Nigel Farage was on the European Parliament Fishing Committee and [...] attended one out of 43 meetings

[ipsogenix]

Fantastic quote from Bob Geldof about Nigel Farage:

"You were on the European Parliament Fishing Committee and you attended one out of 43 meetings."

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36537180

Seems he was out numbered 27-1.

You have to pick your battles.

Yep. So he picked a battle on the Thames for the cameras.

The personalities here don't matter. They're transient.

The important thing to remember is that UK fishermen get paid to stay on shore, whilst boats from other EU countries fish 2 miles away in our waters.

Not 'how many meetings Nigel Farage attends.'

Bob Geldof didn't exactly behave wonderfully either.

More of the quote from Geldof:

"Here are the facts about fishing. One, Britain makes more money than any other country in Europe from fishing. Two, Britain has the second largest quota for fish in Europe after Denmark. Three, Britain has the third largest landings."

Wellerr perhaps you should actually double check your facts -it's the UK minister who distributes licences see the greenpeace press release eg

Also hilarious story about the lead boat - was involved in massive fishing fraud and now owned by a times rich list guy. Not exactly a poor misunderstood fisherman
www.greenpeace.org.uk/media/press-releases/brexit-flotilla%E2%80%99s-star-trawler-was-involved-%C2%A363m-fishing-fraud-20160615

Also wellerr the committee meetings is where the EP work gets done but Mr garage has always preferred making flashy and controversial statements in plenary for the publicity. They are in fact plenty of other small groups in the EP who have an impact but it takes work

Oops autocorrect farage to garage. ..

People on the boat with him certainly weren't happy with his behaviour as OrangesandLemonsNow has said.

In fact some issued an apology to the fishermen afterwards and actually left the boat on disgust.

Is UKIP any relation to: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemen_on_the_land

Conspiracy theory anyone?

I'll believe actual fishermen over has-been pop stars when it comes to fishing

And no, it's not Clangers.

Is this another example of where the other 27 countries' national interests totally align and they gang together to screw over poor UK? Because the main motivation behind the EU is to make Britain suffer.

Or is Nigel Farage a self serving opportunist xenophobe who is currently having the time of his life creating a very divided society?

Wellerr actual fishermen like the one involved in a massive fraud ?

Greenpeace statement:

"“Brexit cheerleaders like Nigel Farage are cynically exploiting the legitimate anger of many British fishermen for political gain. The root of the problem lies in London, not Brussels. Quitting the EU will only condemn the industry to years of wrangling over new fisheries agreements, with no guarantee of a better deal for fishers or stronger protections for our seas."

Many small fishing businesses have blamed a fish quota allocation that favours large over small vessels for their dire predicament. The distribution of fishing rights within the UK’s fleet is entirely the responsibility of the UK’s fisheries minister.

A Greenpeace investigation has revealed how just three large fishing firms have come to control nearly two-thirds of England’s fish quota, leaving thousands of small boats struggling to keep afloat."

Wellerr also bob geldoff's figures are easily checked.

(Sorry Kitty, just saw you linked the same Greenpeace statement above.)

Indeed pausingflatly.. and who distributes the quota? Hint it's not the EU...lTs the UK fisheries minister

No worries!

Which then rent their quota out, of course, to whoever's willing to pay.

From the same Greenpeace statement:
"The beneficial owner of the other large trawler, the 40-metre-long Atlantic Challenge, is Caley Fisheries, which posted a healthy turnover of £18m in 2014, including over a half a million pound from renting out fishing quota."

I'm not sure we can really argue that it is entirely the government's fault.

Whenever they have tried to get a better deal for the fishermen they have been over ruled by the European courts.

It is indeed an aspect where our own national sovereign resources are divided up for the benefit of the rest of Europe, and not surprising that the main beneficiaries fight tooth and nail to keep it so. Spain in particular would have horsedtraded plenty to ensure continued support.

That farage has been more interested in raising awareness over the EU in general than specific issues is I think a self evident truth.

He's rather a keen sea angler on the side so I more than suspect he has the fishermen's interests at heart, even if his reluctance to be constantly out voted might not specifically evidence this.

Hi spinflight which ECJ judgements are you referring to? I understood one of the main issues is that the UK government hasn't put in place some new provisions which should support smaller fishermen.

to be honest one of the things that has irritated me most about watching ukip over the years is their complete lack of interest in actually influencing EU legislation - if you care that much, then get in there! instead, making big statements. And like I said, small groups get their stuff done all the time. Farage and UKIP just couldn't be bothered. So they basically reduced the UK's influence all by themselves by not voting with UK MEPs, not turning up etc...

to be honest anyway fishing is where noone really wins because we've managed to overfish so much... and fishermen hate to be told where they can fish or not

The UK has more fishing waters & more fishing stocks than all other EU nations combined, they will never vote to give up their rights to fish in UK waters, plus UKIP voters don't vote for UKIP to go to the EU & make more EU laws & agree to EU rules they vote UKIP to get us out of the EU

you mean that UKIP don't care about voting in a concerted way that could have benefits for citizens BritBrit..

Also you seem to be confusing votes in the Council and votes in the Parliament.