A CALL TO ARMS BY STEVE COPPOLO

The recent problem with fish theft has kicked up a storm within the course fishing community, and rightly so. When mature fish are taken from a water faster than the juveniles can grow, and when those juveniles are then taken before they can reproduce, that water is soon ruined. When anglers see their sport suffering as a result of the irresponsible and selfish actions of a few, it causes anger and resentment. Sea anglers have seen their sport deteriorate in a similar fashion over the years. The only difference is, those plundering the sea fish stocks have been given licences, free of charge, to do so. Abysmal fisheries management, and a reluctance to address the problems it’s created, have meant that almost every commercially fished species in our seas are under pressure. Un-workable quota systems that encourage illegal landing of fish, minimum landing sizes that don’t allow the fish to spawn before being landed, commercial fishing methods that result in thousands of tons of fish being dumped back into the sea dead, and almost non existent enforcement of the few pathetic rules they do employ. These are just some of the issues that need addressing in order to improve sea fish stocks. Yet those with the power to do something about it have seemed very reluctant to do so.

Some anglers have felt so strongly about this lack of commitment, that they decided to get off their backsides and try to do something about it. The sea angling lobby, after years of campaigning, have gained recognition by the government within the last few years and are now involved in talks with DEFRA to “develop” the sport of sea angling. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, the reality isn’t quite as impressive as it sounds. DEFRA are currently putting together a strategy for the future of sea angling that will include the introduction of a sea angling licence, bag limits, the creation of Marine Protected Areas and No Take Zones where angling activity will be restricted, and handing new powers to Sea Fisheries Committees that will allow them to control and regulate sea anglers.

Taken at face value, none of these measures should give us cause for concern. After all, the same measures are employed in other countries, like the USA, Australia and New Zealand, and they enjoy some of the best sportsfishing in the world. The trouble is, successive governments in this country have shied away from the management measures that are necessary to ensure a world-class recreational fishery. There has been a real reluctance to implement the restrictions on commercial fishing that are needed to make their “sea angling strategy” work. I’m not suggesting that commercial fishermen should be forced out of business, far from it. Measures that would improve sea angling, like setting the Minimum Landing Size, (MLS), so that all species have spawned at least once before being landed, would lead to more and bigger fish in the sea and would actually benefit commercial fishermen in the medium to long term. But it seems the development of Recreational Sea Angling, (RSA), has more to do with generating money through the proposed licensing scheme, and creating jobs through the extra management, than providing healthier fish stocks and better fishing for anglers. DEFRA, and the government, recently had the perfect opportunity to demonstrate how serious they were about developing sea angling, but failed miserably by backing down yet again to pressure from the commercial fishing industry.

In August 2006, after a very long campaign by the Bass Anglers Sportsfishing Society, (B.A.S.S), and a lengthy consultation process costing god knows how much public money, Ben Bradshaw announced that he would increase MLS for bass, as from the 6th April 2007. B.A.S.S had campaigned for a 45cm MLS because most bass would have spawned once by the time they reached that size. Bradshaw, fearing a backlash from the commercial sector, felt 40cm was as far as he could go. The 4cm increase was a big disappointment to say the least, but at least it was a step in the right direction. However, in March 2007, he announced that he was going to delay the increase due to pressure from the commercial fishing sector. At the 11th hour, they had presented him with “new evidence” that suggested the increased MLS would lead to more fish being discarded. It has been suggested that the media would have been invited to witness trawlers dumping undersize fish back into the sea dead, and that would be deemed unacceptable coming at a time when the EU is putting pressure on fisheries managers to cut down or eliminate discards. The thing is, the number of fish discarded by commercial fishermen already is a disgrace, and little or nothing has been done to address the problem. How ironic then that the threat of highlighting the very same discarding that has been hidden and hushed up for years, has been used to halt a conservation measure that would have benefited the bass stocks. If making a very small change that would have benefited a stock that has historically been of more interest to anglers than commercial fishermen was too much to ask, what chance do we have of bringing about changes that would benefit the countries Cod anglers? In these days of environmental awareness, and with fish stocks in more trouble than ever before, you would think that something would be done to protect them. The fishing industry is shrinking and sea angler’s catches are diminishing, along with the fish stocks, and politicians are sticking their heads in the sand. Unfortunately, common sense, holding the moral high ground and evidence to back our arguments has not been enough to change things. Even the scientists who recommend restrictions to protect the fragile stocks are being ignored year after year. Despite our huge numbers, the angling lobby in this country has always been weak. Those who belong to clubs or organisations are just a tiny percentage of anglers in this country, or to put it another way, those clubs and organisations represent only a tiny percentage of this countries anglers. Is it any wonder the politicians and civil servants responsible for fisheries haven’t taken us seriously? The opportunity to make our voice heard is still there, it’s up to you whether we take it or not.

Steve Coppolo