actually outrageous how these people can prevail when it is so obvious that self interest and introspection drive the agenda riding roughshod over local needs and opinion. Perhaps it is Cornwalls fault that the local population ground down by decades of second rate leadership and the negativity it brought upon us all invariably seems to sit idly by and let these awful people dictate policy. It is a pretty safe bet that they would not get away with it in France or Spain as their numerous EU funded maritime development projects testify.

Penzance cannot continue to exist in an hermetically sealed time warp in the genre of the well known work by Gilbert and Sullivan, things must evolve to cater for changing needs that reflect the past while embracing the future in a confident competent manner that serves the needs of the majority.

Andrew George is still remarkably silent on the outcome of this issue, if he straddles the fence much longer he could do himself a very nasty mischief, still its a pretty safe bet that he is not on many Scillonians Christmas card lists this year.

I love it when people take the trouble to comment on blog postings, even when things get a little controversial, it livens proceedings up a tad. Got a real beauty this morning from some  Bod in Penzance with a Polish sounding name who in the manner of a human flame thrower directed his vituperation in the direction of Cornwall Councillor Graeme Hicks, the portfolio holder charged with negotiating the Isles of Scilly Ferry Terminal Minefield.

I have no doubt that Councillor Hicks is entirely capable of fighting his own corner without assistance from anyone else, his electorate love him for his legendary reluctance to call a spade a shovel, no doubt he is just as capable of absorbing incoming fire as he is of dishing it out, in a nutshell if you cannot handle straight talking it is better not to tangle with Councilor Graeme Hicks.

We approach the end of yet another year with nothing positive to report on the Mounts Bay maritime revitalisation front, Penzance Ferryport is currently scuppered, with all the implications that holds for Scillonians.

How strange that as is so often the case in Cornwall controversies such as the one in Penzance appear to be driven by vociferous minorities adept at mobilising their own kind to mount ferocious opposition campaigns to anthing that is not to their liking and damn the consequences for others, confident that the “squeakiest wheel” will invariably get the most oil.

Of further significance these people coincidentally often seem to be unwaged or otherwise economically inactive often materialising from an academic or civil service background. This automaticallyputs them at a distinct advantage to those of us who work long hours and are therefore unable to devote the time to airing these issues that we would otherwise wish.

What a great pity that they do not excercise their considerable organisational abilities in a more generally productive manner such as fighting the iniquity of second homes or the lack of dignified employment that offers respectable wages for those less fortunate locals. Could it be that many of these people are in reality second home owners with an undisclosed interest that relies on the low wage Penwith economy to cushion their existence and tend their interests on the cheap?

It is high time local businesses like Consols employing local people on decent wages and conditions of work mobilsed to counter these inherently selfish people who are so adept at stifling any dissent they encounter to secure their objectives without any regard whatsoever for the wider community that houses the silent majority.

WE ARE THE ECONOMICALLY ACTIVE BUT WE ALSO CARE PASSIONATELY ABOUT THE PLACE WHERE WE WERE BORN AND LOVE, HOWEVER WE ALSO HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE EMPLOYMENT,OUR VIEWS ARE ALSO RELEVANT, IF UNPOPULAR WITH THOSE WHO SEEK TO STOP THE FERRY TERMINAL, EVEN IF WE DO FIND IT DIFFICULT TO MAKE TIME TO ORGANISE OURSELVES IN THE MANNER THESE VEXATIOUS WINDBAGS IN PENZANCE DO.

THESE SELFSAME PEOPLE ARE SERIOUSLY THREATENING THE FRAGILE SCILLONIAN ECONOMY BY FORCING THROUGH AN INHERENTLY FLAWED SOLUTION TO THE VITAL FERRY LINK TO THE ISLANDS AND ALIENATING THE LONG AFFINITY BETWEEN PENZANCE AND SCILLY IN THE PROCESS.

1)         As an ex professional fisherman holding a skippers certificate  of competency I maintain a strong interest in the marine environment and the Cornish fishing industry as it still provides valuable business for me as a service provider to the marine  sector.

2)        I am also very fortunate and priveliged to be a member of Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee where I represent the interests of recreational sea angling which gives me an insight of the complex conservation and management issues that currently bedevil the fishing sector.

3)        In any discussion with regard to fisheries policy it is an essential prerequisite that all engaging in the process accept unreservedly that the RESOURCE is paramount, without vibrant healthy seas supporting abundant fish stocks, marine organisms and bird life anything else is pointless, this necessarily dictates that narrow sectional interests or political dogma must never take precedence over the well being of that resource.

4)        Fisheries and the marine environment must be regarded as a bank account where the harvest equates to the drawing of interest, the moment the capital is tapped the whole structure will start to unravel.

5)        Any fishing method or system that needs to draw on the capital to function by depleting stocks beyond sustainability is doomed and morally damned from the start.

6)        Sensible, competent and equitable regulation must be the cornerstone of all future conservation initiatives for all rather than the present thoroughly discredited regime which has, over time, descended into the realms of madness.

7)        That the reviled Common Fisheries Policy has been an unmitigated social environmental and financial disaster encapsulating badly drafted, destructive and inherently insensitive regulation over an extended time-frame is beyond reasonable dispute.

8)        This is seen to a large extent to be due to the intransigence of  officials, who, being controlled by politicians not always fully on top of their brief, have wilfully persisted with policies that whilst probably well intentioned were  non-the-less patently flawed from day one.

9)        One definition of officialdom states “that it takes a simple issue and makes it complicated”, this, to a layman with long practical experience, seems to be true, there has invariably been a mindset of steely administrative inflexibility that has over this period ruled out any form of compromise or willingness to fine tune events to evolving circumstances regardless of demonstrably developing adverse consequences.

10)      However well intentioned the original concept of the CFP may have been this regime of badly formulated insensitive micro management will invariably foster a sense of injustice resentment and outright hostility by those who suffer as a result of poor policy decisions taken in places remote from unfolding events by poorly briefed politicians and civil servants, this is reinforced by the universal hostility to it, that has resulted.

11)        Together the European Commission and DEFRA ’s officials have succeeded in laying waste to fishing communities and infrastructure  throughout Europe, wrecking businesses and lives at the heart of these communities in  the process, while the economy and environment in these regions has continued to deteriorate at an accelerating pace as desperate people fought to survive the regulatory onslaught.

12)       At the epicentre of this catastrophe has been the inherently flawed quota system which has led to the dumping of un-quantifiable amounts of fish at sea over the period that quotas have been in force, ostensibly for “conservation” purposes.

13)      This incredible example of the disastrous consequences of administrators, charged with the regulation of a living resource that will never respect arbitary  lines drawn by politicians pens on maps, being given free rein, was in reality, morally and economically bankrupt from its inception, insofar that it did not and never could conserve a single fish.

14)       Until recently Brussels has placed great reliance on what has predictably proven to be flawed science that paid scant regard to evidence on the fishing grounds whilst continuing to set ever tighter quotas which have only exacerbated the discard problem to an alarming degree.

15)      This is especially true in the mixed fisheries prosecuted in the English Channel, Western Approaches and Bristol Channel by vessels from Devon and Cornwall along with those from France, Spain, Belgium and Holland.

16)       The European Commission in Brussels and DEFRA in English territorial waters, having belatedly woken up to the futility of previous policy currently seem to be exhibiting clear signs of increasing desperation at both National and European level as  the latent wrath of citizens, increasingly aware of the folly perpetrated in their names, focuses on the collective failings of those whose stewardship has proven so dire.

17)      This is clearly the motive behind the unaccustomed willingness of politicians and fisheries administrators to suddenly consult all and sundry on the best way forward in order to hopefully develop a future policy that may actually deliver meaningful improvements to the unfortunate citizens who happen to be affected at grassroots level by such ongoing serial institutional failure.

18)       Could it be that, finally, increasingly obvious public outrage at discard levels and the perceived ineptitude of fisheries mismanagement in general has registered itself on the collective consciences of those who have failed to deliver sound workable policies to such a degree that both National and European politicians can no longer continue to ignore the outrage that has long been evident had they bothered to listen sooner? 

19)      This is vitally important because the currently failed policy has actually, however unintentionally, abused a priceless natural resource that is a vital source of high quality food which given better more competent stewardship has the ongoing potential to be self sustaining in perpetuity.

20)      A uniquely bizarre unintended, unforeseen consequence of discards has been that, locally, in Cornwall, when combined with the release of rescued seals from a local sanctuary and tourist attraction being familiarised with humans there has possibly been an evolutional modification of seal behaviour insofar that seals now associate fishing boats and their gear with a source of free food.

21)      This strange example of the random consequences of cause and effect may account for the escalating levels of damage to monkfish in particular in the Cornish tangle net fishery directly attributable to seal activity leading to increasing calls for a seal cull, which effectively would be a retrograde step, as a probable direct result of rescued seals becoming humanised and discovering an easy plentiful new food source.

22)      Vessel decommissioning schemes have at considerable taxpayer cost succeeded in reducing catching capacity only to a limited degree insofar that the incredible level of technology found on relatively small modern “rule beater” vessels that have entered service in recent years ensures that they are super efficient fishing machines.

23)      Many of these “rule beaters” were built with the money obtained from decommissioning larger vessels at tax payers expense which in reality merely shifted excess catching capacity into another sector with full regulatory consent, currently a proportion of these rule beaters have been decommissioned, again at tax payer expense, why was this fiasco not previously spotted by the army of officials involved?

24)      Another serious problem that Brussels tinkering has ensured unwittingly is the destruction of an inherently safe seaworthy but relatively inefficient class of vessel in the 15 to 25 metre size bracket only to be replaced by increasing numbers of the less safe but highly efficient under 10 metre “rule-beaters”, until recently exempt from the quota system.

