NATIONAL ANGLING ALLIANCE
Angling Trade Association National Association of Fisheries & Angling Consultatives
National Federation of Anglers National Federation of Sea Anglers
Salmon & Trout Association Specialist Anglers Alliance
Press Release – 22nd May 2001
“ANGLERS HAVE THE POWER – WE KNOW THE WAY”
The National Angling Alliance, the umbrella body for angling representing over one million anglers, has launched its manifesto today to the main political parties.
We will be asking all parties to respond to ten detailed questionscovering the principle issues affecting angling today. The answerswill be published in the angling press so that more than threemillion anglers can decide how to cast their votes!
MANIFESTO
The NAA believes action should be taken to safeguard our fishingrights, protect jobs in related industries, to ensure the long termsustainability of our marine and freshwater fisheries and theprotection of the aquatic environment
The NAA will pursue a policy aimed at achieving:
AMaintenance of our waterways at optimum levels and conservewater in times of excess.
BProtection and enhancement of the aquatic environment withemphasis on indigenous fish species.
CDesignation of agreed offshore areas as marine reserves andobtain protection under international legislation.
DRe-negotiation of the European Fisheries Policy based onecological and conservation parameters and long term sustainabilityof fish stocks.
EImplementation of an International Fisheries Policy based onecological and conservation parameters and long term sustainabilityof fish stocks.
FImplementation of legislation to specifically protect anglingand its rights and practices.
NAA Questions to Political Parties, May 2001
1.Angling is a major participant sport accessible to people ofall ages and backgrounds. Although it is being run largely byvolunteers, it makes a huge contribution to the national economy andsocial well-being. Despite this, angling receives relatively littlerecognition or practical financial support from the Government.
NAA Manifesto:
We will be seeking a commitment from the major parties to publiclyendorse the importance and benefit of angling and to supportconsiderably increased public support for the sport and itsmanagement.
Questions:
Will YOU publicly endorse the importance of angling to thenational economy and social well-being, as well as the contributionmade by the many volunteers who run the sport?
Will YOU seek to increase the level of Government funding forangling to reflect this during the next Parliament?
2.Angling suffers from tendentious, ill-informed and oftencompletely false propaganda put about by anti-angling groups. Thereis evidence that public attitudes towards angling may have beendistorted by this propaganda.
NAA Manifesto:
We will seeking a commitment from the major parties to guaranteethe protection of angling and anglers against extreme animal rightsactivists, and to ensure that the public is properly informed aboutthe sport
Question:
Will YOU guarantee that the police and Government will always actstrongly to protect angling and anglers from extreme animal rightsactivists, and will YOU be making efforts to ensure that the publicis properly informed about the sport?
3.Bird predation on fish stocks is seen by many anglers andfishery owners as a major issue. The Government’s recent £ 1million confirmed that bird predation in a real problem in some areasbut little action has resulted.
NAA Manifesto:
We will be seeking a commitment from the major parties to astrategy to manage bird predation on fish stocks to be developed bythe Government in partnership with fisheries, angling andconservation interests and the Environment Agency
Question:
Will YOU support a strategy to manage bird predation on fishstocks to be developed by the Government in partnership withfisheries, angling and conservation interests and the EnvironmentAgency during the next Parliament?
4.Government Agencies have recognised that anglers’ interest infisheries has made an enormous contribution to the maintenance of thequality of the aquatic environment and the protection of manyimportant conservation sites throughout the country. However, unlikeall other recreational users of the water environment, anglers haveto pay a tax in the form of rod licences to pay for fisheriesconservation work.
The Government’s recent Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Reviewstated that coarse and trout anglers are already paying too high apercentage of these costs. Grant-in-Aid to the
Environment Agency for this work amounts to less than £ 9million for the whole of England and Wales despite its importance tothe whole of society, as compared to the more than £ 60 millionthat is made available for navigation activities on a much smallerlength of waterway.
NAA Manifesto:
We will be seeking a commitment from the major parties forfinancial support from the Government for the Environment Agency’sfisheries work which reflects the importance of this work to societyas a whole and allows the financial burden carried by anglers to becut by at least half.
