While our "serious" media concentrates on the McBride scandal, there is little coverage of the other McBrides. Charlie and his son Charles are victims of the EU's Common Fishing Policy and are now locked up in Liverpool jail. As I was told once before, by a Liberal Democrat MEP, Fishermen and Farmers don't decide elections. So our Westminster Government feel quite at liberty to use the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA), for the first time ever, against fishermen.

You will struggle to find this story in the English Press, but in March, The Outlook of County Down reported that:

As a Kilkeel father and son duo are jailed for not paying a confiscation order over landing excess fish stocks, the real price of how basic food is brought to our diner table becomes alarmingly evident.
Fifty five year-old Charlie McBride and his son Charles Hubert, were jailed for two months and three months respectively, at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday.
Back in January 2007, Charlie and his son stood with 23 other defendants at the same court to plead guilty to a charge of illegally landing excess fish stocks, known as black fish.
Speaking in an interview with The Outlook last year, Charlie spoke candidly about the situation and voiced fears over the looming prison sentence if he couldn't find the money.
He said back then if he was to be jailed: "After release, I will still be expected to pay the fine, plus eight per cent interest."
The added financial pressure of legal fees of £130,00 and a second Confiscation Order of £10,613 against his company McBride Fishing, which he has already paid, will see Charlie fishing the North Sea until he's 70 years old.

In The Daily Telegraph on Saturday (April 18^th, 2009), "French fishermen speak out against the 'frightening' imprisonment of British comrades" Christopher Booker highlighted the case, yet again. At least The French Fishermen understand the true horrors of this case. "The French see the treatment of the McBrides as a dire warning of the way EU law will be enforced in Europe's fishing communities, says Christopher Booker." He goes on to say:

The two McBrides had seen all their assets confiscated by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) under the Proceeds of Crime Act (designed to recover money from drug dealers and international criminal gangs), including their homes and their boat, the Arcane. When, to raise money to pay their fines, the two men remortgaged their homes, this too was seized by Soca and they were consigned to Walton prison in Liverpool for "contempt of court".

Although in Britain this remarkable story was reported only by Fishing News and this column, it stunned the French fishermen who, brandishing placards reading "Justice pour l'Arcane II", see it as a dire warning of the ruthless methods now being used to enforce EU law on Europe's fishing communities. "This is frightening," as French fishermen's leaders told the French press. ""e are shocked at the British court's decision to gaol the two fishermen, treating them worse than drug dealers, and all for cod!"

What particularly irks the fishermen is that, contrary to the controversial findings of the scientists on whom Brussels relies for its data on fish stocks, cod are still so abundant in the eastern Channel that it is almost impossible to avoid catching them. As one French skipper put it, "Whether you are Irish, British or French, we are all getting the same kamikaze treatment from the European Commission, which treats the sea as though it were an aquarium plugged into a computer."

The response of the French government has been to try to buy off their fishermen's anger by offering them a 4 million euro subsidy if they will agree to suspend fishing, The British Government's response is first to steal everything our fishermen own and then put them in gaol.

But our so called press is more interested in Damien McBride, or maybe the news that the CO2 in our atmosphere is dangerous.

See also:

Trawler Photos "Should the Courts be barred from using the Proceeds of Crime Act against Fishermen ??"