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🐟 Fishing series: The scandal of electric fishing: Difference between revisions
🐟 Fishing series: The scandal of electric fishing (view source)
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[[File:Electric trawl.png|thumb|Thumbnailed image|A pulse fishing trawl]] | [[File:Electric trawl.png|thumb|Thumbnailed image|A pulse fishing trawl]] | ||
[[File: | [[File:A flat sole.png|thumb|Thumbnailed image|Sole]] | ||
[[File:Visned.png|thumb|Thumbnailed image|Illustration produced by VisNed, one of the most powerful dutch fishing lobby]] | [[File:Visned.png|thumb|Thumbnailed image|Illustration produced by VisNed, one of the most powerful dutch fishing lobby]] | ||
[[File:Bycatch.png|thumb|Thumbnailed image|The bicatch of an electric trawler. Must of unwanted species such as sea stars will be thrown back into the water. Unfortunately, a large % having gone through electric shock, will just be left to perish.]] | |||
[[File:Broken spine.png|thumb|Thumbnailed image|Scan of a fish’s spine broken by the shock of the pulse]] | [[File:Broken spine.png|thumb|Thumbnailed image|Scan of a fish’s spine broken by the shock of the pulse]] | ||
[[File: | [[File:Pulse fishing vote.jpg|thumb|Thumbnailed image|EU's 2017 vote to ban electric pulse fishing]] | ||
[[File:Pulse fishing exemptions map.png|thumb|Thumbnailed image|A map showing the area for which exemptions were granted]] | [[File:Pulse fishing exemptions map.png|thumb|Thumbnailed image|A map showing the area for which exemptions were granted]] | ||
[[File:Newspaper pulse.png|thumb|Thumbnailed image|British fishing magazine announcing the ban of pulse fishing]] | [[File:Newspaper pulse.png|thumb|Thumbnailed image|British fishing magazine announcing the ban of pulse fishing]] | ||
You may have heard the term “electric fishing” before. If you have, it is most likely due to the fact that “electric fishing” has turned out to be an ongoing scandal-story followed by the press and NGOs since the end of the millennia. And the main actor of this scandal is: <u>The Netherlands</u>. | You may have heard the term “electric fishing” before. If you have, it is most likely due to the fact that “electric fishing” has turned out to be an ongoing scandal-story followed by the press and NGOs since the end of the millennia. And the main actor of this scandal is: <u>The Netherlands</u>. | ||
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:The electric current, which was meant to knock the fish out for a few minutes, was actually proven to make fish undergo violent convulsions, often leading fish touched by the pulse to be injured or to die. | :The electric current, which was meant to knock the fish out for a few minutes, was actually proven to make fish undergo violent convulsions, often leading fish touched by the pulse to be injured or to die. | ||
:50% to 70% of northern sea cod in the array of the electric arc are said to be left with a broken spine and internal bleeding<ref>The effect of electric pulse stimulation to juvenile cod and cod of commercial landing size. IMARES Report C141/11. Available [http//:www.wur.nl/en/Publication-details.htm?publicationId=pub-lication-way-343137383633.55/ here] <br>Pulse trawl fishing: characteristics of the electrical stimulation and the effect on behaviour and injuries of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). ICES Journal of Marine Science 73(6): 1557-1569.</ref>. | :50% to 70% of northern sea cod in the array of the electric arc are said to be left with a broken spine and internal bleeding<ref>The effect of electric pulse stimulation to juvenile cod and cod of commercial landing size. IMARES Report C141/11. Available [http//:www.wur.nl/en/Publication-details.htm?publicationId=pub-lication-way-343137383633.55/ here] <br>Pulse trawl fishing: characteristics of the electrical stimulation and the effect on behaviour and injuries of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). ICES Journal of Marine Science 73(6): 1557-1569.</ref>. And indeed, since electric fishing is in use in the North Sea, the area<ref>We are here talking about the area of the North Sea in which pulse fishing was authorized by the EU</ref> <u>has seen the number of sea-bed species decrease by 57%</u><ref>See latest study (2019) delivered by Cefas [https://www.scribd.com/document/430606618/Cefas-Impact-Electric-Fishing / here]</ref>. <u>Sole population has been reduced by x2.6 and thornback rays by half</u>. This area, on the other hand, is today home to many more fragile brittle stars<ref>Close to the starfish</ref> and hermit crabs, the latter being a scavenger. “This shows that the sea floor are highly disturbed. The invasion of these species is a sign of general stress of the ecosystem, which is losing biodiversity and resilience”.<br> | ||
The inability of electric trawlers to fill their sole quota last year is perhaps not unrelated to this devastation. | |||
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