During this campaign, much has been the hypocrisy expressed some of which I have exposed here. It's been easy, it's been fun, it's been part of the game. Never and I mean
NEVER has this level of hypocrisy been so sickeningly, nauseatingly and downright disgustingly exhibited as it has been today by that Irish
Geldof.
This multi millionaire establishment luvvie got up on his back legs today and mocked working fishermen and tried to drown out their protests and boost his own ego for attempting to take back control of
just this country's fishing policy from the EU.
Let me explain the depths of his hypocrisy. People think the EU fishing policy begins and ends at EU waters. Not So. To ameliorate over capacity in the EU fishing fleets the EU sought and got fishing agreements(FA's) with almost every African coastal state. Many books have been written on the devastating effects of this policy on African society, on Africans and on the marine and wider environments. Investigate yourself, it will make you cry.
“The EU is unfairly profiting from the resources of the world's poorest countries and they are breaking their own laws to do it”
Rashid Sumiaila, Professor of ocean and fisheries economics at the university of British Columbia.
The FA's with these nations are paid for 80% from the EU (us taxpayers) 20% by ship owners to the African States forbid by law traditional atisenal fisherman from fishing in their traditional waters. Of course, they still try, However, one EU factory ship can catch in one day what 56 Mauritanian pirogues can catch in one year for example. There are 256 EU factory ships operating in African waters. The seas are raped of their resources leaving little for the locals to catch for their own consumption and to market.
The marine devastation is horrific; the “discards” include 60,000 sharks, 18,000 rays and 1,500 turtles. Each year. MINIMUM.
“Since the companies aren't paying the full cost of doing business, they make more profit and in turn invest in bigger and more efficient boats, which enable them to further exploit developing countries' fish stocks”
Frederic Le Manach, French fisheries scientist.
The EU fishing boats operating in African waters are highly subsidised by the Common Fisheries Policy. They are built with massive EU taxpayer subsidies and EU taxpayers subsidise the FA's. This has shifted over capacity from EU waters to African waters. Local atisinal fishermen have to compete for fish with these state of the art super trawlers, 45 metres long, they carry helicopters for spotting, echo sounders and sonars and full filleting, processing and freezing plant on board. They can be asea for months at a time.
“We have seen how the navy becomes part of the corrupt team that receives hard currency and turns a blind eye to the looting of their nations wealth”
Edouardo Loayanza World Bank fisheries advisor
EU vessels ignore boundaries, under-report catches and bribe African officials. They are rarely caught or penalised. The 2014 African Progress Report said African coastal nations lost $1.3 billion as a result of illegal EU fishing practices in West Africa alone. In Sierra Leone 252 instances of illegal fishing was reported over an 18 month period. Senegal's losses were calculated at $300 million in 2012 alone. In a 2012 study by UK charity Environmental Justice Foundation, they documented 252 illegal fishing reports by EU vessels off the cost of Sierra Leone. Nine out ten of them landed their catches in EU ports. EU vessels were documented entering exclusion zones and using banned fishing equipment. They found bribes, intimidation and a refusal to pay fines and also documented, with photos, local fishermen beaten unconscious.
In 2004, a Tanzanian patrol discovered 24 EU vessels illegally fishing in protected areas. Following the arrest of the crews the EU commission sent delegates who bribed local officials to secure their release. The fishing companies pay bribes to on-board observers now and also to marine inspectors. Breaking the law is lucrative yet the EU still subsidises the fleet. It rewards them.
The result? In Madagascar alone fishing agency members has declined from 406 in 2004 to 159 today. In peoples livelihoods? 100,000 jobs lost. In that small country alone.
“If people aren't able to get their protein from fish, they'll turn elsewhere for food and economic survival”
Justin Brashares, Professor of wildlife ecology and conservation at University of California, Berkeley.
Over fishing and illegal fishing in African waters has devastating consequences for local fishermen and coastal communities. Their lives and livelihoods are dependent on fish as a main source of food and protein and income. When no fish are available or the price is too high they suffer. Not just from hunger but the health impacts too. Marine resources have been vital for their health and survival. EU subsidies of EU trawlers taking their stocks away to the EU devastates their communities, leads to protein deficiency which contributes to poor health and low economic productivity. They are forced to shift to inferior food types, including bush meat.
EU FA's with their subsidies force Africans to slaughter wildlife in order to survive. We all know of the decline in African wildlife ~ 76% across 44 species in fact in a few decades. In search of protein species not traditionally consumed are sought introducing new viruses not seen before into the population. Ebola being just one recent example. And yet during that period EU fishing fleet funding 1981 to 2001 increased 5833%.
“I could be a fisherman there (Spain). Life is better there. There are no fish here in the sea any more”
Ale Nodye, Senegalese fisherman and smuggler
As a result of the EU's advanced, industrialised fishing fleets, over-exploiting the fishing grounds of the local, traditional fishermen they are forced to alternatives. Unable to work an exodus results.
Fisheries scientist Thom Binet attests that the migration problem in West Africa started with a small group of small scale fishermen and has now moved to African youth who seek employment and a better future in Europe. He contends that the root of this issue lies with EU and it's persistent, illegal fishing.
“In the ever shifting world of pirates,coast guards and fishermen, the movement amongst the three has never been in only one direction”
Jay Bahadur, Canadian journalist and author.
The plundering of African waters of these poor countries by the EU has led to a dramatic increase in piracy. Under resourced and under funded coast guards can't maintain law and order. It is a war between two illegal entities one being EU funded and they can't intervene.
The emergence of piracy is a reaction to foreign over fishing. The EU breaks the law, they do too. The UN estimate $300 million was plundered from Somalian waters by foreign trawlers in 2006. We know what the fishermen there resorted to.
What I have written here is the tiniest prece of the EU's evil fishing practices in Africa. Books have been written on the subject.
Many people here have travelled Africa, have seen with their own eyes this going on, on shore at least. In the EU we have witnessed African migration. Africans can exist and prosper in their own countries if given an even break. The EU denies them this. Geldof, of all people knows this. An yet, to satisfy his own bloated ego this smug, wealthy, establishment, Irish luvvie
calls hard working British fishermen
(rhymes with) “swanker”? Whilst applauding the moral inversion that is the EU and what it inflicts on Africans? This is the very definition of hypocracy.
Truly the lowest point in this campaign – it will go down in social history.
Also, his music is
(rhymes with “kite”).
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