MAIN NEWS - DECEMBER 2018
Britain to bring back big game fishing?
Continued from page 5
to help deliver research
programmes is already
taking place in Sweden and
Denmark, including those
part funded by the World
Wild Fund fpor Nature
(WWF).
INDUSTRY WORTH
A study conducted by
Canadian, member-based
environmental charity,
the Ecology Action Centre,
in 2012, estimated that
recreational charter
revenues alone created
a value of $100,000 per
tonne versus the landed
value from commercial
fi shermen of $17,000. This
was before additional
revenue generation related
to the charter industry
was assessed, for example,
hotels, restaurants, fuel, bait
and tackle.
REACTIONS
So what do coastal fi shing
tackle shops and tour
operators think of the
proposal?
Nigel Hodge, is the owner/
operator of Cornish Fishing
in Falmouth, Cornwall,
which specialises in group
sea fi shing tours located in
Falmouth, Cornwall. He has
over 30 years’ experience in
the industry and has seen
many changes over the
years.
Nigel said, “My crew and I
are all in full support of this
proposal as not only will it
Government Department
for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs (DEFRA) issued
Exeter University with a two
year bluefi n tuna tagging
grant worth £300,000. I
approached them with a
view to help catch, tag and
release the fi sh yet they
wouldn’t allow this.
“Angler intervention
would have been the ideal
way for the university to
capture the data in order
to research the species.
In Canada, anglers assist
scientifi c research by
gathering data and it works
well. Exeter University is
struggling to catch the fi sh
to research. So I am in full
support of the programme
and hope that, very soon,
we can pick up where we
left off and continue to
give anglers and science
what they want. Bluefi n
tuna migrate globally for
food. Conservation should
be inter-country not just
regional. It’s a worldwide
affair where proven studies
and programmes should
be adopted by all for the
greater conservation and
protection of the species.”
Wayne Row, owner of Fish
Newquay and skipper of
his recreational tour vessel,
Mystique, said, “It can only
be a good thing for the
industry and businesses like
mine to see the proposal
carried out. I provide fi shing
tours off the south coast
of the UK and by enabling
anglers to target bluefi n
tuna purposefully, would
inject much needed extra
revenue into the offshore
angling industry.”
CHARITY CONCERNS
However, non-governmental
environmental organisation
Greenpeace has raised
concerns about the fi shery
stating that it’s too early to
consider as tuna stocks were
on the brink of collapse just
a few years ago. To allow the
catch and release fi shery
decision to go ahead, the
decision must be based on
“rigorous” research.
From left to right: Charles Walker MP, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Angling Group with David
Mitchell, Head of Marine at the Angling Trust, Steve Murphy from Bluefin Tuna UK, Martin Salter from
the Angling Trust and Scott Mann MP at the launch of the campaign to give ‘British Tuna a Future’ at
the House of Commons
Management Organisation
(MMO) imposed a ban on
any recreational fi shing for
bluefi n tuna. Of course, due
to the fact that the bluefi n
tuna had returned to these
“Bluefi n tuna migrate globally for food. Conservation
should be inter-country not just regional. It’s a
worldwide affair where proben programmes should be
adopted by all for species protection.”
waters in massive numbers,
it didn’t go unnoticed by
foreign commercial fi shing
vessels which were then
hammering the stocks of
these fi sh. There was no
policing of this which was
very disappointing. Another
issue is the fact that the
help my business, it will also
help to cut out illegal tuna
fi shing. In 2016 it was legal
to target bluefi n tuna from a
recreational point of view. I,
along with other businesses
in the area invested in
equipment, advertising and
marketing to provide bluefi n
tuna fi shing tours to the
increasing number of game
anglers keen to pursue the
species.
“In 2017 and without
any warning, the Marine
Nigel Hodge
Nigel Hodge with a stunning bluefin
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