Ship wrecked: Boats smashed by EU fish rules

FISHERMEN in Thanet have been smashing up their boats as part of moves by the Government to reduce part of the UK’s fleet.

Phoenix skipper, Gareth Johnson, 44, a fisherman for 25 years, watched sadly on as his boat was dismantled. and destroyed. Its owner will pocket almost around £100,000 in compensation.

He said: "The Government is paying for boats to be decommissioned and as part of the deal the boats have to be broken up.

"We handed our licence back and they pay us in the region of £100,000. I believe they are getting rid of 70 ships across the country."

"I’m told the reason for this is to give depleted stocks of fish more chance of survival."

Gareth, who has fished out of Ramsgate for five years, sailed Phoenix down the River Stour to Sandwich Marina for the last time on Thursday. He added: "I’m really upset.

"No one likes to see their boat smashed up. I’ve been a fisherman all my life but the owner of this boat wants to get rid of it. I’m now looking at a complete career change doing up homes instead. I’m really going to miss fishing."

The Phoenix was joined by Fat Cat, another small under 10 metre vessel, which fished from Herne Bay.

Its skipper and owner, Kevin McCully, 39, who has been fishing for 10 years plans to buy a another boat when his payment of £81,000 comes through.

He said: "They began to restrict my fishing quota until it got to a point where I couldn’t cover the cost of my fuel. All I could catch was £500 worth of skate every month. I have a couple of kids to support and had to take what I could."

It is believed that about 70 owners of small vessels across the UK received a share of a £5 million pot funded by a European grant.

A spokesman for the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, said: "England’s 2,500 small-scale inshore fishermen have been under pressure because of tight quota restrictions and an imbalance between the size of the fleet and the quota available.

"The £5 million is for decommissioning, paying off fishermen targeting under-pressure stocks who want to leave the fleet, which releases their share of the quota to the remainder of the fleet."

Should the boats have to be smashed up? Let us know. Email your views to newsdesk.thanet@krnmedia.co.uk or leave a comment.