Fishermen -- and IntraFish -- have been reporting for months about the dreadful prices fishermen are getting for their catches, but its only when people see it in an official government report that they seem to sit up and accept it as fact.

This speaks volumes about how serious the opinion of fishermen is taken – similar to the discard problem when fishermen complained for years about what a disgrace it was, but it was only when the green groups used their political clout to get it some attention that those in power recognized that this was a serious problem that needed addressing -- albeit in the EU’s normal half baked way.

This ‘cherry picking’ of issues which is entrenched in the modern day fishing industry is something that is unfortunately all too common.

For example, it’s unlikely green groups will come out in support of fishermen and demand they get higher prices for their catches – if anything, they might propose a...