UK: Commercial Fishermen Concerned over Falmouth Dredging Plan

Fishermen in Falmouth say they will oppose any plans to use taxpayers’ money to pay for the dredging of the town’s harbour, informs bbc.co.uk.

Commercial fishermen raise concerns about the impacts of dredging.

“Previous fisheries, such as the Thames cockle fishery and an oyster fishery in Southampton, were completely wiped out by a dredge nearby. So the two things we can look back on were disastrous.” says one fisherman.

Falmouth dredging could devastate the bay, ruining wildlife habitat and being disastrous to the seafood industry.

The proposed channel would cut through the fragile maerl habitat – a home to a diversity of marine life, which also forms a nursery for commercially important species such as scallops and crabs, the dredging could devastate the bay, ruining wildlife habitat and being disastrous to the seafood industry, fishermen consider.

The Falmouth plans involve dredging a deep channel to allow enormous cruise ships to visit the docks

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Dredging Today Staff, July 24, 2012