ARTHUR REYNOLDS,
Madam, - Lorna Siggins is correct (November 13th) when she writes that sectional closure of fishing grounds is the only solution to declining fish stocks.
Herring fisheries in the North Sea were severely depleted when the second World War broke out, but because the war curtailed fishing, stocks had recovered well by 1946 and then made great riches for the Dutch and the Danes.
Iceland continually proves that this method works, thus maintaining what is the richest per capita income in Europe created by its dominant fishing activity.
When the public was being enticed into joining the EEC, I carried out a campaign, in my role as editor of The Irish Skipper, journal of the fish industry, to point out what was coming after membership. TDs went to the ports and told the communities that if we did not join, Ireland would not be able to sell its fish. The major ports supported that idea at the time, while the smaller ones opposed it.
One of Norway's strongest reasons for staying out was to protect its fishing grounds. Yet Norway exports huge quantities of fish to eager-to-buy EU countries, paying only insignificant tariffs.
It is surprising that a Government of a country with its strong agricultural past - if not a future - should not know what every grazier understands. Field walls prevent mismanagement of resources. - Yours, etc.,
ARTHUR REYNOLDS, Blackrock, Co Dublin.