I make no apologies for taking up a theme that is well covered in today’s Angling Times, for I want to put my point of view, as a fishing website editor, regarding the NFA.
Let me say from the off that I’m not a particularly politically-minded angler, only ever having been involved in angling politics on a very small scale, at club and specimen group level. So if that warrants criticism then I accept it. First and foremost I’m an angler and although I recognise that angling politics is important it isn’t my forte in life.
We continually hear the argument that the NFA is only interested in match fishing, that the only thing it has ever done is to organise the National Championships. Now, that is an exaggeration to say the least; even I, someone with little interest in angling politics, know that that isn’t true.
But what I do know is that you have to dig very deep to find out what else the NFA does and then you find out that they also run a lot of other prestigious matches and talk to Government Ministers on our behalf when angling needs to put its point of view.
Like Editor Richard Lee says in his AT editorial this week, “I’m sure there is more good deeds but even as editor of Angling Times I’m not really aware of them.”
And that’s my point too. Try as I might I can’t get the NFA to send me press releases to share with FM’s visitors. When I communicate with them I don’t get an answer. So they shouldn’t be surprised if we think that they don’t want us to know what they’re up to and don’t give a damn what we think about them.
Until I read today’s Angling Times I was under the impression that it was just websites they had an aversion to, that they didn’t think we were important enough to share their news with (in spite of the fact that there will be thousands of us who are members of the Federation or are affected by them one way or the other).
It appears, however, that they deal with newspapers and magazines in the same aloof manner.
Considering that the NFA’s ‘core business’, match fishing, is dying a rapid death, you would think that they would want to get those of us who don’t regularly match fish ‘on side’, wouldn’t you. I would have thought they would have wanted that all along anyway, even when they didn’t need us.
Rodney Coldron, in today’s AT, gives a long list of things that the NFA is involved with. All good stuff, there is no doubt about it. But why does it take a critical article from an angling columnist (Des Taylor in this instance) and editor Lee to get them to tell us about it?
Why don’t they want to shout it from the rooftops in the first place? Why does news of what they’re doing have to be dragged out of them?
Several times FISHINGmagic has asked for press releases and more than once offered them a regular free spot in FM to tell us what they’re up to.
Every time our offers and requests have fallen on deaf ears. Not even so much as reply.
Is it any wonder that so many of us are disillusioned about the NFA and what it stands for?
Come on NFA, climb down from your ivory tower and tell us what you’re doing, and why you’re doing it. Join the real anglers in the real world and treat us with more respect. That way, the respect may well be returned.