25)      This has transferred massive overcapacity into the inshore fleet which has only recently been subjected to catch recording and quotas set at a level that virtually guarantees financial catastrophe for many, it is even more inappropriate when many of these boats were built with money from older boats previously decommissioned at tax payers expense.

26)      The recent introduction of catch monitoring and reporting paints a horrifying picture of the actual catching capacity reintroduced when these vessels were constructed to replace previously decommissioned tonnage without let or hindrance from fisheries managers charged with reducing overall catching capacity, effectively a large part of vessel decommissioning was a waste of time and, more significantly, tax-payers money.

27)      This is a glaring example of the huge financial cost of politicians collective inability to embrace the irrefutable law of cause and effect combined with an unforgivable but not unexpected failure to grasp commercial reality and the sheer entrepreneurial ingenuity that drives it which was virtually guaranteed to create the almost inevitable unwelcome consequences that invariably emerged.

28)       Once again decommissioning has recently been used as a blunt instrument at considerable taxpayer expense to scrap numbers of under 10 metre vessels (some originally built with grant aid) that would never have been built in the first place were it not for the artificial regulatory distortions and temporary largesse generated by the Common Fisheries Policy.

29)      Despite this saga of serial ineptitude there still continues to be massive overcapacity in the English under 10 metre inshore fleet particularly in the shellfish sector which has exploded as a result of vessels leaving the whitefish sector because of impossible quota restrictions created by the Common Fisheries Policy.

30)     This type of artificial  vessel displacement from one fishery to another is a typical consequence of administrative meddling in a business that like any other ought, perhaps, to have been regulated by purely economic means.

31)      Ironically the class of larger vessel decommissioned during the first wave has taken pressure away from the offshore grounds where most used to work, there are now a fraction of the number of vessels be they British French or Spanish offshore than there used to be and this fact is clearly demonstrated by the higher catch rates being reported by remaining vessels as the grounds seem to have rapidly recovered.

32)       From the steadily improving catch levels experienced by a smaller numbers of larger vessels working offshore beyond the 12 mile limit it seems to suggest that stocks are actually in an increasingly healthy state, this class of vessel generally has access to sufficient quota either owned or leased to ensure discards are minimal or in many cases non existent.

33)      Problems can still arise when catch levels of certain species suddenly and unexpectedly surge as they often do due to big year classes, better science may soon be able to predict these events and hopefully develop the flexibility to promptly adjust quotas accordingly as necessary.

34)       Inshore vessels suddenly subjected to catch monitoring and miniscule quotas often report extreme difficulties in avoiding discards if they are to remain fishing in a very mixed fishery, once again a large proportion of blame for this highly undesirable situation lies with the artificial distortions created by the Common Fisheries Policy.

35)      Political opinion driven by media pressure seems to be edging towards the concept of banning discards in favour of landing everything caught which may give a better more accurate indication of actual stock levels, it has proven to work in Norway and Iceland.

36)      It ought to be borne in mind by officials that a fish landed iced in a box is no more or less dead than a similar fish merely discarded to become a meal for a semi tame seal or seabird adapting to, and opportunistically exploiting, an unnatural food source.

37)      One very practical suggestion that has emerged that may bear further scrutiny is that over quota fish landed under such a regime be sold and the income generated used to finance the purchase of additional fish quota by fishermen-owned quota companies such as the already operating Duchy Fish Quota Company based in Newlyn.

38)       Current trends indicate that marine protected areas (MPA’s) designated by Natural England will play an increasing role in future fisheries management and conservation initiatives.

39)      Marine protected areas that are intelligently identified, accepted by the majority stakeholders, implemented and subsequently properly monitored to ascertain benefits or otherwise are no doubt potentially highly effective conservation and stock management tools if embraced willingly by stakeholders who buy into the concept rather than being arbitrarily imposed as seems increasingly likely.

40)     When monitoring any designated MPA clear provision must be made to cancel or otherwise fine tune the designation should the original aims and objectives demonstrably fail to be met, any MPA that fails to deliver clearly demonstrable benefits is pointless, unnecessary and financially unsound.

41)      The advantage of the MPA concept is that, subject to local decision making, it ought to be possible to tailor each one to specific local objectives with conservation as a priority, this need not necessarily entail closing all designated MPA’s to all activity or banning everything as some suggest, but rather controlling effort by restricting certain gear types, amounts of gear worked or by implementing seasonal closures as necessary.

42)      Neither must this mean that a presently perceived bias against mobile gears is intensified, possibly because they are easier to police, while static gear escapes attention because it is more difficult to monitor.

43)       Experience suggests that seasonal closures appear to have been highly beneficial on the Trevose grounds off North Cornwall giving credence to the long held, but formerly ignored belief in regulatory circles, that it is logical to protect spawning fish, this is a good example of what a well designated MPA could achieve, it is even more remarkable given that it was introduced on the instigation of fishermen.

44)      Seasonal closures are particularly relevant in the context of bass and pollack where spawning aggregations of both species in known locations are highly vulnerable to intensive directed fishing effort, be it pair trawling or netting, this madness frequently gluts markets with often low quality produce, which quite predictably lowers market prices, so valuable breeding stock is decimated for relatively low returns.

