Environmentally sensitive and fish-friendly stillwaters 'can' be found in the UK.
This is the conclusion we reached having taken part in the Association of Still Water
Game Fisheries Managers' (ASGFM) annual meeting.
At Anglersvoice.com, we have often been told of the negative aspects of stillwater
trout fisheries. Dozens of e-mails come in to us complaining about dead fish and
poor management.
Having known vice-chairman Ifor Jones for a number of years, we were invited to attend
the meeting and inform the assembled managers about the Anglersvoice network.
We were also asked to give an angler's view on stillwater trout fisheries.Being given
a free card to speak was an opportunity we couldn't turn down.
I arrived to find myself first on the agenda and to be followed by some great guest
speakers, including Peter Cockwill.
Obviously, I was the warm-up act and needed a strong coffee before kick off! Having
requested opinions from Internet forums and the Anglersvoice.coim e-mail register,
I was confident I had asked a few thousand 'voices' for honest opinions about stillwater
fisheries. Some of the answers were predictable, some pleasantly surprising. Here's
a short list of them:
Cons:
- Managers don't care about the fish
- They produce 'pellet-pigs' incapable of sport
- Catch and release leads to higher fish mortality
- They are inadequately stocked
- Unsuitable waters are stocked
- Waters are not controlled or regulated
Pros:
- Stocked waters reduce angling pressure on rivers and natural stocks
- They have a good, self-regulatory body
- They encourage new anglers and provide a valuable resource for people with no available
'wild' alternatives
- They are user friendly (facilities, parking, disabled access)
After listening to the work of ASGFM, I realised we had a group of people trying
to make a living, while actively balancing the effects of it on the environment and
the fish.
Anyone belonging to ASGFM has a plethora of resources and advice to make their fishery
a success.
We recommended that the ASFGM needed to put some points across to those people with
negative attitudes. We applaud strongly the ethics and attitudes of the association
and encourage anglers to visit the website www.troutfisheries.co.uk
Our recommendations to the ASFGM were:
- Exhibit that self-regulation is working
- Publicise a list of standards which stillwater fisheries work to
- Encourage public feedback and provide an e-mail address
- Publish a list of ASFGM-approved fisheries
- Act quickly to remove non-complying fisheries
- Be more proactive and show people it is investing in the future of the sport
