Are anglers doing enough

[Orca]

I think the difference between what is thought to be done for conservation and what is actually done is misrepresented. There seems to be too many people of the opinion that most anglers DON'T do enough. I have to disagree, I have mainly met Sea anglers, boat and shore and I can truthfully say that EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM practises Catch and Release 99% of the time, and I don't see anything wrong with eating fish.

 

They always endeavour to bring the fish in alive, the hardest fish up here to bring in alive from the deep marks are Cuckoo Wrasse and all small fish, but the method there is to bring them in slowly and they stand a good chance.

 

Just because they do it in their own quiet way by practising Catch and Release and good fish handling does not mean they are not doing there bit. Not everyone is suited to the Town Crier approach to conservation.

[sam-cox]

I was talking to my pal Mat this evening about the fact that many on here get fed up with the likes of myself ranting about conservation. His coments were I thought every angler was an conservationist!. I think he really belived that as he is faily new to sea angling and cut his teath on serious carp fishing.

The problem I think could be in ther fact that we can eat sea fish and many angler like to see a return for their time and money. This I feel is slowly changing as more anglers like Mat come over from caurse angling to our side of the sport.

My farther has been beeting the conservation drum for more than 30 years and now the goverment are at last listerning to the likes of him.

Its a big stone that turns very slowly!

[stavey]

There was some 2000 or so replies to the defra bass consultation, now baring in mind that was the total responce! and if you were to take a third of that away to allow for commercial interests, it would only leave 1300 or so actual responces from sea anglers, now i have heard figures (banded around) like 30.000 sea anglers buy sea angling magazines every month and there seems to be atleast 1000000+ that participate every year in the hobby? (there is certainly more than 1300 thats for sure) one cant help believing that we are not doing enough at all.

 

Putting fish back for one's own satisifaction and believing your doing your bit for conservation is fine and admirable, i would not knock it, but it is not going to help to make the powers that be sit up and listen and change policies for our benefit, and just relying on others to do so (although there efforts have be remakable so far to say the least) with no help or finance from us is in the long run doomed to failure, so it is time to make an effort otherwise we all know what is going to happen, thats right nothing........................

[gozzer]

Stavey, when we only get about 50% of the electorate, voting in a general election to decide who runs the country, when all they've got to do is go to a polling station, and put a cross on a piece of paper. I think you might have high expectations in trying to get people actively involved in any political venture, and just be grateful that people are doing their bit in their own way.

[wurzel]

Perhaps 998700 anglers are better at it than you are, and manage to catch reasonable amounts of large fish there fore are happy with things as they are.

 

Stavey you seem to do most shouting, yet you have not bothered to fish for the last 4 months, you say it aint worth going but the angling press is full of pictures of anglers who disagree with you.

[stavey]

Perhaps 998700 anglers are better at it than you are, and manage to catch reasonable amounts of large fish there fore are happy with things as they are.

 

Stavey you seem to do most shouting, yet you have not bothered to fish for the last 4 months, you say it aint worth going but the angling press is full of pictures of anglers who disagree with you.

 

Those photo's in the angling press wurzel are often from the previous year let alone the last month, and anyway why should you be concerned if i dont bother with the winter beach fishing and beat the conservation drum? if no one is listening to what i or any of the others are saying you can rest assured you have helped to keep apathy alive amongst sea anglers and done your bit for the commercialy interested parties including yourself, actualy i have never asked you what you are doing on an angling forum when you are a "commercial fisherman" i suppose it speaks for itself dont it.

[Leon Roskilly]

There was some 2000 or so replies to the defra bass consultation

 

2,800 at the last count

[wurzel]

Hello Stavey

 

The reason I come on to a angling forum is to fight for the commercial corner, post actual facts against myths and propaganda.

 

quote

why should you be concerned if i dont bother with the winter beach fishing and beat the conservation drum?

 

I would not bother me if you never went fishing ever again, It does bother me when you say it's not worth fishing any more because the commercials have killed it all, when I know that is not true.

[seaside]

Pretty straight forward question as to whether us anglers are doing enough to help ourselves and others like sacn/nfsa/bass etc, to promote and better our sport, or are we still to apathetic or just down right to lazy?

 

Stavey - I think it's quite self evident that anglers in general are not doing enough, but I don't think that should come as a suprise to anyone.

 

The population of this forum will, in general, be a reflection of the poulation of the UK as a whole and conservation is not the number one issue for the general population - pick any bridge on the M25 and count the number of cars with 1 person in and those with more than 1 - you give me a £1.00 for each of the former and I'll quite happily give you £1.50 for each of the latter.

 

No I am not about to say that conservation doesn't matter or that issues can't be addressed or moved forward, but 'conservation' is too broad a brush and unless specific actions are identified anglers on this forum, or in general, cannot identify with them, discuss them realistically, or even practice them.

 

To try and illustrate my point, can anyone identify a 'conservation' activity that you think would be equally acceptable to all of the four types of fishermen identified by DoubleShotDamo ( I may not totally agree with them but they are near enough ) and how such could be implemented.

 

Of course, any activity must be one that is actionable by anglers, as no other group has a vested interest in improving our environment.

[Steve Coppolo]

What is "doing enough" for conservation?

 

First let me make one thing very clear. I take some of the fish I catch home to eat. I don't go mad, but taking fresh fish home to eat is one of the things that makes sea angling appealing to me. I don't keep count but a rough estimate for last year would have been about 4 codling last march, 4 thornbacks in april and about 4 bass throughout the summer. Taking fish home to eat doesn't mean you aren't doing enough for conservation.

 

What I consider to be "not doing enough" is not being bothered to even write a letter to an MP, or take part in a consultation, or back those that are trying to do enough. It takes 5 minutes to knock a letter out. Nowdays you don't even have to buy a stamp, email is a wonderful thing. As most people who are reading this can spend hours every week typing out posts, surely 5 minutes to write the odd letter to an MP, a councillor, a fisheries officer, a newspaper or to take part in any consultation that's taking place, isn't asking too much?

 

It's that stuff that makes the most difference, and I don't think it would hurt a few more people to put in a little bit more effort. That's why I've voted no in Staveys poll. It's not hard. Boring maybe, but definately not hard.