A GREENPEACE ship will arrive in Lyme Regis next week to support local fishermen under threat from the ‘unfair’ quota system.

Arctic Sunrise will dock in Lyme Bay on Wednesday afternoon when it will be met by a flotilla of local boats.

The 50-metre, 950-tonne ice breaker is touring the UK as part of Greenpeace’s campaign to work with local sustainable fishermen.

It is highlighting the UK and European Union fishing policies, which the charity says is discriminating against small-scale fishing communities.

A spokesman said: “Greenpeace has brought the Arctic Sunrise to Lyme Regis as part of its UK campaign to support endangered local fishing communities who are under threat from a quota system which unfairly favours the most powerful and destructive boats.

“Under the current disastrous policy, boats under 10 metres long, which make up 77 per cent of the UK fleet and provide 65 per cent of our fishing jobs, only receive 4 per cent of UK quota.”

Arctic Sunrise, which has been involved in campaigns in the Arctic ice cap to the Amazon River, will arrive at around 3pm.

Once anchored, local fishermen will join the ship to meet a representative of the French small-scale sector, who is travelling on the Arctic Sunrise from St Malo.

The French fisherman will hand over a ceremonial ship’s lantern, which has toured Europe’s coasts and fishing grounds with the ship, passed from fisherman to fisherman as they accompanied the Arctic Sunrise on her journey.

On the shore Greenpeace volunteers will be at the Jubilee Pavilion to meet and talk to people about the campaign, and asking them to sign paper boats to add their support.

Lyme Bay fishermen Angus Walker will be among those to greet Arctic Sunrise.

He said: “For as long as there have been people living along this piece of coastline there has been fishing – we have historical evidence tracing it back more than a thousand years.

“That tradition of local fleets employing local people is now vanishing.

“The under 10 metre fisherman has become an endangered species due to EU and UK policies.

“A complete misunderstanding of how this section of the fleet works has resulted in a government led extermination of this largely environmentally friendly section of the fleet.

“This is mismanagement on a monumental scale, and we welcome Greenpeace’s support in trying to sort this mess out.”

Over the last year Greenpeace and fishing communities along the UK coastline have formed an alliance to bring pressure on the Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon and the UK government to support local sustainable fishermen gaining access to British fish.

Nina Schrank, oceans campaigner for Greenpeace, said: “It is a real honour to campaign together with local fishermen from the Lyme Bay area, and one of Greenpeace’s iconic ships.

“Just over a year ago Greenpeace started working with local fishermen like Angus to demand that the UK government and Europe fix the broken system that shuts out small-scale fishermen, subsidises the most environmentally damaging fishing methods and destroys local jobs, communities and fish stocks.”

The Arctic Sunrise will leave Lyme Regis at around 8pm for the Cornish fishing port of Fowey, when it will be carrying several local fishermen from the Lyme Regis area.