NEW FISHERIES LAWS WILL AFFECT YOU

The Scottish Executive plans to introduce new legislation on angling and fisheries issues soon. A Bill will probably go to the Scottish Parliament in spring 2006. They’ve adopted a very open consultation process which includes setting up a Steering Group representing interested parties in Scottish fisheries to identify issues and try to find consensus on how to deal with them.

The Steering Group comprises more than twenty bodies including District Salmon Boards, Fisheries Trusts, the Institute of Fisheries Management, Scottish Anglers National Association and Salmon & Trout Association (both representing game anglers). I’m the delegate for the Scottish Federation for Coarse Angling. There are also officials from the Scottish Executive, the fisheries lab at Pitlochry, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, and Scottish Natural Heritage.

This will be the first time ever that coarse angling has had a voice in forming new fisheries legislation in Scotland. We’ll probably not have another chance to do anything like it for twenty or thirty years, so we mustn’t let it go by. I’m very keen to encourage coarse angling clubs and individual coarse anglers to play as big a part as possible, and SFCA’s contribution will carry much more weight if it reflects the views of anglers themselves rather than just the Committee’s ideas. A number of things are already coming up which will be of particular interest to coarse anglers, and I would urge people to speak out on these:-

Most stakeholders are strongly in favour of legislation on fish movements and introductions. Aside from some "exotic" species this is almost unregulated at the moment. SFCA policy [http://www.sfca.co.uk/policy/introductions_policy.htm ] accepts the principle of regulation, but we want safeguards to ensure that responsible stocking with healthy coarse fish can still take place. Do you agree with that approach?
In Scotland the only lawful angling method is a "single rod, held in the hand". Using rod rests, or more than one rod at a time, is technically illegal at present. Most fishery proprietors ignore this outdated law, but it needs to be changed to let us pursue our sport freely. Almost everyone recognises that, but some game anglers are concerned that pot-hunters would abuse multiple rod tactics to catch salmon and trout. In England & Wales there are different rules for game and coarse fishing. Coarse anglers can use up to four rods, placed so that the butts of the end rods are no more than three metres apart. Rods don’t have to be held in the hand, but must be kept under "sufficient control". Would you favour similar rules for coarse angling in Scotland?
The use of live fish for bait is particularly contentious. It’s widely believed that discarded livebaits are to blame for the appearance of certain species in new locations – some of them (eg ruffe) new to Scotland altogether - over the last few years. Fisheries managers and conservation interests are very concerned about the impact this could have, and there is strong pressure for an outright ban on livebaiting. SFCA is resisting this. We contend that legislation on fish movements and introductions would give the authorities all the power they need to deal with the problem, and that this can best be supported by a voluntary Code of Conduct which says we must only use baits taken from the water being fished. [ http://www.sfca.co.uk/policy/livebait_policy.htm ] Our argument is that responsible anglers will not only behave sensibly themselves, but educate and persuade others to comply. Do you sign up to the SFCA Code of Practice on the use of live fish for bait?
Current legislation gives no conservation protection for coarse fish species. Permits on some waters oblige anglers to kill all coarse fish caught. Worse still, coarse fish (mainly pike) are netted in substantial numbers in many game fisheries, aided by the 1951 Trout Act which allows any proprietor or occupier who has a right of freshwater fishing to take freshwater fish other than trout (my italics) by means of nets or traps. SFCA are arguing for common minimum standards of protection for all species - requiring catch & release other than for personal consumption or bait, and allowing netting etc only under strict licence. Do you support this policy?
There is a proposal to ban the use of gaffs, "tailers" and knotted mesh nets in Scotland, which would bring us into line with England & Wales. Coarse anglers all practice catch & release anyway, so I am assuming that we are not against the idea. Do you agree with this proposal?

Fisheries management in Scotland is woefully underfunded. In many "wild" fisheries the owners take little interest in anything other than salmon, and often we don’t even know what the stocks are, never mind how best to protect and enhance them. There’s no point sitting back waiting for the government to pay for all this. The only way we have a chance of levering some public funds to support fisheries is for anglers themselves being seen to make a contribution. The SFCA Committee believes we should support the concept of rod licences as a route to raising revenue. This wouldn’t be identical to the English system; but it would involve every angler making a modest contribution through an annual or periodic licence fee, which is fed back to benefit fisheries as a whole. Please tell me if you agree with this in principle. If so, I’m keen to know what safeguards you feel would have to be built in to make a system fair and acceptable. If you disagree, how else do you think we should raise money for fisheries management?

So how can you make your feelings known? You can send comments and suggestions direct to me by e-mail at ron.woods@ntlworld.com . Also, you’ll be interested to know that the Scottish Executive has published some material concerning this initiative on the Web, and they have a discussion forum you can access at http://194.247.95.101/forums/fisheries_forum.asp?M=2714&T=2615&P=1&F=109 There are very few posts on it, most likely because not many people actually know it exists, so can I ask you to copy this note (or to add links to it) on your club Website and give the forum the widest possible publicity? Please also talk the issues over with other anglers and members of your club, and encourage them to send me their thoughts and post comments on the Scottish Executive forum. The more the merrier! I can’t over-emphasise how important it is for anglers to speak out – the Steering Group really needs to hear what you have to say. Their next meeting is on 27th August, and I would be really pleased to have some feedback before then.

Ron Woods
Scottish Federation for Coarse Angling
6 August 2004