45)      It is increasingly felt that both species which are the cornerstone of sustainable inshore fishing practices and recreational sea angling would be much better exploited by hook and line fisheries prosecuted by small boats at times when both demand and market prices are high.

46)      Commercial handline or pole fishing is a highly skilled operation, by its very nature it is entirely self regulating and admirably suited to slot into the MPA concept.

47)      Dozens of boxes of fish roe often seen on fish markets in the main spawning season are clear evidence of unsustainable and unacceptable fishing practices which further strengthens the case for seasonal closures in defined areas, which again, in reality would fit well with the MPA concept.

48)       A long standing problem has been the offshore winter pair trawl fishery for bass by targeting spawning aggregations which are highly vulnerable to this method, there have been repeated calls to ban the method, however it is not the actual method that is problematic, rather its timing, perhaps a simple seasonal closure for targeted bass pair trawling in the western channel would be more effective and acceptable.

49)      From the recreational sea angling perspective the pair trawl fishery appears to have had an impact on the size of bass at sexual maturity, bass were generally accepted to be sexually mature at circa > 42 centimetres but the bulk of the spawning stock were much larger 3 kilo plus fish, in recent years gravid bass of <40 centimetres have been observed with a corresponding decrease in the numbers of bigger fish.

50)     This will possibly lead to many more bass of a much smaller average size (a race of dwarves?), increasing numbers of much smaller fish is a classic sign of a stock in distress, both recreational sea anglers and commercial handline fishermen have a vested interest in the capture of higher numbers of larger bass which provide better sport and higher financial returns, the small bass market should be supplied by farmed bass.

51)      Commercial hand liners operating out of small remote Cornish Coves (so called “pole men) are the perfect means of harvesting bass, pollack and mackerel in a low impact manner which produces small catches of superb quality fish in a highly sustainable manner, they encapsulate the tourists vision of Cornish fishermen and are a vital feature of Cornwalls unique coastline, NATURAL ENGLAND PLEASE TAKE NOTE!.

52)      There is also a similar but more extensive artisinal fishery on the Breton Coast operating along similar lines, both fisheries are admirable and must be nurtured and preserved, they are the fisheries most at risk from the activities of the offshore winter pair trawl fishery which is seen as particularly destructive when it targets spawning aggregations of bass in the late winter.

53)      The monitoring of “O” group juvenile bass in the Fal and Helford Rivers in Cornwall, an ongoing project conducted under licence from DEFRA by the remarkable Captain Derek Goodwin, (an octogenarian human dynamo) tends to suggest two weak year classes which does not bode particularly well for the future.

54)      Bass nursery areas introduced by MAAF (DEFRA’s predecessor) have proven to be highly successful as revealed by Captain Goodwins valuable work over many years, it is good to acknowledge a rare success story with regard to fisheries management

55)      However as soon as the juvenile bass leave the nursery areas they are highly vulnerable to gill nets inshore, the two weak year classes highlighted by Captain Goodwins netting samples could potentially create a considerable hole in a stock composed of predominantly small fish, given the possibility of a series of poor year classes this could have serious long term consequences for a pressurised resource if not addressed.

56)       Cornish North Coast storm beaches such as Porthtowan and Perranporth used to be noted for regularly producing significant numbers of bass in the 3 to 4 kilo range for recreational sea anglers.

57)      In recent years these fish have been virtually absent but have been replaced by high numbers of juvenile fish of barely legal size which were formerly unheard of in these locations.

58)      The bass stock from a pure numbers perspective is apparently healthy but in reality it is actually  quite severely out of balance owing to the worrying absence of the larger class of breeding fish in their normal haunts, replaced by immature bass not formerly present in these locations, this follows more than a decade of significant inshore gill netting activity combined with the targeted winter pair trawl fishery offshore.

59)       A typical example of well meaning (but spectacularly inept) British fisheries regulation involved the banning of British vessels pair trawling for bass inside 12 miles in an attempt to placate the angling lobby which politicians recognise as significant.

60)     Unfortunately at the same time the French being in possession of EU rights regulated by Brussels were able to continue fishing into six miles while taking massive catches, despite local boats being excluded.

61)      The cetacean by catch question that this pair trawl fishery raises at during the winter season ought to be reason enough to seasonally close the fishery as it cannot be pure coincidence that cetacean mortality as evidenced by numerous carcases washed ashore during this season causes public outrage and strong anti fishing sentiment which is not currently being addressed by the EU.

62)       Another potentially even more serious problem involves the increasingly active near shore summer gill net fishery for red mullet, the fishery is proving lucrative on the back of increasingly abundant red mullet numbers so more gear is being introduced and more vessels are piling in to take advantage.

63)      Net soak times can vary, the most successful boats appear to work less gear but turn it over more frequently which hopefully minimises the potentially heavy by catch of small pollack and wrasse.

