From Jason Bonhomme, committee member Jersey Fishermen’s Association.
THE article in the JEP of 12 May, ‘A fishy set of rules’, arguing that recreational fishermen should not have a bag limit, seemed to be written by those with little understanding of the fishing industry.

Firstly, Sean Bougard’s comment that there is no restriction on the number of lobsters a fully licensed fishing boat can land was a flaccid argument from the beginning. Surely the sentence itself is self-explanatory, being that the boats are ‘fully licensed’ and therefore include a shellfish licence, making them able to catch however many lobsters they want.

Secondly, the claim that not all fishermen have had to purchase their licences is only true on the grounds that when licences were first issued they were given to fishermen free. However, all commercial fishermen buy their licences nowadays, and spend a lot of money doing so. Often the licence ends up being just as expensive as the boat.

If commercial fishermen have to fork out thousands for their licence, why should a recreational fisherman be allowed to catch endless amounts without one?

Thirdly, the point that it is purely ‘a small number of fishermen complaining that recreational fishermen are affecting their fish sales’ is correct. Many fishermen are feeling the strain as they attempt to sell at realistic prices, while illegal sales by amateurs frequently lower the price.
This is not a one-off problem. Many recreational fisherman do this on a regular basis, although this is difficult to provide evidence for.

Finally, how much can recreational fishermen eat? Surely, if they are fishing solely to provide food for family and friends, five bass, five lobsters and 20 ormers a day is enough. And if this is not sufficient to sustain their family, seeing as they are able to afford a pleasure boat, they must be able to provide their family with the extra food with the bag limit in place?

Or perhaps they could buy their extra seafood from the fishmonger and support their local fishermen? After all, if all the quoted 10,000 recreational fishermen were to reach their bag limit within one day, the commercial fishermen would struggle to feed themselves, let alone feed their family, and would need the sales.

Jersey should take a leaf out of the French authorities’ book and provide fishermen with support and sufficient rights in order to protect them in their line of work and sustain the industry.
Commercial fishing has been a part of Jersey’s heritage for centuries, and should not be ruined by greedy pleasure boaters. It is an industry which is seriously under threat with ever-increasing expenses. However, the prices fishermen are receiving for their catches are not going up accordingly.

Life as a fisherman is extremely hard, so why not protect the brave few who do it for a living?
Rue Gosset,
La Collette,
St Helier.