Jim Parker: There is no other way to put it: 'It's a load of pollocks'

It was a privilege to be 'involved' with a moment in Torbay's history.
Levelling Up minister Jacob Young was in town to sign off Torbay's partnership with Devon in the so-called 'Devo Deal' which will see the Bay share power with the county council and take some decision-making away from Whitehall and handed down to a local level and a Combined County Authority for the benefit of residents and businesses.
The Minister and council representatives signed on the dotted line at the EPIC Hi-Tech Centre in Paignton before he headed off to Brixham and the fish market to see for himself just how important the fishing industry is to the Bay.
Both the micro-chipped hi-tech and fishing sectors have had something to celebrate in a separate Levelling Up deal recently - a £20million handout for a new photonics centre at Paignton and an extended fish market after a successful 'fish and chips' (get it?) funding bid by Torbay Council. Not wanting to spoil the party and accepting and recognising that Torbay ain't done bad with government funding of late, no matter what political flag you may fly, the minister may have had a different reception if he had turned left at the Ring Road and headed for Torquay.
Down on the harbour half a dozen or so small inshore fishermen are facing financial ruin due to a Fisheries quota ban on catching pollock. The quota limit is none - they cannot catch any at all.
Clive Baker has been a fisherman out of Torquay on and off for more than 40 years. He is lucky and focuses on fish like pilchard and mackerel to make a living at this time of the year but others rely on 'rod and line' and pollock to pay the bills.
Some Torquay fishermen have been there for generations. Some are laid up. Some are having to find jobs elsewhere. It means their boats - for some of them their pensions in later life - and their licences which could fetch up to around £30,000 - are worthless.
To add to their anger and frustration, the quota ban doesn't apply to recreational fishing so a charter boat full of anglers can still go out and catch pollock.
Clive says: “What's happening is really wrong in so many ways.”
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs says the quota had been reduced to preserve stocks. It said it recognised the “impact” the decision “may have” and was working to “explore potential mitigations”.
But the quota decision is being described as a “calamity”. The industry says some people - especially those down in Cornwall - will have to consider selling their boats.
Jerry Percy, Director of the New Under Ten Fishermen’s Association, representing the under ten-metre fleet, said: “The traditional rod and line fleet are the hardest hit in this respect. The most sustainable and selective method of fishing, with no bycatch and no dead discards has been decimated through no fault of the fishermen concerned. At the same time, the pollack netting sector will be forced to use smaller mesh nets for other species that will inevitably and perversely result in more pollack discards than in their traditional fishery.”
Fishermen’s leaders are calling for short-term compensation in line with similar support mechanisms available to farmers and a decommissioning scheme to allow some fishermen to leave the industry altogether.
The French government has already introduced a compensation scheme for their pollack netters and a limited ‘survival’ quota for their handliners.
Ed Baker, Chief Executive of the Plymouth Fishing and Seafood Association, said: “Many of our smaller boats and especially those using some of the most selective methods of fishing have seen their livelihoods taken away with only a couple of week’s notice over the Christmas period.
“Fishermen had spent considerable time and money gearing up for the new season and now have thousands of pounds of nets that are unusable and not even the funds to put them into store.
“In ports and harbours around the south west, fishermen are at their wit’s end as to where to turn to maintain fishing activity and income based on methods that date back hundreds of years. If the government wants them to stop fishing then they need to be compensated.”
Torbay MP Kevin Foster has met with the inshore fishermen. He said: “There are a few families who have been fishing out of Torquay for a long time. It is the way this has been done. I have said I will take it up with the Fishing Minister.”
You all know what this is, don't you? A load of pollocks!