64)       Less professional operators working more gear with correspondingly longer soak times to compensate for lower skill levels are probably causing heavy by catch mortality by allowing nets longer soak times while the target species is left highly vulnerable to damage from cuttlefish and crabs which ruin catch quality.

65)       It is reiterated that there is a perception that boats working offshore using mobile gears get more disproportionate regulatory attention than inshore netters, could this be because they are an easier prey for target driven enforcers?

66)       Uncontrolled gill netting is probably the most serious threat to close inshore species of interest to recreational sea anglers both shore and boat.

67)      At present neither UK National or EU regulators have any idea how many kilometres of static gill and tangle nets exist, given that huge amounts probably sit unused in fishermens stores in addition to what is actually at sea fishing, if this were to be seriously examined the results could prove startling.

68)      Perhaps some thought ought to be given to licensing sellers of sheet tangle and gill netting throughout the EU with the proviso that all sales are recorded and reported (which would be relatively easy to implement).

69)      Likewise fishermen ought to be licensed to buy sheet netting (which again is potentially easy to implement) or ready rigged nets so that over a period it would be possible to accurately monitor how much static netting gear of a specific type was in use or available for use by any given individual or vessel.

70)      It is accepted that, properly  used, particularly in the offshore context, gill nets and tangle nets can be a highly selective fuel efficient tool for targeting size specific mature fish with minimal by- catch mortality, however misused (particularly tangle nets) they are an environmental menace that slaughters fish and other creatures in the most destructive unacceptable manner.

71)      A combination of effort control, after establishing how much gear is actually being used, by setting a ceiling on gear length combined with well structured sensibly implemented MPA’s could be a major contribution to conservation without preventing responsible fishermen exploiting opportunities in a responsible professional manner.

72)       A particular issue arises in Cornwall in relation to small inshore boats able to return easily to port repeatedly to load more gear, bigger offshore netters working trips are, to a degree, limited by the physical amount of gear they can actually carry and the excessive steaming time and fuel involved in returning to port for more gear.

73)      It is hoped that practical, effective, affordable acoustic devices will soon be available to eliminate or at least keep cetacean by-catch to the absolute minimum in the gill net fishery.

74)       It is not unreasonable given their financial input to expect that recreational sea anglers can target fish from the shore or boat in the reasonable expectation that they will, given an average degree of competence, have some measure of success in catching what they target.

75)      In practice this means that they should not have to perpetually run the gauntlet of excessive commercial fishing activity to successfully achieve their objective, this is a prime example of the potential benefits to be gained from an MPA network .

76)      From the MPA standpoint perhaps serious consideration could be given to establishing hook and line only zones around specific reefs and inshore sandbank systems which would also potentially benefit commercial hand-liners targeting, typically, bass and pollack in a relatively low impact manner, again this sits comfortably with a well structured MPA regime.

77)      Inshore sandbank areas are often significant flatfish nurseries which can be seriously harmed by continual trawling activity, a prime example is the Skerries Bank in Start Bay which is well protected by a trawling ban and very economically significant for angling charter boats, a similar area in Porthcurno Bay in Cornwall enjoys no protection and therefore never fulfils its true potential as a nursery area.

78)      There are several other relatively small but nonetheless significant areas which would benefit from some measure of protection for juvenile flatfish particularly turbot which would be much more valuable if allowed to grow bigger before coming under fishing pressure.

79)       Vessel monitoring already exists on larger vessels, as well as an aid to fisheries monitoring and enforcement its contribution to safety is vital, the ability to instantly establish a vessels position in a distress situation is priceless.

80)      Monitoring systems should be introduced across the entire fleet as soon as possible, the technology is available, this would reduce the requirement for expensive patrol vessels enabling enforcement effort to concentrate on identified risks and landing points.

81)      This is highly relevant in the case of the very small numbers of recreational sea anglers fishing from unlicensed vessels who abuse their position to sell their “by the back door” catches often to the detriment of licensed commercial fishermen.

82)       This albeit very limited practice eschewed by the vast majority of law abiding anglers is justifiably a major cause of friction and distrust and a potential flashpoint between professional fishermen and recreational sea anglers which is entirely due to the selfish actions of a tiny minority of recreational sea anglers.

83)      A similar reverse situation can occur when the odd rogue commercial fisherman antagonises anglers by interfering with their legitimate activities, the miscreants on both sides of the divide ought to know better, there are so many legitimate issues of mutual concern, they should be ashamed of themselves and learn to work together.

84)       Scalloping seems perpetually in the news for all the wrong reasons as Natural England flexes its muscles without apparent thought for the inevitable unhelpful consequences that its unilateral closures inflict on other areas.

85)      The inshore scallop fleet in Devon and Cornwall is stable and has been for many years, it consists primarily of modern purpose built vessels which represent a major investment in the future by their operators.

86)      There is no doubt that reef systems need protection, I have campaigned on this issue for over ten years, it should be recognised that scallop gear will be seriously damaged if it is towed over high reefs, the problem of scallop dredge damage really arises on mixed grounds and ross coral banks.

