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Perhaps you should investigate how good the EU has been for UK fishermen. Fishing quotas are based on historical catches, which the UK had a very large share o

by pcrh 10y ago

Perhaps you should investigate how good the EU has been for UK fishermen. Fishing quotas are based on historical catches, which the UK had a very large share of due to its geographical position. UK fishermen then sold their quotas to the Spanish, French, etc. Despite this: >The UK’s share of the overall EU fishing catch grew between 2004 and 2014. In 2004 the UK had the fourth largest catch of any EU country at 652,000 tonnes, by 2014 this had grown to 752,000 tonnes and the second largest catch of any country in the EU. https://fullfact.org/europe/eu-pinching-our-fish/ https://fullfact.org/europe/eu-pinching-our-fish/ Indeed, collectively, UK fishermen appear not to be very wise.

Safety1stClyde 10y ago
> Indeed, collectively, UK fishermen appear not to be very wise. My post at the head of this discussion made the point that continually repeating "Everyone who disagrees with me is stupid" turned out not to be a good way to win an election. Still doing the same thing and expecting different results? I strongly expect that the fishing communities (is fishermen actually an OK word to use these days?) actually know their own situation much better than either you or I do, and they're very clear on how the EU affects them.
- sgift 10y ago
  > I strongly expect that the fishing communities (is fishermen actually an OK word to use these days?) actually know their own situation much better than either you or I do, and they're very clear on how the EU affects them. Why? The things the GP wrote are not matters of opinion, they are facts. If people ignore them and vote against their own interests they are not "better informed". The idea that most people are intelligent, well informed and vote in their own interest is nice. It's also incredibly naive and not supported by reality.
- pcrh 10y ago
  The decline of fishing as a profession over the past 40 yrs is due to changes in technology and catchable stocks, not the UK's membership of the EU or the Common Fisheries Policy. Plenty of people who benefit from large EU subsidies voted for Brexit (rural areas of England, Welsh Valleys, etc). Sometimes people do vote against their own interests.

by pcrh 10y ago

Safety1stClyde 10y ago

> Indeed, collectively, UK fishermen appear not to be very wise. My post at the head of this discussion made the point that continually repeating "Everyone who disagrees with me is stupid" turned out not to be a good way to win an election. Still doing the same thing and expecting different results? I strongly expect that the fishing communities (is fishermen actually an OK word to use these days?) actually know their own situation much better than either you or I do, and they're very clear on how the EU affects them.

sgift 10y ago
> I strongly expect that the fishing communities (is fishermen actually an OK word to use these days?) actually know their own situation much better than either you or I do, and they're very clear on how the EU affects them. Why? The things the GP wrote are not matters of opinion, they are facts. If people ignore them and vote against their own interests they are not "better informed". The idea that most people are intelligent, well informed and vote in their own interest is nice. It's also incredibly naive and not supported by reality.
pcrh 10y ago
The decline of fishing as a profession over the past 40 yrs is due to changes in technology and catchable stocks, not the UK's membership of the EU or the Common Fisheries Policy. Plenty of people who benefit from large EU subsidies voted for Brexit (rural areas of England, Welsh Valleys, etc). Sometimes people do vote against their own interests.