Question:
Will YOU support a level of Government Grant-in-Aid for theEnvironment Agency’s fisheries work which reflects the importance ofthis work to society and reduces the burden on anglers by at leasthalf during the next Parliament?
5.The voluntary management of angling has given access tothousands of miles of waterside to hundreds of thousands of peoplethrough negotiation with landowners and payment for access and theuse of riparian rights. One of the reasons for anglers’ success inachieving access is their willingness to accept responsibility forthe management of the use of access rights, in safeguardinglandowners’ interests and in protecting and enhancing fisheries andwildlife.
NAA Manifesto:
We will be seeking endorsement of “negotiation, payment and theacceptance of responsibility” as the right way for securing access toinland waters without public rights of navigation.
Question:
Do YOU support negotiation and payment for access and the use ofriparian rights, coupled with acceptance of responsibility byrecreation interests for safeguarding landowners’ and other users’interests and the environment, as the best means of securing accessto inland waters without public rights of navigation?
6.The outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease has demonstrated theneed for ecologically sustainable farming practices. Fisheries havebeen impacted by, and continue to be affected adversely by,pesticides, siltation, abstraction and eutrophication resulting fromfarming activity.
NAA Manifesto:
We will be seeking the development of more sustainable farmingpractices to reduce overgrazing, pollution, siltation, abstractionand eutrophication.
Question:
Will YOU support the full involvement of fisheries and anglingorganisations as well as other conservation organisations in alldebate and consultation about the future of farming?
7.Close seasons for fishing in freshwaters are widely supportedas proper means for protecting fisheries and wildlife during thesensitive breeding season for wildlife. However, other water-basedrecreations continue at this time, apparently regardless of theimpact that they might be having on breeding populations.
NAA Manifesto:
We will be seeking changes to the management of other water basedrecreations so that wherever it is necessary to impose closes seasonsfor fishing to protect fish stocks and wildlife, other activitieswill be constrained as well.
Question:
Will YOU support constraint on all water based recreationalactivity where it is considered necessary to apply close seasons forfishing to protect fish stocks or wildlife?
8.The Common Fisheries Policy will be renegotiated in 2002.Recreational Sea Fishing is not recognised as an activity whichqualifies for a place on the EC Fisheries Committee despite the factthat the economic value of sea angling is much greater thancommercial fishing and has high social values.
NAA Manifesto:
We will be seeking equal status for recreational sea fishing asfor commercial sea fishing in the EC, representation on the ECFisheries Committee, and recognition of the importance of thesustainability of fish stocks for recreational sea fishing as well asfor commercial fishing in the negotiations due to start in 2002.
Question:
Will YOU support the recognition of the importance of therecreational sea angling sector during the renegotiation process andthe need for a place on the EC Fisheries Committee for thesector?
9.There are still many loopholes in legislation controlling ofthe movement of freshwater and salmonid fish within the UnitedKingdom and the importation of live fish from abroad. This poses anunacceptable risk of the introduction or transfer of disease orparasites, or the introduction of uncontrollable alien species, tothe detriment of native freshwater and salmonid fish species andstocks.
NAA Manifesto:
We will be seeking a thorough revision of legislation governingthe importation and movement of all live freshwater fish and eels,including ornamental varieties, and the implementation of effectivecontrols.
Question:
Will YOU support a thorough revision of the legislationappertaining to the introduction and movement of all species of livefreshwater fish and eels from abroad as well from within the UnitedKingdom?
10.There has been a serious decline in salmon stocks in theUnited Kingdom over the last 30 years. The Government’s commitment toprovide £ 750,000 in matching funds for a buy-out of net fishingis welcome, but poaching and illegal sales of salmon caught out ofseason remain a concern and threaten the long-term sustainability ofsalmon stocks.
NAA manifesto:
We will be seeking a ban on the sale of rod caught fish, theintroduction of a carcass tagging scheme, and the introduction of abag limit for salmon rod anglers during the next parliament.
Question:
Will YOU support legislation to introduce a salmon carcass taggingscheme, a ban on the sale of rod-caught fish and a bag limit forsalmon angling?
