Steve Double, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for St Austell and Newquay, recently visited Mevagissey with Farming and Fisheries Minister George Eustice MP
Prospective Conservative Cornwall Councillor James Mustoe invited Mr Eustice to visit Mevagissey to meet with representatives from the fishing community and discuss their concerns on a variety of issues.
Commenting, Mr Eustice said, ‘I am committed to supporting our local fishing industry and will continue to do all I can to work with them and make sure their voice is heard by the Government. I wanted to visit Mevagissey with Steve Double and James Mustoe to hear first-hand the concerns that local fishermen have regarding the allocation of quotas for the under ten metre fishing fleet, and also to get their view ahead of the important December Council at the EU, where we will negotiate opportunities for next year. There are clearly some concerns about some of the changes being considered which I will be considering further.’
Commenting, Steve said, ‘As I’ve been campaigning in Mevagissey with James, we became aware that the local fishermen had a number of concerns regarding the regulations and quotas for under ten metre boats. As a result we were able to bring the DEFRA Minister and Cornish MP George Eustice to the village. George was able to meet the fishermen and listen first hand to their concerns. I believe it was a very positive and useful meeting and George has gone away with a clearer understanding of the issues our local fishermen are facing.’
Commenting, James said, ‘Having grown up in Mevagissey I have always had a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for the vital and often unappreciated work that the fishing community do in feeding our families. Mevagissey is currently the second most productive fishing port in Cornwall and I am delighted to see this current state of affairs’.
‘While campaigning I have spoken with many fishermen, some of whom I went to school with, who have raised a number of concerns about the current administration of our fisheries by central government, which they felt was not listening to their concerns on a local level’.
‘What better way to report on their concerns than inviting the Minister responsible for Farming and Fishing to personally meet with them? I am glad that Mr Eustice accepted my invitation and hope that now that he has had a chance to meet with Mevagissey’s fishing community, he will have a keener appreciation of the issues that they and the other Cornish fishing villages face and will take appropriate action to address their concerns’.