| PROFESSOR BARRIE RICKARDS | |
Professor Barrie Rickards is President of the Lure Angling Society, and President of the National Association of Specialist Anglers as well as a very experienced and successful specialist angler with a considerable tally of big fish to his credit. He is author of several fishing books, including the classic work ‘Fishing For Big Pike’, co-authored with the late Ray Webb and only recently his first novel, ‘Fishers On The Green Roads’ was published. He has been an angling writer in newspapers and magazines for nigh on four decades. Barrie takes a keen interest in angling politics. Away from angling Barrie is a Professor in Palaeontology at the University of Cambridge, a Fellow of Emmanuel College and a curator of the Sedgwick Museum of Geology. |
THE SILLY SEASON IN POLITICS AND NEWS
The British Record Rod-Caught Committee – Phil Smith’s Resignation
If summer is the silly season in politics and news then angling can run it pretty close. Odd really, because are not most of us fishing during the summer? Just recently Phil Smith, renowned big fish angler, resigned from the British Record Rod-Caught Committee because he could not get that body to operate on a reasonable timetable. All my sympathies are with Phil who has done splendid work over the years in this sphere and must be very frustrated. The SAA are also backing Phil, and are asking for much better progress to be made in processing anglers’ claims.
The BRFC has always had a chequered career as a body and has probably only had two good periods: one was when it was run by Angling Times initially, when a lot of groundwork was covered; and one was when the specialist anglers first became involved. At other times it really does seem to have got bogged down too much. My own dealings with the body have never been all that good in the past: in Tombleson’s time I had one claim rejected on a technicality (that didn’t take them too long!); another claim was accepted (for the zander record) but they found my balance overweighing (then had to eat their words because it was their balance proved wrong, not mine!). I also wrote to them, or rather, to Peter Tombleson, suggesting improvements to the procedures and improvements to the record keeping that they did. I don’t think he understood my suggestions at all, at least to judge from the brief and negative reply.
The time is ripe for change and improvement. A man with the knowledge and interest of Phil Smith does not resign for nothing. Let’s have the governing body/ies come up with a complete replacement package after suitable discussions held as widely as possible, especially with people of the calibre of Phil Smith.
The Silly Season Of Political Parties Wooing Angling
We are in the silly season of political parties wooing angling no less. So labour are waving their silly and pointless Angler’s Charter again. I’m sorry to seem so rude about this, but I have never really had an answer from the Salters, etc, of that world as to why angling needs a charter from the Labour Party, especially one that is nothing like as good as the SAA ‘Code of Conduct’. Are they doing one for football, or cricket, etc, etc, etc? If not, why not? Is there something about angling that Labour’s angling enthusiasts like Martin Salter feel it needs a charter? Why? Are there, as I suspect, plenty of Champagne Socialists in the Labour party who are opposed to angling. Is Martin Salter trying to protect us from them? That may be laudable in itself, but it is nothing to do with angling is it, only the inadequacies of the Labour party when it comes to angling. Certainly, my only adverse political experiences with local politicians have been with Labour politicians and Liberal ones.
So why are the Conservatives now messing about with protecting angling. For votes. Certainly that. To compete with Labour? Certainly that too. But the Conservatives have, in the past, always accepted that angling just is: it doesn’t need anyone’s protection or justification. That is the best line it could take, and it should stick to that. Instead it starts a stupid consultation period, having set up a document with advice from god knows who. Let’s have a look at it.
The Conservatives will “protect and enhance all forms of angling”. Protect it from whom or what exactly? And let us remember those words ‘all’ and ‘enhance’: presumably enhance means putting some money into fisheries? And if they really do plan to get rid of the angling licence (an alternative might be to licence and charge all other water users) then they will have to give watertight guarantees that at least the equivalent £ s goes to the Environment Agency.
Why, again I ask, why does angling have to have a unified national body? It would be nice, of course, possibly helpful, but no other sport has one! It is clear from reading their documents that they are not really up to speed on the developments in the area of unified angling body/ies. I know the SAA will put them right.
They plan to make the use of barbless hooks compulsory. Jesus! Are they unaware of the disquiet many serious anglers feel abut the ubiquitous use of barbless hooks? On these grounds alone the Conservative Party document should be flushed down the loo. Who advised them on this? We do need a name or body here. We need to know who the fool is. Taken as a whole the Conservative Party consultation documents, if that is what it really is, is nearly as bad as that being attempted by the Labour Party. The liberals and Greens, of course, are keeping their heads down, although for quite different reasons to those which the Conservatives used to adopt.
The Fisheries Consultative Associations are Important
It’s nice to see that the demise of the old Great Ouse Fisheries Consultative Association (GOFCA), which I once served as Secretary, has not gone unnoticed and that a replacement is working well in the hands of Fenland anglers Roger Handford and Terry Mansbridge. These consultatives, passing on advice to the EA and working with the EA are very important to anglers and a real way to influence official policies. The demise of GOFCA itself, the first ever formed and the brainchild of Maurice Kausman, was a shocking matter and the Secretary of the day must in my view take most of the blame. I remember turning up, with others, for what would have been its last meeting I guess, to find that the Secretary had cancelled the meeting without telling anybody. Thank you Derek King of the NFA).
The Animal Welfare Bill
Charles Jardine of the Countryside Alliance has now drawn attention to the weakness in the Animal Welfare Bill in which the use of keepnets could become suspect. Whilst this may suit a few anglers, it won’t help most. So there is another Labour danger to angling. It is a pity Martin Salter describes such worries as “scare mongering” because his Minister, Margaret Beckett, doesn’t agree with him!
Peter Collins – Already Had a Media Trial
So Peter Collins is off the hook, as they say, following his setlines fiasco. In one newspaper Peter Collins’ captor, retired policemen Denis Moules, is quoted as saying that a caution was what was expected. In other newspapers he is reported as being more scathing about the caution. But, as I said in this column not so long ago, we could hardly expect much more of a punishment because, had it come to court, Peter Collins would have argued, with some justification, that he had already had a media trial.
Similarly, Denis Moules has also been cautioned, for fishing his rods too far apart. To tell you the truth I do find this one a little more worrying. After all, in the Collins’ case, Denis had had to take action himself because the EA seemed reluctant to do so. Having been shown up as inadequate the EA then ‘do’ Denis a short time afterwards. I’m suspicious. He too would have had a good defence in court.
The Gill Nets Debate
No doubt you have seen the gill nets debate – the use of gill nets in Scotland has come as a shock to UK anglers and has been roundly and very properly condemned from all quarters. Those of us familiar with similar dreadful activities in Ireland will not be surprised. When you have a weak case, use Gill nets and kill quick. There is no really good case that pike anglers are infesting Scottish waters with unused baits of alien species. It looks to me like an excuse to kill pike.
Take the ruffe in Loch Lomond for example: Lomond is very, very close to the past-supposed northern limit of this species and it is perfectly possible that its northern range has increased slightly quite naturally. Then there’s the little matter of release of fish tank and garden pond fish, which goes on all the time. This is the kind of issue that would be best dealt with by a powerful and unified angling association – but we see the anti-pike anglers rear their heads and unity, and all else besides, is lost. We must learn to tolerate the needs and interest of other anglers whether they fish for trout, for pike or for carp in puddles. If we do not then we are simply widening the chinks in our collective armour.
