Number of active anglers in the UK today?

[dizidave]

Does anyone know?

 

Elton?

 

Ta.

[Zinky]

523,546 approx

[Waterman]

Dragonbat:

523,546 approx

Sorry mate you missed me so that's 523,547

 

[ 13. August 2002, 09:02 AM: Message edited by: Waterman ]

[Julian]

Dave,

 

I think the best figures you will find will be those issued by the EA.

 

They did a study in 2001 showing that one in six of the population had been freshwater fishing in the last two years, or were interested in going in the future, equating to around seven million people.

 

Furthermore, these anglers spent around £6-billion (in the UK) each year on angling!

 

You may be able to find more info on the EA website: www.environment-agency.gov.uk/fish

 

Cheers,

 

Julian

[Paul_H]

As Julian says best figures are from the EA website, obviously these are the anglers who bought licences and don't include those who didn't and those who don't need one eg. sea anglers. Judging by these figures I would think there are not as many anglers in the uk as many people think.

 

See

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/fish/165773/169852/312415/?lang=_e&regio n=://http://www.environment-agency.gov.u...ang=_e&regio n=://http://www.environment-agency.gov.u...ang=_e&regio n=://http://www.environment-agency.gov.u...ang=_e&regio n=://http://www.environment-agency.gov.u...ang=_e&regio n=://http://www.environment-agency.gov.u...ang=_e&regio n=

 

for actual figures (Approx 1.1 Million bought licences last year)

 

[ 13. August 2002, 03:11 PM: Message edited by: Paul_H ]

[Zinky]

Active Anglers.

What defines active.

Out go the Carp Boys always asleep and blank.

Anglers blank so thats them out.

Anglers fast asleep on the banks.

 

523,546 approx so I was spot on with my count

[MarkV]

can't we count number of active rods? Double the number of carp anglers, cod and mackerel feathers multiply by 6. Makes us sound great then!

[dizidave]

7 million....im not surprised.

 

The reason i was aking is that how the hell could they ban angling.

 

I know, i know, in theory they could (and i dont wanna keep floggin teh same old hoss)but really...

 

Its as likely as them banning alcohol.....it aint gonna happen.

[Tim Kelly]

Many, many more people used to have shotguns and they'd occasionally go out to get a dinner with it, before you needed to apply for a license. Then you had to apply to the police for a license and the numbers of people who only went out occasionally didn't bother to keep their guns. Then they introduced a license which you needed to list all your guns, so they could keep track of them, then they tried to get you to provide proof of a need for the shotgun, etc etc etc...

 

The point is that, little bits of legislation chip away at the freedom to do things and gradually more and more people who are only casual participants drop away, if at the same time voiciferous little groups start saying that what you are doing is cruel, and they get coverage from the press, who love a controversy, the tide of opinion starts to turn. Less people participate so less people know what they are talking about, so a diminishing sport becomes marginalised and eventually vulnerable to the moronic masses who want it banned.

 

I honestly believe that if fishing doesn't sort it's self out in some constructive political way, it will go the same way as hunting has currently gone and shooting will soon follow. I bet in twenty years, the "public" will have a negative view on angling, and then....

[Scott]

dizidave:

7 million....im not surprised.

 

The reason i was aking is that how the hell could they ban angling.

 

I know, i know, in theory they could (and i dont wanna keep floggin teh same old hoss)but really...

 

Its as likely as them banning alcohol.....it aint gonna happen.

Dave they dont need to put a complete ban on angling to get rid of it, read Tim's post above, just chip away at little bits and the casual ones will leave.

 

What if there was a total ban on live baits, not just fish but worms, maggots etc what effect would that have?

It would be the end of sea fishing for most, plus there are many small tackle shop's throughout the UK that without their maggot sales (and the anglers picking up a few bits while they are there)that would no longer be able to afford to stay open.

 

There was once an excellent article by Sean Graves (I think) many years ago in a mag in which he told a story showing how easy it could be to loose angling in this country.

 

From what I can remember it was a rare bird tangled in fishing line dead in a tree, as nothing much was happening in the world at the time it ended up on the front pages of a few daily papers, a huge fuss followed and caving in to public pressure all fishing line under 15lb thickness was banned, a few Pike, Carp and sea anglers tried to carry on but the industry had just folded around them, tackle shops dissapeared etc before long buying any item of tackle was virtually impossible.........

 

The story was much more detailed and longer than that but painted a very frightening picture of how easy it could happen.

 

A ban on keepnets could easily start a similar downward spiral like that, no match fishing would be a lot less bait sold, fisheries loosing money, several magazines closing down, get this weeks AT or AM and cut out anything in it that has anything to do with match fishing, not a lot left is there?

 

So banning angling doesnt have to happen for us to loose it, the banning of 1 or 2 bits of it would see it fall apart, and that has started with the banning of live/dead coarse fish in the Lake District.

 

Scott.

 

Forgot to add that with every new ban/byelaw we loose a few more anglers, and the more we loose the easier it is to bring in more laws etc and so on and so on till virtually no-one is left.

 

[ 13. August 2002, 04:05 PM: Message edited by: Scott ]