Meanwhile –

THE Marine Conservation Society (MCS) says the latest decision by European Fisheries is ‘a disaster for the future of many fish stocks.’ Following the two-day Council meeting in Brussels before Christmas, ministers followed scientific advice for only 14 of the 75 decisions regarding stocks in EU waters. Several species have actually had their catch quotas increased, against scientific advice. These include plaice, sole and Atlantic halibut, which the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has declared to be a species in the same danger as the giant panda.

Deborah Crockard, MCS fisheries policy officer, said, ‘This is a clear case of the European Fisheries ministers once again deciding to ignore scientific advice in favour of short term economic gain.’ She added that over-fishing now might save jobs for a short while, ‘but in the long term our seas will be emptied of fish and parts of the industry will collapse anyway.’

Panda and chips, anyone? Yukky idea. But then, pandas look so much more cuddly than the halibut, even if they’re not. The poor old halibut gets no sympathy.