Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall on tv last night giving an update on his campaign to get the discarding of fish from trawlers stopped. The upshot is that around 750,000 people have signed up to the Fishfight campaign including many MPs and now the EU have announced a review of the Common Fisheries Policy with a view to phasing out this stupidity. Pressure brought about by numbers and good media coverage.

I wonder if anyone else drew parallels with the fish eating bird situation. Politicians will not take notice unless the public kicks up enough fuss. There are over 1 million anglers buying rod licences in this country. If half of them signed up to Cormorant Watch it would be a foolish government that ignored that number of votes. Pressure brought about by numbers.

Good idea in principle Bob but how do you get the 1m anglers motivated. In the main it's the River and Fishery owners and Clubs that bare the cost of the lost fish.

BK

Start an e-petition and spread the word. Surely now this has got to be one of the most effective ways to get mps to take notice

Sorry Black Knight, but it's every angler that bears the loss of fish. I hear more than enough bleating about fish eating birds from various people but those self-same people can't be bothered to put a tick in a box to report their presence. If they can't be bothered how on earth can anyone expect those in office to do anything?

The Gov't spokeman on angling in the last government told me at a meeting that he had done his best to make it easier for people to apply for licences to shoot FEB's but there had been very little response. Therefore there is no problem with FEB's.

Hugh F-W has done a fantastic job in my opinion. Getting Euro-Ministers to sit up and take heed is the modern day equivalent of splitting the atom or describing DNA. They will do something about it because they know that the eye of public opinion is on them. They may not come right out and ban discarding dead fish at sea, but there will be a range of measures aimed at reducing their capture in the first place. THAT in itself is a major step forward.

Angler's apathy is going to be the death knell of fishing in this country. The RSPB and their ilk need do nothing and they know it because we will do it for them.

I can't see the parallel. The catching of fish just to chucked back dead is clearly wrong - the 750k supporters are members of public and high profile folk banging that particular table (not just the catchers of fish)... You can't sell 'the pretty birds is eating the fish we want to catch - signed by the fishermen' nobody is going to buy that.

The owner of my local river is probably the richest land owner in the country - I don't see him moaning about lost revenue due to some nesting goosanders, because there isn't actually anything lost.

__________________
Time is a stream I go fishing in.

Dartmoor,

Read my last two sentences again and wonder....

Actually, I'll go further. Who really gave a monkeys about childhood leukemia apart from those who had to try to treat it and those unfortunate to suffer it - together with their parents who had to sit and watch their kids die. That was until some cricketing bloke started walking all over the country and Europe raising money and awareness. Now that disease is all but beat with over 85% of those affected surviving to lead normal productive lives.

Fishing needs a Botham like never before if it is to survive. In reality I shouldn't give a toss. I've had a good fishing life and I've got maybe 15 years more of it left. Why should I care if it all goes pear-shaped 16 years from now? Frankly, you lot will have deserved it with your apathetic, whingeing "what's in it for me" attitude.