FISHING: THE report (Echo, Dec 5) that fishermen in the North Sea are being given the last chance by being forced to accept further reductions in their catch quotas is very bad news for Britain's fishing industry.

It must be asked why is it that the North Sea, which was once one of the most fertile fishing ground in the world, is being threatened with closure to fishermen.

The decline in the fishing industry has nothing to do with less fish stock in the sea, but everything do with the management of the Common Fisheries Policy.

The officials responsible for allowing even less days at sea for the fishing fleet have done so based upon flawed data, derived by flawed methods, with flawed equipment producing a flawed quota policy.

The quotas that are apportioned to individual fishing boats are derived at from a complex system, which should, of course, be dependent upon an accurate system of calculating the fish population.

Since quota allocations, in many instances, do not allow fishermen to catch sufficient fish to make a living, black market catches are, by definition, not officially recorded.

The result is a constant official underestimate of the number of fish in the North Sea, and consequently the setting of low quotas.

Rather than facing biological extinction, cod is facing extinction from a flawed system.

Perhaps the officials responsible should be asked to accept cuts in red tape quotas and accept fewer days at their desks before they themselves become extinct. - Peter Troy, Chairman, Darlington Branch, Federation of Small Businesses.

WIND FARMS

I WAS amazed at the misconceptions contained in the letter from John Routledge (Echo, Dec 2).

It is true that the Super-Grid operates at 400kv and that the wind turbines do not; neither do any other generating sources. This is why 'mains' electricity works as alternating current which has the property of easily being 'transformed' from one voltage value to another.

To suggest that voltage differences preclude connection to the grid is the equivalent of saying that unless a home is wired for 400kv, it to cannot be interconnected with the national system.

It is also true that pure carbon is a solid (varying in form from soot to diamond), the emission of soot is from inefficient 'combustion', something that is not economically viable.

The emission from efficient 'combustion' (and also breathing) is in the form of a gas, carbon dioxide, a natural constituent of our atmosphere.

The problem is that large-scale emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from combustion upsets the natural 'balance'.

It is unfortunate that John Routledge criticises newspaper reports as being "full of inaccurate statements" by showing his total misunderstanding of how electricity generation and distribution works.

The whole point of the grid system is that it can take electricity from locations where it can be efficiently produced and supply it to the user wherever that may be.

If it were not so, our major cities and the whole of the South-East would be 'black holes'. - Jim Harper, High Shincliffe.

AUCKLAND CASTLE

IN case anyone is actually taken in by the report in the Sunday Times - that Auckland Castle is among a number of bishops' 'stately homes' to be sold to save the C of E - be assured it is a complete fabrication.

The story seems to rear its ugly head from time to time and here it is again - slightly different package but the same message - and it's wrong.

As you may know Auckland Castle is not just the home of the Bishop of Durham, it is also the administrative centre for the Diocese of Durham, a conference centre, several flats, and a church.

The building contains several offices including the Bishop's own office and the Diocesan Office complex and the thought of trying to find (or build) somewhere else to house all that does not bear thinking about.

It would appear that the author of this piece has dug up some old and stale information (it's appeared in some guise or other at least three times over the past few years) and written it up as a piece of hot news. It's not - in fact it's very cold.

It is true that the Church Commissioners review the place of bishops' houses in the general scheme of things from time to time and there is a possibility that such a review could take place at some point in the future.

But even if that were the case it is extremely unlikely that Auckland Castle would be put up for sale. - Paul Judson, Diocesan Director of Communications.

EDUCATION

THIS country is desperately short of building tradesmen. A plumber costs the earth.

After the Second World War, the Labour government set up a scheme to train men in these skills. Lots of building workers were killed in the war.

Instead of bunging everybody into universities, the Government should set up training schemes for building tradesmen.

I worked on building sites for years and I found brickies, joiners and sparks just as intelligent as any students I met.

Now they talk about £30,000 entry fee, as if it were nothing. Where can ordinary people find that kind of money?

One student recently on TV didn't know that Glasgow was in Scotland.

Our Government is made up of university-educated people. So is the EU. And look at the barmy laws they come out with.

As Cilla Black once said: "Life is the best school". Perhaps the only one. We need more plumbers. - Jim Ross, Rowlands Gill.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

UNITARY authorities are a good idea. They are easier to understand, deliver services more efficiently and will save money.

It is important, however to remember the bigger picture too. We need a regional assembly to complement the new councils.

We all know what the problems of the North-East are. But too often we appear to be simply complaining or living in the past. We need a new inclusive body that will harness all our energies both to regenerate the region and punch our weight in the rest of the country.

So vote yes for both new unitary authorities and a regional assembly. - David Taylor-Gooby, Peterlee.

CALENDAR

MOST people have weekly bills to pay, rent, newspaper bills etc. Those who are paid a monthly salary find that each month there is four weeks and either two or three days plus, except for February.

If it takes the earth 52 weeks to go round the sun in a year, why not divide the 52 by four and have 13 months of four weeks each? - E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill.