https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/falmouth-oysterman-launches-all-nothing-7946408
My absolute favourite comment that I get quite often:
"I’m not seeing much if any support from any of the local Cornish fishermen who have fished this fishery for decades if not centuries"
to which I say:
I am sorry too, that you and I are the same in that I’m "not seeing much if any support from any of the local Cornish fishermen who have fished this fishery for decades if not centuries" - but maybe you can ask them:
a) why the fishery is on the edge of collapse?
b) why the species on the edge of extinction?
c) why the vessels abandoned, unmaintained and left to rot on the beaches?
d) why the water companies are allowed to continue to dump sewage in our fishery?
e) why the industry has lost its markets to others, when the Fal was possibly the last surviving natural population and certainly the last sailing fishing fleet?
f) why no one is interested in the science needed to establish the facts about 'best management practices'?
g) why new comers, whether Cornish or not, are ostracised when they have ideas of how to improve things, for everyone?
h) why they haven't thought of setting up a CIC or canning company in the past 80 years?
I have not personally fished this fishery for centuries, but in the past decade and a half (15 years) I have witnessed a huge decline in the stocks. If we look back a century ago, 200 vessels landed over 800 tonnes from the same fishery, now maybe 6-10 vessels landing 10-20 tonnes... personally, I believe the exploitation of juveniles that haven't had chance to leave any recruits behind is partly to blame...