National Union of British Anglers

[wurzel]

Substitute 'ridiculous' for 'untrue', then it's clear enough.

 

At least to me it is.

 

And probably to those reading it whose views really count.

 

 

Ok then what bits were ridiculous?

[Leon Roskilly]

Ok then what bits were ridiculous?

 

 

If you don't see it Wurzel, I'll not be able to explain it.

 

Interesting though!

[barry luxton]

There's a good piece in this weeks fishing news on bass and trying to enforce controls on bass anglers.

 

This bit I thought was brilliant.

I quote

 

"Let's return to the tags. we believe they are a very good idea but would much prefer to see them attached to the recreational angler rather than the fish .We would advocate the establishment of a Ministry for Angling within DEFRA.

A modest fee of just £12.50 would realise a budget of £5m from bass anglers alone and of course the sky would be the limit if all RSA were hooked into the system.

There would be variations to the licences limiting the number of days they could fish in a month and they would be confined to fishing only certain areas.

Boats and more efficient reels would have power restrictions imposed and it would be necessary for each angler to complete a written declaration on a daily basis which must be submitted to the new ministry with in 48 hours of their arrival home. The penalty for failure to submit would be £5000 for the first offence.

The tags would be fitted with GPS satellite monitoring so that the ministry could plot everyone's position every two hours. The MCA would be on hand to ensure all anglers had the correct safety equipment and to they had taken the mandatory courses in rock climbing and the care of wet sandy feet.

All in all it would be a good start for the new group in achieving parity with its commercial counterpart.

DEFRA would welcome the initiative for variety of positive reasons. It would place severe restrictions on personal freedom and human rights. It would generate a new legislative mountain, swell the ranks of the Civil Service and give a massive boost to the paper industry.

The enforcement division of the new ministry would include uniformed Restaurant Fridge Inspectors (RFIs)

and armed Bag Examiners.

The Royal Marines would be used to back up the new agency instead of the Royal Navy because of the former 's fast boat squadron and ability to cover difficult terrain quickly.

The angling lobby has secured a temporary with our newly promoted minister, who presumably was rendered temporarily dizzy with power-----------"

Another juicy bit,

 

" If the aforementioned 400,000 each catch just 1.5 Kg of bass they too will have trumped the entire efforts of UK commercial bass fishermen.

 

 

Wurzel, you might just have convinced Henry to do a petition regarding the above. Then the rsa would be on par with commercial, that makes sence. Every one would be equal.

 

cheers barry

[Jim Murray]

Hi Leon,

 

What do you think of NUBA? Do you think it will develop into something worthwhile?

 

Jim.

 

If you don't see it Wurzel, I'll not be able to explain it.

 

Interesting though!

[Leon Roskilly]

Hi Leon,

 

What do you think of NUBA? Do you think it will develop into something worthwhile?

 

Jim.

 

Hi Jim,

 

Since you ask, frankly no

 

Born out of a frustration with progress on a small number of issues.

 

No plan to bring the existing organisations into the same party, or how they will deal with the cost and administration involved in maintaining (say) even just 5,000 paid memberships, nor how to deal with the many conflicting interests of different sectors, not to mention liaising consistently with the various devolved government administrations, each with different sets of legislation and national agendas.

 

The idea of creating a unified body for all of angling has often been floated before, and a lot of work has been put in by a lot of people.

 

The best we have so far is http://www.anglingsites.com/saa/politicsinfo/structures.htm (which of course doesn't (yet) encompass other than England and Wales).

 

Simple idea (but not a new idea), that is likely to flounder once the sheer complexity of the task becomes apparent. (finding problems that need to be dealt with is easy, finding workable solutions and drawing together the resources needed to tackle each of them is a different kettle of fish entirely).

 

At the most it's likely to lead to yet another body waving for attention amongst the others that started out with similar aims, and are a lot further down the road.

 

But I wish them well.

 

If no one ever tries, it will never become a reality.

 

I'd love to be wrong!

Edited December 9, 2006 by Leon Roskilly

[frankthebass]

I feel it would only work if they asked anglers what they want unlike the NFSA.

[Leon Roskilly]

I feel it would only work if they asked anglers what they want unlike the NFSA.

 

 

The NFSA are in the process of compiling the responses to a consultation exercise that they have carried out by sending a questionnaire to all of their members.

 

As well as asking what anglers main interests are (competition, conservation etc), and satisfaction levels with the performance of the NFSA in various areas, it also covered things like attitudes to licences, catch and release in MPAs, bag limits etc and under what circumstances these could become acceptable to the membership.

 

Although quite a bulky form to fill in, it was a surprise to recieve so many responses.

 

And the answers to some of the more controversial questions will no doubt surprise a few people too (but best wait until it is apparent that nearly all of those who are going to respond have responded before revealing too much!).

 

The plan is to repeat the exercise to see how the membership's attitude evolves over time, and change happens.

Edited December 9, 2006 by Leon Roskilly

[frankthebass]

I did get that form but my 4 year old daughter de-faced it. I was annoyed with her (and myself for leaving it out) as I had filled it in and was just going to pop it into an envalope.

 

However I have been a member several months and havnt until then been asked anything.

 

I have spoken to other members who have been members longer than I and they tell me the same. Still the questionair is a good start.

[Steve Coppolo]

I have just had a long chat on the phone with Alan about NUBA , and I think it is something that every angler should get behind. In my opinion he has vision and a great desire, (along with the ability), to get things done. But he needs anglers to get behind him.

 

I would recommend that every course, sea and game angler at least find out a bit more about his proposals before dismissing them out of hand. I'll be sending my money off this week and will be doing everything I can to assist Alan.

 

Angling as a sport has always punched well below it's weight. This could just be the thing that turns things around. It's only £3 membership and, if it takes off, could do wonders for the representation of all anglers. Alan will be on Keith Arthurs phone in programme this Saturday, (Talksport 06:00 to 08:00), to answer any questions.

[Steve Coppolo]