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Name: Andrew Walsh
I have been a full time fisherman for the last 10 years starting as soon as I left school working my way from crew to now owner of a 26ft boat. I have a young family who mostly rely on me as the main source of income in our household.
I have been fishing the Les Minquiers for roughly 5 years and have seen an increasing number of French vessels moving in to fish on the reef. It has forced me to move my fishing gear to new ground due to the excessive number of pots from the French vessels and upon moving I have found that there have been a large number of nets being placed by French vessels fishing in more of the open ground away from the reef meaning that I do not have much choice of where to place my pots. Also by moving out of the Les Minquiers it has also put me at risk of my pots being destroyed by the French Trawlers.
I am feeling let down that we do not have 6 or 12 mile limit around Jersey like the rest of Europe. I believe that we should be increasing our current limit of 3 miles island to protect our industry. I am also feeling that there was been an overall lack of support for the fleet.
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