A huge fish was caught by local fishermen in a trawling net off Eastbourne this week and, at eight foot long with a five foot tail, this thresher shark weighed some 225 kgs.
It was brought back to Market Fisheries at Simmonds Wharf to be loaded on to a lorry bound for France. The thresher shark gets its name from its method of hunting shoals of small fish by sweeping them with its powerful tail.
It is listed as a vulnerable species because of declining numbers. Although sometimes targeted as an alternative catch to tuna, these “harmless to human” sharks frequently fall victim to entanglement in fishing nets as a bycatch, as in this case.
However sharks are the least of local fishermen’s problems as many fear their businesses will be undermined by a European ban from next month on throwing fish back overboard – which might count against how much they can catch.
Local Rother District Councillor Lord Ampthill told the Town Council recently that local Member of Parliament Amber Rudd was intervening on behalf of local fishermen.
Talks have been taking place with Defra (the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs ) and the government has announced a £43 million European Maritime and Fisheries Fund to help fishermen cope with the ban.
The Fisheries Minister has promised to help the under ten metre fleet of small fishing boats and HoRAC (the Harbour of Rye Advisory Committee) has also been asking Defra to help.
Some fishermen believe that throwing live fish back, instead of them ending up as fish meal, helps preserve stocks, but others favour the ban as they believe throwing the fish back is wasteful. And there are also differences of view between the owners of large boats and the smaller fleet.
Down at the dockside, Rye Partnership, which promotes local economic growth, is bidding for money from the Coastal Revival Fund to establish a Rye fishing heritage centre, upgrade moorings, and provide a dry dock and ten affordable homes.
Photo: Kenneth Bird