87)      That said current proposals around Lands End by Natural England have appeared to omit three highly significant reef systems, the Wolf Rock, Carn Base and the Runnelstone while the proposal on the table appears to include a section of prime trawling ground between the Ship (Seven Stones) and the west side of Cape Cornwall Bank.

88)      The West Country inshore scallop fleet is effectively hemmed in by the presence of large industrial scallop vessels towing up to eighteen dredges per side working in to six miles, the same applies to local static gear vessels unable to risk heavy gear losses to large scallopers when fishing outside the six mile limit.

89)      Beam trawlers in this six to twelve mile zone have long been limited by horsepower and gear size, why are scallopers exempted?

90)     If these large vessels were excluded from the six to twelve mile zone the smaller local vessels could expand into the area relieving pressure on inshore grounds all round.

91)      This could be simply achieved by limiting dredge numbers to eight per side on all sizes of vessels wishing to fish in this zone, why do fisheries administrators appear to repeatedly ignore this glaring anomaly?

92)      Perhaps a measure of this type could be sweetened for the displaced vessels by restoring the former 10% whitefish by-catch allowance for vessels working more than 8 dredges per side outside the 12 mile limit, this was reduced to 5% to no avail other than increase discard rates of fish not specifically targeted but nonetheless already dead.

93)       Currently it would appear that potentially more regulators are involved in fisheries monitoring enforcement and research than there are actually full time fishermen to be regulated, Natural England’s present exponential growth is almost certainly exacerbating this very serious financial issue generated entirely by ongoing serial regulatory inefficiency.

94)      It therefore necessarily follows that the combined cost of fisheries regulation enforcement and research is possibly more than the gross financial output of the English fishing industry, if this does turn out to be true it is a totally unacceptable example of “big government” at its worst and a serious misuse of tax payer funds.

95)      Any system where the regulators potentially outnumber the regulated will invariably be inefficient, inherently unsound and inevitably doomed to ultimate failure, in England Natural England must be factored into this equation.

96)      The soon to be introduced Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCA’s) must be structured to deliver ongoing meaningful improvements on what presently occurs under the increasingly outmoded Sea Fisheries Committee regime which they are designed to replace, presently this may not be a foregone conclusion given the current level of institutional regulatory failure.

97)      It necessarily follows that there are currently, almost certainly, too many regulatory layers to deliver maximum regulatory efficiency at minimum tax payer cost even before factoring in what is currently in the pipeline.

98)      IFCA’s are, in theory, an ideal opportunity to introduce a local decision making process that regulates from the bottom up, rather than as presently, from the top down, eliminating the implied inefficiencies the present system delivers to the serious detriment of our precious marine environment, the outcome in practice is awaited with a degree of trepidation as previous experience counsels caution.

99)      Properly implemented this imminent new regime offers the tantalising prospect off stripping out several layers congenitally inefficient administration that has played a large part in creating the present unacceptable regulatory mess, the localised bottom up regulatory model that, subject to proper safeguards, delegates local control to local agencies better suited to local area management must be the best way forward.

100)   Under this regulatory model there would need to be provision for regular contact and close liason with French and Spanish organisations which would hopefully be created by this local-regional management model which would empower the citizens closest to the resource to manage it responsibly and sustainably to the greater benefit of all.

101)    For this to work politicians would need to accept citizens rights to local and regional self determination within the EU long bitter experience teaches that Brussels is simply not up to the task.

102)    The sixty four thousand dollar question hinges around the will of both English and EU politicians and civil servants to implement the sea changes in outlook and culture required to deliver the economies necessary to restore the balance between regulator and regulated, which as it stands presently is both unacceptable and unrepresentative.

103)   Unless or until politicians and officials accept unreservedly that they are ultimately responsible for the catastrophic mess that has occurred on their watch and that any rectification measures devised must involve pain on their part commencing with a declaration of all out war on twaddle and fudge this consultation will be yet another cruelly cynical shambolic attempt to appease and hoodwink citizens by papering over the cracks

104)   Whatever else transpires it is incumbent on politicians and civil servants to deliver a balanced marine regulatory regime that works fairly, equitably and effectively in whatever form proves necessary to deliver demonstrably better tax payer value than hitherto, if this involves a heavy cull of those responsible for past mistakes then so be it.

105)   It should be clearly noted that organisations such as Natural England which already seem to be multiplying exponentially on the back of the English Marine Bill are already regarded with great suspicion by a broad cross section at grass roots level on account of their perceived autocratic nature and top down approach, they cannot and will not function effectively without the acceptance of those they will impact most heavily upon.

106)   There is presently compelling evidence of a serious danger of ongoing duplication of effort and its attendant economic implications which waste scarce monetary resources as various unelected unaccountable QUANGO’s hop on the bandwagon created by the English Parliaments Marine Bill.

107)   Clear evidence of slackness in the system is already apparent, as presently, MPA advisory groups wait for work to be completed, which in reality, ought to have been completed and ready to be utilised before the English Marine Bill gained Royal Assent, this early failure by a well funded QUANGO is bound to impact unfavourably on the function of IFCA’s from day one.

