Candid camera
Environmental groups concerned about the amount of fish being dumped back into the sea by the fishing industry have been asking for cameras to be put on boats for years. While new regulations came into place this year requiring boats to land everything they catch, the industry has resisted the move to place cameras on those boats and those in power have continued to delay the requirement. Without cameras to ensure compliance, we are reliant on self-reported data. And as Barry Torkington, a fisheries strategist and ex-director of Leigh Fisheries says, that self-reported data is not particularly accurate.
“All the delays have been red herrings,” he says. “There’s nothing to invent. There’s nothing to test … It’s hard to find a serious fishing nation that hasn’t embraced it.”