Better late than never I suppose but what a tragedy that trawlers were allowed into the Firth of Thames in the first place. They are big vessels and have the capacity to fish off shore in deeper waters.
With no regards for the ordinary bloke who just wanted to catch a feed for his family plus a few to give to friends, neighbours and the elderly, the trawlers were allowed in with nets that collected everything in their path in the 1970 s.
I lived in Coromandel in the 1960s and could go out fishing only 100 metres from the shore everyday if I wished and come back with an unlimited catch. I did not do this of course, taking only enough for a feed, but fish were always there for the taking when required with a feed caught in a remarkably short time.
In came the trawlers and the fish stocks disappeared so rapidly. It became hit and miss as to if and when a recreational catch was obtained.
Recreational fishers' catches do total up but I will never believe that they deplete stocks as fast or waste as many fish as those trawlers did in the Firth of Thames.
