For quite some time there have been Environment Agency (EA) byelaws meant to protect the delicate Dee estuary marine environment from excessive commercial fishing.
However, the local Environment Agency were willing to turn a blind eye to boats blatantly breaking the current bye-laws in the Dee estuary, until local anglers and environmental groups decided to take up the issue.
In response to the pressure, the EA announced that it had no option other than to resume enforcement of the byelaws and put a stop to the illegal trawling which had been having a disastrous effect on fish stocks.
The EA are currently revising these byelaws and had proposed a large area to be completely free of trawling, an essential step in order for fish stocks to recover and to maintain a sustainable fishery for the future.
However, following a consultation during which the commercial fishing industry made strong representations, it seems that the Environment Agency are now considering weakening these byelaws to allow the trawlers to fish at low tide in those same areas which had resulted in the crash in fish stocks in the first place.
Anyone who wants to ensure that the EA continues to provide protection for the estuaries marine life should contact Alan Winstone at the Welsh Environment Agency.
Sign the petition at: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/SavetheDee/
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