Post by Hoppy on Mar 22, 2008 21:00:17 GMT -1
From the Telegraph
www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/03/19/eafish119.xml
Fishing licence plans scrapped by Government
By Charles Clover, Environment Editor
Plans to force more than a million sea anglers to pay to fish are to be scrapped by the Government.
Ministers were proposing to impose a licence fee on beach anglers, boat fishermen and charter trips, which would have overturned a tradition enshrined in common law nearly 800 years ago.
The decision to drop plans for a fishing licence were met with approval from many areas
The proposed licence fee was to have been used to help manage fish stocks as well as to improve access to the shore and car parks, provide launch sites for small boats and create artificial reefs. Part of the money would have been used to administer the scheme itself.
Freshwater fishermen currently pay £24.50 for a rod licence which goes towards policing poaching and pollution.
However, sea anglers complained that stocks had been depleted because of serious overfishing by commercial fishermen and therefore there were too few fish to be worth paying to catch. They also claimed licence would have serious economic effects on the tackle industry.
Jonathan Shaw, the fisheries minister, said in a Parliamentary answer that he met angling representatives this week and discussed the issue with anglers around the coast.
advertisement"In view of the concerns expressed, including the extent to which sea anglers expected to see benefits from the charge, I have decided not to proceed with enabling powers in the Marine Bill to introduce a sea angling licence."
Bill Wiggin, Conservative fisheries spokesman, who has opposed the introduction of licences, said: "I think the Government has recognised how unpopular a sea angling licence would be. They would have to show a benefit to the sea angler. Fishermen want bigger fish and more of them and they are unable to deliver that."
Simon Hart, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, said: "The Government's decision to drop the sea angling license in the face of mass opposition is a victory for the entire angling community.
"The decision to enforce sea angling licenses was always an unnecessary layer of pointless bureaucracy that would have raised no money to improve the conservation of fish stocks, and would have been completely unenforceable.
"The future of fish stocks around UK shores will depend on proper management of commercial fisheries, not charging anglers to fish in the sea."
Richard Ferré, chairman of the National Federation of Sea Anglers, said: "Anglers throughout the country have worked hard to honestly represent to the Minister their view that a licence would have been unfair, financially unviable and detrimental to the sport.
"The minister and his civil servants are to be congratulated for listening to and analysing our arguments and now for taking this decision."
Martin Salter, the Labour spokesman for angling, who asked Mr Shaw the question, said he remained committed to the principle of a rod licence for all forms of recreational fishing.
He added: "Let's first get in place the conservation measures necessary to stop the over-exploitation by the commercial sector and give Britain's sea anglers a chance of a decent day's sport before we ask them to pay to catch fish that might not be there."
He said dropping the licence fee would improve relations between the Government and the recreational angling sector which was worth nearly £600 million a year in England and Wales alone and supported 19,000 jobs, more than the total number of commercial fishermen.
He said a priority now would be new minimum landing sizes to stop commercial fishermen and recreational fishermen alike taking fish before they had spawned at least once and more netting restrictions around the shore.
www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/03/19/eafish119.xml
Fishing licence plans scrapped by Government
By Charles Clover, Environment Editor
Plans to force more than a million sea anglers to pay to fish are to be scrapped by the Government.
Ministers were proposing to impose a licence fee on beach anglers, boat fishermen and charter trips, which would have overturned a tradition enshrined in common law nearly 800 years ago.
The decision to drop plans for a fishing licence were met with approval from many areas
The proposed licence fee was to have been used to help manage fish stocks as well as to improve access to the shore and car parks, provide launch sites for small boats and create artificial reefs. Part of the money would have been used to administer the scheme itself.
Freshwater fishermen currently pay £24.50 for a rod licence which goes towards policing poaching and pollution.
However, sea anglers complained that stocks had been depleted because of serious overfishing by commercial fishermen and therefore there were too few fish to be worth paying to catch. They also claimed licence would have serious economic effects on the tackle industry.
Jonathan Shaw, the fisheries minister, said in a Parliamentary answer that he met angling representatives this week and discussed the issue with anglers around the coast.
advertisement"In view of the concerns expressed, including the extent to which sea anglers expected to see benefits from the charge, I have decided not to proceed with enabling powers in the Marine Bill to introduce a sea angling licence."
Bill Wiggin, Conservative fisheries spokesman, who has opposed the introduction of licences, said: "I think the Government has recognised how unpopular a sea angling licence would be. They would have to show a benefit to the sea angler. Fishermen want bigger fish and more of them and they are unable to deliver that."
Simon Hart, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, said: "The Government's decision to drop the sea angling license in the face of mass opposition is a victory for the entire angling community.
"The decision to enforce sea angling licenses was always an unnecessary layer of pointless bureaucracy that would have raised no money to improve the conservation of fish stocks, and would have been completely unenforceable.
"The future of fish stocks around UK shores will depend on proper management of commercial fisheries, not charging anglers to fish in the sea."
Richard Ferré, chairman of the National Federation of Sea Anglers, said: "Anglers throughout the country have worked hard to honestly represent to the Minister their view that a licence would have been unfair, financially unviable and detrimental to the sport.
"The minister and his civil servants are to be congratulated for listening to and analysing our arguments and now for taking this decision."
Martin Salter, the Labour spokesman for angling, who asked Mr Shaw the question, said he remained committed to the principle of a rod licence for all forms of recreational fishing.
He added: "Let's first get in place the conservation measures necessary to stop the over-exploitation by the commercial sector and give Britain's sea anglers a chance of a decent day's sport before we ask them to pay to catch fish that might not be there."
He said dropping the licence fee would improve relations between the Government and the recreational angling sector which was worth nearly £600 million a year in England and Wales alone and supported 19,000 jobs, more than the total number of commercial fishermen.
He said a priority now would be new minimum landing sizes to stop commercial fishermen and recreational fishermen alike taking fish before they had spawned at least once and more netting restrictions around the shore.