Seagull remorse - does it exist?

[Marakei]

Ah! Something we can agree on. Although...

(I've been out of the loop since Tuesday, so I'm surprised this subject hasn't moved on...perhaps my email is slow, I'm still abroad in a remote spot)

...perhaps there's a collective reluctance to point the finger at dredgers, when we didn't like being criticized for anchoring in 'sensitive' spots...

...though the recent TV footage which showed an 'underwater desert' in a scallop-dredging area, didn't look like anything that anchors could have caused.

Dan

I think leisure boaters are pretty clear on the distinction between our activities, which are not proven to cause harm to the seabed and therefore need not be restricted unless evidence becomes available, and the activities of some commercial fisheries which do cause harm to the seabed and should be restricted.

Tell this to many environmentalists, though, and you will get told that if you don't support the Marine Conservation Zone proposals you are a dupe of the commercial fishing industry and a enemy of the sea. This is unhelpful when trying to start a dialogue.

 

[Greenheart]

The programme I saw in the last fortnight, drew attention to the apparently deplorable rarity of Marine Conservation Zones, and did so convincingly, I thought. But certainly it isn't in any boatowner's interests if existing practices like anchoring are wrongfully ruled as destructive; and it's vital that only well-reasoned cases be the basis for any new rulings or laws.

But I wonder if fishermen regard public concern over trawl-ravaged seabeds, in the same way yachtsmen regarded environmentalists in Studland Bay...

...a lot of illogical, intrusive and unproven fuss about not very much?

 

[Marakei]

The programme I saw in the last fortnight, drew attention to the apparently deplorable rarity of Marine Conservation Zones, and did so convincingly, I thought. But certainly it isn't in any boatowner's interests if existing practices like anchoring are wrongfully ruled as destructive; and it's vital that only well-reasoned cases be the basis for any new rulings or laws.

But I wonder if fishermen regard public concern over trawl-ravaged seabeds, in the same way yachtsmen regarded environmentalists in Studland Bay...

...a lot of illogical, intrusive and unproven fuss about not very much?

The last commercial fisherman I had a proper chat to about this, which was some years ago, regarded all concerns over fishing as an unnecessary fuss made by the authorities, but the evidence suggests a very different picture.

This is not like the reports BORG has gathered on Studland Bay and elsewhere, which have lots of evidence that anchoring isn't damaging.