Why have fishing stocks not
yet recovered? Fishermen
blame seals and other
marine mammals for
preying on the remaining
fish.
Environmentalists
and scientists say that
seals are not the problem
and that killing them is
not the solution.
The North Sea is a
wasteland. A scientific
investigation into the
state of the seabed has found
a devastated seascape with
little sign of life. They predict
that it could take decades for
fish stocks to recover.
A few supermarkets sell
local fish such as conger eel,
coley, and hagfish. Coley
used to be sold as food for
cats, however, and hagfish
are slimy. Neither is popular
with customers.
The last local fishing trawler
in eastern England has
quit. It has been bought
by a fishing museum in
Yorkshire. Freezer trawlers
have already moved on
and are now fishing off
the coast of West Africa.
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With so few fish in
the sea, many useless
and abandoned fishing
boats lie rusting on
the seabed.
What happened?
In 2007, the stocks of North Sea
cod fell to an all-time low of
37,400 tonnes and attempts were
made to conserve them. Countries
were given quotas – maximum
amounts of fish they were allowed
to catch. By 2010, the stocks of
cod had increased to more than
55 tons (50 t) and fishermen and
governments urged the European
Union to increase fishing
quotas. Instead of waiting for
fish stocks to recover fully,
the quotas were increased by
too much too fast.
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