Why the fishermen don't get it

I'm annoyed at fishermen protesting about the recent fish quota cuts, and not getting the point of the cuts, which is to reduce the amount of fish being caught - and therefore also the number of fishermen.

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The EC has decided to drastically reduce the allowable fish quotas, notably for North Sea cod. Fishermen are protesting about the cuts, saying things like "People can't believe this has happened to possibly the hardest working industry in the country," and bemoaning the lack of jobs that will follow.

Aarrgghh! That's the point. The fishing industry is, at the moment, over-productive. We're catching more fish than we should, and the stocks aren't being replenished fast enough to cope. As soon as we say that we should catch fewer fish in the future, it therefore follows that there will be less work in fishing to go around, and some people will lose their jobs.

That sounds harsh, but some people have their jobs in the fishing industry as a direct result of the over-fishing. These jobs are temporary, nonsustainable, and in the long term shedding a few thousand jobs will be worthwhile if it can safeguard the rest of the industry.

It would be far more interesting to see what skills fishermen have could be turned to other jobs - in the same way that farmers these days get subsidies from the EC to maintain the land without actually farming it.

Now, it's true that huge supertrawlers like the Atlantic Dawn are mostly responsible for the depletion of fish stocks in recent years; but I don't think we can realistically turn the clock back on this sort of technical advance. And we can't, without a great deal of hypocrisy, bemoan the existence of huge technologically-advanced trawlers that take the place of dozens of smaller trawlers, and at the same time in other industries claim that the only way for Europe to compete is to be a knowledge economy and not try to compete against developing countries with far lower labour costs.

Besides, I'm personally far more concerned with fish farms, and all the noxious results of intensive farming - pollution, disease, distortion of the breed like we've seen happen to battery hens, and the consequential lack of flavour - than I am with big boats with big nets which are, nonetheless, still catching wild fish. As long as the nets are properly designed so they only catch what they're supposed to (and not dolphins or under-aged fish), and the trawlers don't sweep breeding areas, I'm not too fussed.id

18 Comments

You still have White Eyrie marked as unreleased, when it's shown in last weeks New Feature page as released. And no, I will not stop saying this until it's status is changed, as it is my quest for the next couple of days. Ps, Merry Christmas to you too.

Yell at Neopets to update the rainbow pool, don't yell at me.

Ok, I just noticed that slight detail. Oh well, I will take your advice and yell at the editorial. When they do their next Neopian Times they will hopefully see it and fix it.

The Christmas Kacheek was released a while ago in the news. The only other thing I see wrong is in the close range picture, the fluff on the Kacheek's hat is green instead of white... Merry Christmas!

you guys which neopet will be the next one they will make into a baby?Kacheek or Cybunny?

YOU GUYS!!!!! YOU HAVENT EVEN ADDED THE ROBOT PEOPHIN!!! c'mon get on top of things!

The Shoyru can't be painted white yet either and they were supposed to be released with the Eyrie. :(

In response to what Renee had posted, don't get so worked up about what is and isnt on the site, when it comes to the painted neopets. You should be happy that this site even exists to show you unreleashed pets. And Sam works very hard to make sure it runs smoothly but he's not gonna have all the time in the world to have every single painted version posted. Calm down.

Plushie aishas?

Am I the only one sick of seeing people talking about what baby pets should be released next? First off, not EVERY pet will be painted baby. Theres no other colour in which EVERY neopet is available, why should baby be any different? Secondly, the kacheek, cybunny etc already LOOK pretty baby with the big heads, big eyes, cureness factor etc so maybe they just won't come out in baby. Accept it. Thirdly, most baby pets are ugly anyway, why do people make such a big fuss over this brush?

Neopets has just released the plushie Aisha!

Baby_bio, who said I was talking to you? If I was referring to you, I would have named you. You were just a reminder of how a lot of people talk about these stupid baby pets like they're the be all and end all of neopets. Plus, you DID bring them up in a thread that had nothing to do with them. Just thought it was unecessary.

Dang, since when did it become world war 3 around here, just because you dont agree with somebody's statement doesnt mean you have to bite their head off. Baby_Biyo, we dont know what neopet will be released next as a baby nor do we know what will be next as a plushie, but you cant assume somebody out there is gonna know the answer just like that.

sorry lilwashu i just adore the baby pets though my favs are Zafara,Wocky,Acara,and Gelert

Geez, what is this, 20 questions? Try and keep comments related to the topic, not about games or easter neggs.

Hello!keep up the great work on updating unrelease pets!

Ehurm. I am queen of typos. 'Now' up there was 'not'. *coughs, sulks*

All I want to say is:I WISH SOMEBODY WOULD TALK TO ME,JUST BECAUSE I'M AN UNKNOWN DOES'NT MEAN YOU CAN'T TALK TO ME!!!!!!SHEEEEESH!!!sorry!oh and I'm neopets#1 fan i'm pretty sure!

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