S3M-4834 : Welcoming Sea Angling Strategy Group
That the Parliament notes the estimate in the Scottish Government’s recent report, Economic Impact of Recreational Sea Angling in Scotland, that sea angling is as significant to the Scottish economy as all forms of freshwater angling combined, contributing almost £141 million annually and sustaining 3,148 jobs; further notes, however, concerns expressed by the Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network (SSACN) that sea angling is in serious decline due to historically poor fisheries management and practices, with the Clyde now being described as a monoculture fishery, and welcomes the SSACN vision for Scottish sea angling and agrees with it that, if stocks were to be regenerated and sustainably managed, sea angling could provide a major growth opportunity for many fragile coastal economies, and therefore applauds the Scottish Government’s support for a recreational sea angling strategy group.
Perhaps you would contact your Members and ask them to check here and see if their local MSP has signed their support for it; to encourage any who haven’t, their contact details & email address may be found from this page.
He also issued the following press release :
Dr Bill Wilson, an SNP MSP for the West of Scotland and a member of the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs and Environment Committee, has drawn attention in a Parliamentary Motion to the damaging impact of poor fisheries management and practices on fish populations in the Clyde.
His Motion also highlighted the role that sea angling could play in boosting fragile coastal economies in an environmentally sustainable way.
He said, “I welcome the fact that the Scottish Government is in agreement with the Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network that there is a real issue here and that sea angling needs to be supported as a possible solution. The Clyde area, formerly abundant in commercial fish species, has been described as a monoculture fishery, the result of unsustainable commercial fishing.
“The number of boats fishing in the Clyde has dramatically declined as 20 species of fish have been depleted to the point of ecological and commercial extinction. There is practically nothing left for sea anglers and to attract tourists, and talk of ‘fishing further down the food chain’ – brown shrimp and smaller shellfish – suggests that even the remaining commercial Nephrops fishery is far from sustainable.
“Despite the damage that some commercial fishing has done to inshore fish stocks, a recent report has estimated that recreational sea angling presently contributes almost £141 million to the Scottish economy.
How much could it contribute to local economies if fish stocks were allowed to recover and better managed?
“I am delighted that the Scottish Government is taking this issue seriously and is supporting the establishment of a Recreational Sea Angling Strategy Group.”
Denis Kelly, Secretary of SSACN, said: “The State of fish stocks in the Clyde today is highlighted by the results of the Clyde & West junior fishing competition held at Greenock on Sunday 6th September 2009, where 129 adults and 69 juniors caught and returned a total of 61 fish, the largest of which was a dogfish of 56 cms – 20 years ago a team of 4 anglers fishing together would expect to catch that many fish.
“Local Angling clubs like the Corinthians and Silver Lure encourage youngsters into the sport of angling, but how can they keep their interest if there are fewer and fewer fish to catch?”
