From the (British) National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations
One of the peculiarities of fisheries politics over the past 10 years or so has been the level of sustained criticism of the industry in the media. Fishermen who had previously been seen as providing the nation with valuable food, produced under difficult and sometimes dangerous conditions came, over a very short timeframe, to be portrayed as “pillagers and rapers” of the marine environment.
We accept that some parts of the media and indeed some parts of the environmental movement will always be in search of a pantomime villain. Sensationalism and selective facts almost always win out over a reasoned and proportionate approach.
As a result, there have been some notable occasions when policy makers, and indeed nature conservancy advisors to government, have been more than a little responsive to the doom-mongers’ cries.
What is striking about this misrepresentation of fishing is that it is an almost complete reversal of the truth. Yes, fishing has an environmental impact but if one looks at the whole range of objective indicators, including physical impact on habitat, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, in fact fishing scores very well against all other forms of food production.
Read the complete story at NFFO.