[Doc]

At the risk of alienating almost all anglers in the north of the UK, and placing the noose around my neck, I\'ll try and deal with the rod licence issue and others raised as best as I can. What I will say is that my response to Jim and Paul’s comments are purely on a constructive vein, they are not having a go at anyone or any group of anglers or clubs. However, as the response could go into pages and you’d all fall asleep before reading it all I’ve split it into different topics, just to keep the themes running.

Sea Angling Rod Licences

Without doubt its a very contentious issue, its one that has anglers of all different skill levels, experienced or inexperienced and boat and shore angler alike, giving their opinion on what will or won\'t happen, how much it will cost and how it will lead to the death of sea angling.

The first point to consider is; from where did the rod licence issue arise?

It originally came from the Bradley report, a government review of the marine environment and enforcement in UK fisheries. Within this report, recommendations on the future of recreational angling included;

:) The provision of fishing platforms for angling
:) The creation of artificial reef or habitats for angling
:mad: Introduction of a sea angling rod licence

These are just a few of the pearls of wisdom that emanate from the report, some may be viable in certain situations, some quite obviously not!!!

So to make it plain, it wasn\'t, as I\'ve heard on a few occasions, the NFSA who proposed the rod licence, in an attempt to score points with government.

The cost of a proposed sea angling licence has been mooted at £22, the same as a freshwater licence (correct me if I\'m wrong) or £8 a week for the holiday maker who fishes just on holiday once a year. Not a huge amount, but yet another tax on our sport, which lets face it, is becoming increasingly more expensive, and increasingly more difficult to catch a fish, any fish, never mind a decent fish.

OK so I hear you all shouting \"so why does the NFSA support a rod licence\"? Well the simple answer to that is that the NFSA doesn\'t as yet support the broadscale introduction of sea angling rod licences.

The position is clear, until the UK government supports RSA in real terms, not just through promises, but with real action, until the sea angling experience improves, with bigger and better fish, access restrictions and loss of venues are stopped, until gill nets around our shores and offshore wrecks are either removed totally or reduced to proportionate levels and trawling right up to the beach is stopped, the sea angling rod licence will not be supported by the NFSA.

You ask the question Jim “Is it true they are after a sea fishing licence”, who do you mean by they? As stated, a rod licence for sea anglers would be just that, shore and boat anglers would be included, in fact anyone who fishes in waters other than freshwater, so yes it would include estuaries. There is no set timetable for this, however, it may become part of the Marine Bill which could be introduced in 2007, although again it may take a few years further to implement or sort out the fine detail. The marine bill will also have a significant affect on how our fisheries are managed, it is possible that the SFC’s may be replaced with another inshore agency to manage and regulate our fisheries, in conjunction with the new marine agency (formerly the Sea Fisheries Inspectorate (SFI)). Certainly, it has been suggested that some of the moneys derived from the sea angling rod licence would be used to improve enforcement in inshore marine fisheries, but I for one would not be happy paying money for a rod licence only to see it disappear into the local SFC’s coffers.

We still don’t know when or how a rod licence will be implemented, I think it’s a safe bet that at some point in the future it will be, however, the NFSA will fight tooth and nail to prevent a broadscale implementation without clear benefits realised prior to its implementation and guarantees protecting RSA post implementation.