Fishermen 'will ignore ban'

There is a dispute over mussel stocks in the Wash

Fishermen are threatening to ignore a ban on going to sea on The Wash in a row over mussel stocks in the region.

A temporary ban has been put in place for the next two weeks to stop any fisherman taking stocks from the Gat Sand in the estuary.

The ban came about after an objection by English Nature, which says there are too few mussels to allow any fishing.

But fishermen in Lincolnshire and Norfolk have disputed the figures and say poor weather has contributed to low stocks.

The Eastern Sea Fisheries Joint Committee (ESFJC), which monitors fish stocks from Humberside to Felixstowe, said that once the two weeks is up, only 222 tonnes of mussels will be allowed to be taken.

We are sick and tired of them - it is a sorry sight for the British fisherman Ken Bagley Fisherman

After that no more mussels will be allowed to be taken this year.

That level will be fished in just a few days by the 62 boats in The Wash.

Ken Bagley, chairman of Boston Fisherman's Association, said: "We are just going to do what we want and they can take us to court.

"We are sick and tired of them. It is a sorry sight for the British fisherman.

"All they are doing is letting the mussels grow and they die as the weather takes them."

'Redress the balance'

Paul Napman, chairman of the ESFJC, based in King's Lynn, Norfolk, said it had taken into account the fishermen's livelihoods which is why it had allowed some fishing on the Gat Sand.

Mr Napman said: "Unfortunately the stock has declined as a result of over-fishing and other environmental issues and we are trying to redress the balance.

"We are trying to do it to the best of our ability and to ensure there is a fisheries of the future."

The ban follows a similar one last year and during the cockle season in the summer.