Source: Angling Trust
The manifesto, appended to this page as an attachment to download, is being sent to all of the main political parties and to members of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Angling, in a move to continue the strong cross-party support which angling has enjoyed in recent years.
The parties are invited to endorse the document and commit to:
‘Recognising the economic, environmental and recreational contribution made by angling to the community and to promise not just to protect but to take positive steps to enhance and promote Britain’s most popular pursuit.’
The Angling Trust Manifesto covers the following key areas:
• Angling participation and promotion
• Confirmation of anglers rights of access
• Action to create healthy fisheries and cleaner rivers
• Action on bass stocks and marine conservation
• Continuing to allow cormorant controls
• Protecting rod licence income for angling
The Angling Trust is also encouraging all anglers to challenge their local candidates on what they will do for angling and whether or not they and their party supports the 2015 manifesto.
Angling Trust Chief Executive Mark Lloyd said:
“We enjoy excellent relations with politicians from both the government and opposition parties and we are keen to ensure that angling continues to receive strong support from right across the political spectrum. As in previous elections we will be asking the main parties to endorse our manifesto for angling and recognise the vital role that our sport plays in protecting the environment and promoting a love for nature and the countryside.
In particular we want to see strong commitments to continue to promote and fund angling, to guarantee anglers rights and to deliver the healthy environments necessary for fish and wildlife to flourish.
This means reforming the outdated abstraction regime to keep our rivers flowing, taking a tough line on pollution, tackling commercial overfishing in our seas and allowing fishery owners and angling clubs the means to tackle unsustainable predation by cormorants and goosanders.”
Angling Trust Campaigns Chief, Martin Salter, added:
“Anglers have a right to know who is on their side well before they are asked to cast their votes. In 2010 a similar document received the endorsement of Conservative, Labour and LibDem parties and this time the Angling Trust has also written to representatives from UKIP and the Green Party.
We will be publishing all responses received from the parties so that anglers can be absolutely clear which ones are fully committed to supporting angling and helping to improve our fisheries.
This year we’ve placed greater emphasis on the need for better protection for estuaries and inshore marine waters with a call for real action to conserve stocks of threatened species like bass. Most sea anglers fish sustainably but it is time the commercial sector followed suit and ended the unholy race to catch the last fish in the sea.”
