Being an old man brought up in the that outmoded tradition 'play the game',I am appalled by the attitude of some anglers who display contempt for rules and guidelines designed to help us enjoy our sport without discommoding other people or damaging the environment. They may be a minority but the repercussions of their activities bring the whole future of angling into question. Recently the headquarters of NFSA was inundated with complaints from anglers across the country and from professional fishermen about the sale of anglers' catches against the law and against the rules of NFSA.

The situation was exacerbated by the inaction of MAFF which sent out the wrong signals to delinquents. Club committees also failed to take appropriate action. One club committee refused to recognise the authority of the governing body of which they were associate members. They failed to discipline their delinquents but banned the member who brought the matter to public attention. NO COMMENT

It is the complete indiscipline and thoughtlessness of many anglers which provides ammunition to wetsabs and other anti-angling groups . The consequences of unrestricted sale of angling catches will have a damaging effect on the professionals ability to earn a living should the Europeans achieve their objective of including angling catches in the British quota.

It is left to the majority of honest, self disciplined anglers who respect the environment and other people to save our sport. We need more self-discipline and self-respect amongst all anglers. We could start by ensuring that angling clubs are run by people with the interests of the sport at heart and not those who see elected office as another rung on the ladder of social climbing.
We need to remember that this government is under pressure to ban angling along with other country sports. The pre-election document assured anglers that their sport was safe with Labour--under certain conditions. After all what does it matter if a few half-truths protect a couple of million votes going the wrong way?

Actually, as some antis are demonstrating, it doesn't need an Act of Parliament to achieve a virtually total ban on fishing with rod and line. Any local authority can be empowered to pass bye-laws restricting activities within their boundaries in the name of protecting the environment, the safety of the public and wildlife, and any other of there politically correct phobias known to man.

It has already happened in some areas - and I have to confess that I agreed with the council at the time because cowboys were destroying a couple of venues and a complete ban was the only remedy available.

We all of us have to take care of such things as the disposal of rubbish and the treatment of unwanted fish. It isn't easy in the depths of winter with driving rain or snow arriving in the last hour of competition or pleasure fishing. It isn't easy to take the greatest care when disgorging a hook from an undersized fish when the second pat has caught another bite. But it has to be done.

The most frequent criticism of pier anglers by casual strollers is the number of dead fish floating down the tide. We can't be perfect but we can attain a high standard of concern for others. We can also support the efforts of angling bodies and the angling press to make angling respectable and present anglers as a reasonable body of men and women.