The British public are showing their support for the ‘reshuffle’ in distribution of the UK’s fishing quota with a 110,000 strong petition.
This comes after the UK government’s promise to give priority in the allocation of fishing rights to those fishermen who operate sustainably, contribute to the local economy and play by the rules.
Under the current system, fishing quotas are allocated in fixed amounts to the same larger scale fishermen on the basis of how much fish they caught in the past, regardless of the environmental, social and economic impact of their trade.
A YouGov survey published by Greenpeace has revealed that nine out of ten people (88%) surveyed agreed that, in the distribution of quota, priority should be given to those who fish sustainably (54%) or bring direct economic benefits (8%), or do both (26%).
Two thirds of respondents (67%) also said they care about the environmental impact of how the fish they buy are caught, with two in five (41%) saying they care more about it today than they did 10 years ago.
Greenpeace says these figures point to a widening gap between the way in which fishing rights are allocated and the growing demand from consumers for sustainably caught seafood.
The petition signatures were retained by Greenpeace during its Arctic Sunrise campaign, which visited nine European countries and almost 20 ports over three months.