108)   Anecdotal evidence suggests that the (EU funded?) Finding Sanctuary Project has cost tax payers circa £5,000,000 to produce similar work to that has been undertaken by the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation for circa £30,000, yet the Finding Sanctuary work is still overdue and impacting on the work of MPA advisory groups, which currently, In Cornwall, are dead in the water as a result.

109)   There was a similar project commenced locally in Cornwall, “Identifying Significant Areas”, the results of which have never seen the light of day as far as those who contributed their experience and knowledge at grass roots level are concerned, this is a clear illustration of why so many willing voluntary participants are so seriously under-whelmed by the performance standards of those responsible.

110)    I attended an angling consultation meeting organised by English Nature in Peterborough at the time that English Nature was about to be replaced by Natural England in preparation for the enactment of the English Marine Bill where it was categorically stated that the new organisation would be driven from the bottom up, it was sold to us on that basis, subsequent experience tends to indicate that this is not or will not be the case.

111)     ALL PUBLIC BODIES, IN WHATEVER FORM THEY TAKE OR AREA THEY OPERATE IN, MUST BE FULLY ACCOUNTABLE AT ALL TIMES, UNLESS THEY ARE THEY MUST NOT BE UNDULY SURPRISED WHEN THEY ENCOUNTER NEGATIVE REACTIONS OR OUTRIGHT HOSTILITY FROM THE CITIZENS THEY EXIST TO SERVE.

112)    THEY MUST CLEARLY AND DEMONSTRABLY DELIVER BEST VALUE IN A TRANSPARENTLY ECONOMIC MANNER, CONSEQUENTLY THEY MUST STAND OR FALL BY RESULTS ALONE, OUT OF CONTROL, REMOTE, DETACHED, DISPASSIONATE OFFICIALDOM FEEDING ON ITS OWN INEPTITUDE SIMPLY WILL NOT DO.

113)    IT IS AS THE PRESENT REGIME CURRENTLY STANDS NOT TOO HARD TO IMAGINE THAT THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION ACTUALLY DESPISES THAT SECTION OF EU CITIZENS WHO OBTAIN THEIR LIVELIHOOD FROM THE SEA AND THAT IT HAS ACTUALLY BEEN WAGING A COVERT WAR OF ATTRITION ON THEM, THEIR LIFESTYLES AND TRADITIONS.

114)    THIS MORALLY BANKRUPT POLICY HAS NOT ONLY DEVASTATED FISHING ECONOMIES IT HAS ALSO HEAVILY IMPACTED ON THE WIDER LOCAL ECONOMIES OF THE AFFECTED REGIONS BY SUPRESSING OR EVEN DESTROYING DEMAND FOR SUPPLIES AND SERVICES TO THE FISHING FLEET WHICH CONTINUE TO HAVE FAR REACHING ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES TO PERIPHERAL REGIONAL ECONOMIES.

115)    WERE  CENTRALISED REGULATORS TO HAVE THE VISION AND COURAGE TO HAND (SUBJECT TO SAFEGUARDS) CONTROL OF VITAL MARINE RESOURCES TO THE LOCAL CITIZENS MOST AFFECTED WHO STAND TO GAIN OR LOSE THE MOST FROM SUCCESS OR FAILURE HUGE ECONOMIC BENEFITS AND ADMINISTRATIVE ECONOMIES WOULD BE VIRTUALLY GUARANTEED.

116)     IF THIS FAILED WHICH IS ACTUALLY UNTHINKABLE THE SITUATION WOULD STILL SCARCELY BE WORSE THAN AT PRESENT.

117)    IF AS IS HIGHLY LIKELY SUCH EMANCIPATION SUCCEEDED WHERE INFLEXIBLE FINANCIALLY UNSOUND BRUSSELS CENTRIC MICRO MANAGEMENT PREVIOUSLY FAILED POLITICIANS COULD CLAIM THE CREDIT FOR A STUNNING SUCCESS.

118)    THAT MODEL OF LOCAL MANAGEMENT COULD DELIVER EVERY RIGHT THINKING CITIZENS VISION OF CLEAN VIBRANT SEAS POPULATED BY HEALTHY ABUNDANT MARINE AND BIRD LIFE STILL CAPABLE OF PROVIDING A BENEFICIAL SUSTAINABLE HARVEST FOR COASTAL COMMUNITIES IN PERPETUITY.

 Be they merchant bankers or indeed “ordinary Joe’s” , they will through the tax system, invariably pick up the mounting tab for the steaming mess created from the lethal cocktail of  arrogance, avarice, greed and incompetence that has been a long time coming.

 Its just like the Atlantic weather systems currently battering us on a daily basis, the old adage “long foretold long last” holds true in both cases, its a pretty safe bet that the curent appalling weather will right itself long before the man made economic storms visited on us by a serially incompetent collection of New Labourites and rapacious out of control    bankers.

