Fishing for excuses

SO, once again, the fishermen trot out the same old story that Scotland's seals need to be culled as they're eating all of the fish (your report, 22 July).

When will these people realise that a large number of factors are at play in the reduction in fish numbers, such as pollution, disease, the effects of climate change, predation and, last but not least, over-exploitation?

These serial complainers are the self-same fishermen who have over- exploited our fish stocks regardless of warning after warning and the best scientific advice for decades now, in order to just line their own pockets in the short term.

It is both lazy and inaccurate of them to always blame the seals as they do. If these self-interested parties are so concerned about predation on fish, they should remind themselves that the biggest predator of fish is… other fish.

No doubt they'll now call for a cull of fish to protect fish stocks

STAN BLACKLEY

Lismore Crescent

Edinburgh