Blog: Oceans

When I heard it was World Turtle Day, I hatched a plan. I know that to an international audience ‘turtle’ covers  a multitude of reptile species, but rather than getting all Queens’ English-y over what is a tortoise, a terrapin or a turtle, I thought this was a good opportunity to focus in on the seven amazing species that roam our oceans – the sea turtles.

While considering how to write a blog on the latest developments on Europe’s bumpy road to fisheries reform, I decided to take a step back in time. Eleven months ago I wrote this blog explaining where the discussions were at, what was still on the table, and outlining a number of areas of concern.

Imagine if someone claimed ownership of a percentage of the sparrows in the sky or a share of the deer in our forests? Would this seem absurd to you? I agree.

Unbelievably, this is now set to be the heart of an unprecedented court battle – except that it’s over who ultimately controls the UK’s fishing quota, and therefore who 'owns' the fish in our seas. 

How would you feel if you were betrayed by the very people who are meant to be protecting your interests? This is what we discovered about the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO) last month. It turns out that instead of standing up for small scale fishermen, they have actually been trying to deny them the wider representation in Europe that they so desperately need.