One prominent New Labour acolyte, of a teflon tendency, was canny enough to abandon ship for more lucrative pastures before the real storm broke, leaving his hapless crew to their inevitable fate, lashed to the wheel of a doomed ship heading rapidly for the rocks, it is highly doubtful if  even the RNLI can be of any assistance with this particular shipwreck.

The headlong dash by New Labour to create a compliant client state consisting of hordes of unproductive public sector workers servicing the bottom feeding dependents who exist on social handouts that pay them not to work, cynically engineered by the Blairite clique to ensure their perpetual re-election has belatedly backfired spectacularly on its perpetrators.

The result is one hell of an economic mess that is now ruthlessly dictating a bracing agenda of fiscal reality that messrs Brown, Darling and Manglebum are patently incapable of effectively embracing, largely because they have so little hands on experience of the real world and its problems, that they pretend to govern.

It was always politicians, starting with Thatchers vision of the financial services sector solving all our post industrial problems by making industrial production passe that created the fertile conditions for the bankers to generate profits beyond the dreams of avarice that originally set the ball rolling.

Inevitably the bankers became darlings of New Labour because smoke and mirrors and the emperors new suit of clothes was a shared philosophy, that given the massive ego’s in play was bound to end in tears sooner or later.

As surely as night follows day boom will evolve into bust, instead of being grateful for steady sustainable profitability they had to strip mine fast buck’s out of everything they could lay their tainted little fingers on before moving on to the next victim.

Last year they bit off more than than they could chew when they lost control of the oil price by insanely speculating on its continued rise and rise.

In so doing they brought the real world economy to the brink of collapse  further compounding the previously unfolding US subprime property crash which unleashed a tsunami of toxic debt that finished off a few more banks in the process.

The latest news from Dubai confirms that the aftershocks of this chain of events will be unpredictable and probably ongoing, who needs terrorists when we have politicians and bankers?

A few seriously hacked off merchant bankers whinging about windfall taxes on their bonuses and threatening to emigrate is a red herring, they will  always go where it is most profitable any way because their only loyalty has ever been to themselves. 

Couple this with a million or so culled public sector workers and it is probably going to be the most viable practical option to give UK PLC a serious reality check to start puttting things right in the long term.

Four or even five million unemployed cannot possibly be worse than the present public sector lunacy, in the final analysis benefits will always be cheaper than the actual salaries for those that have been a drain on society while producing no tangible economic benefit in return.

For too long productive primary producers, manufacturing and service businesses have been, at best ignored, or worse, despised by politicians and a public sector waxing fat on the oppressive regulatory tide that  business in general has been forced to endure.

It is indeed, testament to its tenacity, that the sectors actually exist at all any more, given the ongoing assault on their very existence unleashed by a petty often vindictive bearaucracy intent on building empires of cosseted fat cats.

 This despicable ungainly culture has  sytematically sapped the vitality and morale of the really productive innovative hard working people who produce a high proportion of the taxes and profits that have funded the ongoing financial profligacy that is now crashing home to roost.

In the English and Welsh fisheries sector there are around 16,000 full time sea going fishermen working on a broad spectrum of vessels from very small to relatively large producing top quality food for the the nation.

The sector has born the brunt of a legislative and regulatory onslaught from DEFRA that would have caused the less tenacious or resourceful to have thrown in the towel long ago.

The policies that have caused the massive pain, not to say environmental and economic damage have, predictably, proven disastrous laying waste to both businesses and the communities dependent on them for practically zero result save bitterness and despair.

Much the same applies to agriculture again producing vital food,which has been subjected to a similar DEFRA pogrom of increasingly insane regulation that has benefited nobody except those so called public servants charged with “policy delivery” who have in the recent past experienced explosive growth in both numbers and prospects.

The farcical Single Farm Payment system alone employs more personnel than there are actual recipients for payment.

The system is open to those occupying little more than a large garden in some cases, it reputedly costs somewhere between £400 and £500 pounds to process each claim, in many cases the actual payment would be a tiny fraction of that amount.

Perversely the organisation responsible, The Rural Payments Agency continues to stagger from one monumental balls up to the next without visible saction.

If this hopeless disaster prone organisation operated in the bracing climate of the private sector it would be lucky to last a week, like many other examples of crass incompetence it actually appears to be out of control while both costs and head count have continued to escalate at an alarming rate.

In both examples there is compelling evidence to suggest that the numbers of non productive hugely innefficient regulators exceed the generally productive worthwhile  regulated by a considerable margin.

It must be remembered that the foregoing are only a couple of  typical examples inflicted on small, some might say insignificant sectors of the economy, they are nonetheless highly skilled innovative trades that ecomomically punch far above their weight.

Exact figures are hard to come by, I have been waiting an unreasonable length of time for my MP Julia Goldsworthy to obtain them for me, if they ever transpire it is a pretty safe bet they will make interesting reading but I am not holding my breath.

Sent: Thursday, December 03, 2009 9:48 AM

Subject: Clarkson for PM