Dutch fishermen are planning a series of protests against European rules that they claim are destroying their industry. The ‘Eendracht Maakt Kracht’ (‘Unity Is Strength’) movement says it wants to inform the public about ‘the real story’ of Brussels interference.
‘Fishermen are tired of the lies of politicians and environmental organisations,’ spokesman Jan de Boer told the Volkskrant. The group’s first campaign is planned for the World Port Days in Rotterdam, in the first week of September, when around 50 cutters will sail into the harbour and fishermen will hand out flyers and serve fried fish.
But marine ecologist Han Lindeboom, of Wageningen University, argued that the fishing industry was already well represented in environmental talks. Lindeboom said that his proposal for a no fishing zone covering a quarter of the North Sea, something he has lobbied for for 25 years, had been blocked by interest groups. ‘There are very few protected areas in the North Sea,’ he said.
