I
Ian Cloke
Guest
Westcountry fishermen yesterday welcomed calls by supermarket giant Asda for Britain to withdraw from Europe's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The supermarket, which is one of Britain's biggest retailers of fresh fish, said the CFP was doing nothing to protect fish stocks and fishermen's livelihoods, and so it had decided to support calls for Britain's withdrawal from the policy.
The CFP aims to protect dwindling fish stocks by restricting the amounts of threatened species that fishermen can land. But many critics in Britain say scientific evidence used to decide which species are restricted is badly flawed.
They claim CFP rules have resulted in tons of dead fish being dumped back in the sea because they had been caught but could not be landed.
Asda said a new management policy devised by fishermen and taking into account the views of other experts should replace the CFP.
Yesterday fisherman around the Westcountry said the support of an organisation as big as Asda - whose parent company is the massive US-based Wal-Mart supermarket chain - would boost calls for Britain to leave the CFP.
Chris Venmore, of the South Devon and Channel Shell Fishermen's Association, said: "We are absolutely delighted that the largest supermarket in the world is supporting the fishermen of the UK in getting back that which is rightly theirs so that it can be managed in a sustainable way.
The CFP aims to protect dwindling fish stocks by restricting the amounts of threatened species that fishermen can land. But many critics in Britain say scientific evidence used to decide which species are restricted is badly flawed.
They claim CFP rules have resulted in tons of dead fish being dumped back in the sea because they had been caught but could not be landed.
Asda said a new management policy devised by fishermen and taking into account the views of other experts should replace the CFP.
Yesterday fisherman around the Westcountry said the support of an organisation as big as Asda - whose parent company is the massive US-based Wal-Mart supermarket chain - would boost calls for Britain to leave the CFP.
Chris Venmore, of the South Devon and Channel Shell Fishermen's Association, said: "We are absolutely delighted that the largest supermarket in the world is supporting the fishermen of the UK in getting back that which is rightly theirs so that it can be managed in a sustainable way.