This week's collection of whimsical and curious stories will consider fish in the United Kingdom. However, rather than raving against the ungodly combination that is fish and chips with vinegar, we will have a look at some finer legal and political curiosities:
Suspicious salmon - As can be expected from a legal system that is centuries old, relies largely on precedent rulings, and requires its practitioners to follow 17th century fashion trends*, it has bequeathed the Rainy Island with some rather peculiar laws - including those fish-related. The Salmon Act of 1986 is a fine example of this. Section 32 of the Act is headed "Handling Salmon in Suspicious Circumstances" creating an offence for anybody who receives or disposes of salmon that could have reasonably been fished without permission
Fifty Flemish fishermen - For anybody who is following the ongoing EU/UK post-Brexit trade negotiations with a keen interest, last month's round of talks in Brussels offered somewhat of a magical moment. It came curtesy of Willem van de Voorde (the Belgian government’s representative) who responded to Britain’s demands for greater fishing catches in its waters by using the tried and tested ".. And what about King Charles II" argument. You see, in 1666, King Charles II was so grateful for the hospitality he had received by the Netherlands (after his father had fallen victim to a work-place accident**), that he granted 50 Flemish fishermen from Bruges “eternal rights” to English fishing waters. In other words, there was little to negotiate over in Brussels as this matter had been settled 350 years ago. Summarizing this episode (and perhaps the entire Brexit saga), another diplomat was later quoted as saying: “I wasn’t quite sure what he [Willem] was on about but I think he was joking. But, then, you never know.”
The 1666 charter granting rights to 50 fishermen from Bruges to fish in British coastal waters in perpetuity
And for all of you who have not already devoted enough of their Monday morning to fish, I leave you with a famous 90s German techno song finally answering the question of "how much the fish is": Link
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*white wigs and black robes
**the English revolution
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