Environmental Pollution (RCEP) called for an end to deep sea trawling in UK waters and the closure of 30 per cent of coastal fishing grounds. It was ignored. It also demanded that the seas should be treated similarly to an endangered land habitat. It was again ignored.


In fact, EU fishing policies are exacerbating the situation, as Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg made clear in 2007. He revealed that every year, billions of fish are dumped back in the sea – 500,000 to 800,000 tonnes – because they are too small or are in excess of the allowed quota. Almost all these discarded fish die. Worst offenders are sole fishermen in the Southern North Sea whose small mesh nets capture almost everything, with up to 90 per cent of the catch being discarded. A similar situation exists all over the world.


Rather than being called to account for this vandalism, between 2000 and 2006, the EU provided 4.1 billion Euros in subsidies to the fishing industry, with individual countries providing a further 2 billion Euros.


The rape of the oceans for fish is only one aspect of the onslaught they face. Pollution with flame retardants, PCBs, dioxin, mercury and other persistent organic pollutants, along with pesticides, fertilisers and heavy metals from farming, have contaminated virtually every oceanic creature. The higher up the food chain, the greater the concentration of pollution.


We can only guess what the long term effects of this will be on sea creatures and those humans who eat them, thus placing themselves at the very top of the food chain. Despite this, the UK government promotes fish for health because of the omega-3 essential fatty acids it contains when there are better, safer and pollution-free plant sources readily available.


38 VIV A! DIET OF DIS A S TER


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