"I will hold my hands up and be counted if they all come back and say
Miliband is right."
Paul, if you read the debate that dave has posted a link to above, you
will see that the opposition welcome and are in favour of the bill and
want it to become statute asap. Bradshaw is quoted as saying, "All the
proposals in the White Paper will, of course, be subject to
consultation".
I'm not a big fan of any political party at the moment and history
teaches us that politicians arn't the most honest people but they all
seem to agree that we need to protect the marine environment and multi
party agreement isn't a common thing so let's all make the most of it.
When I first heard of sea angling licenses my first thought was, "I
haven't smashed up the sea bed and raped it's resourses so why should I
pay to have it repaired?" My thoughts have changed now to, "what will
happen if the bill is blocked and things are allowed to carry on as
they have been?" Like commercial fishermen telling all and sundrie that
the sea is rich and plentyful. Iv'e fished in the north sea from boats
this season for a total of 16 hours at a cost of approx £90 and had one
codling (2.5lb). I have also spoken to a lad who fished 25 times from
charter boats last season and blanked 17 times.
If this white paper making the statute book isn't the answer to what
sea anglers have been asking for, I don't know what is, providing we are represented at all levels and involved in decision making.
Like many others I'm opposed to any charge for fishing in the sea but I
will reconsider if positive changes are in place before they ask me for
money. If not, I'll give up sea fishing and spend my money at fresh water fisheries that manage fish stocks properly
P.S I don't think anyone would want you to leave the site because you
have differing opinions.
