GONE: FISHING

Well, it ain't gone yet, of course, but there a couple of interesting stories by the BBC that I just came across, and let's just say that the bobber is wiggling for now: For one thing, environmental experts in the UK have argued for major, even "radical," fishing bans in many area waters to protect threatened species. For instance: "A scientific report by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) said no cod should be caught next year in the North Sea, Irish Sea or off the west coast of Scotland because of depleted stocks." So there's commercial fishing - meanwhile, sport fishermen "could find themselves prosecuted under plans to crack down on animal cruelty, a committee of MPs has warned. Sloppy wording of the draft animal welfare bill could leave anglers facing court even though it was not intended, the environment select committee said." Intended or not, making fishermen think twice about the cruelty inherenet in their "sport" seems like a good idea to me.