The Prince of Wales has praised the work of British fishermen in taking steps to reduce the impact of their industry on the marine environment.
The Prince was speaking at the closing session of a three day workshop – ‘Fishing into the Future’ - in Brixham, Devon, UK which was jointly hosted by The Prince’s International Sustainability Unit and industry body Seafish this week.
During his speech, The Prince welcomed the ‘Fishing into the Future’ initiative and talked about why he believes the industry has reason to be hopeful about the future: “Fishing, far from being as some appear to have assumed, an industry that is sailing into the sunset, is, in fact, increasingly witnessing hints of a new dawn.”
His Royal Highness also praised the work that fishermen are already doing, saying: “It is encouraging that all over the UK fishermen are taking action and setting an excellent example. The fact that nearly half of the UK catch has been certified as sustainable illustrates just how committed our fishing industry is. The move towards more durable fishing practices is happening not just because of campaigns and regulations, but because the results are economically rewarding as well as being ecologically beneficial; they make fishing more profitable.”
The Prince cited example of North Sea cod, which is showing encouraging signs of stock recovery: “Because of collaborative efforts, this iconic species could soon be providing more fine food with less worry about stocks.”
