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Farming Today: Fish Quotas, Freshwater Pearl Mussels, Sheep

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15/12/2014

Fish Quotas, Freshwater Pearl Mussels, Sheep

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, Fish Quotas, Freshwater Pearl Mussels, Sheep

British fishermen brace themselves for cuts as European ministers negotiate fish quotas.

European ministers begin negotiating fish quotas in Brussels, as British fishermen brace themselves for cuts in 2015.

Fisheries ministers from all over the EU are meeting in Brussels today to negotiate an agreement on quotas. Quotas are set to achieve what it calls Maximum Sustainable Yield, the number of fish scientists say can be aught in order to preserve future stocks. Farming Today speaks to Paul Trebilcock from the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation as they prepare for cuts to their quotas next year. 

The population of freshwater pearl mussels has halved in just over a decade on the River Spey in Scotland. This decline has been put down to a number of issues, including water quality and wildlife crime. Scottish Natural Heritage is working alongside other organisation to tackle the problem.

A scheme in the South West helping would-be sheep farmers get a foot on the ladder is proving so successful, it can't keep up with demand. A farmer from Devon started the project last year by giving two young farmers a hundred sheep each and Anna Varle has been to meet him. 

Presented by Charlotte Smith and Produced by Lucy Bickerton.

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