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A Letter to the Environment Agency in response to the Eel Bylaw Consultation Document

Ayesha Taylor,
Environment Agency,
Richard Fairclough House
Knutsford Road
Warrington
WA4 1HG
                                                                                                                                                                                                      24th August 2009
Dear Ayesha

Please find enclosed our formal response to the consultation paper. It is also our intention to publish this document on our web site with the appropriate links for public access. Rather than have to forward data to your colleagues they may find it quicker and easier to refer to directly our web site. We know you would like a simple response that quickly summarises the situation.  Unfortunately the issues we want to address are more complex than a simple summary with a yes/no answer.  This industry represents a lifetime of work for the company and its employees and any change will impact on the 300 fishermen on Lough Neagh, and a range of restocking and aquaculture projects all over Europe.  Due diligence needs to be exercised to ensure that the fishery is not dismantled to the point that it is no longer a viable economic unit.  At the present time we have a traditional hand net fishery which is a leading example of an environmentally sensitive method of fishing that should be adopted across Europe.

We all need to work together to find a solution that immediately contributes to the Recovery plan for European Eel. In the longer term a different strategy will be needed to maintain a sustainable fishery.

Yours sincerely

Peter Wood.