Hi stores, like I said in yer thread in the other section I can't envisage rsa being affected as it does no damage, bait digging is a different matter and maybe a goer for the bureaucrats though personally I don't think bait digging by guys with spades does any harm. Even the cracker jack labour government with their ridiculous environmental regulation policies wouldn't aim for rsa restriction, when I say cracker jack labour environmental policies the CRC energy efficiency scheme springs to mind
It seems that the feeling is that shore anglers will be OK but when the MCS say
"but voluntary management has consistently been proven not to work. However great the buy in, one or two fishermen, often fishers from outside the local area can ruin the efforts of the majority. Without legal redress the good work of many can be spoiled""
and OK this could be read as meaning the commercials as could the RSPB bit:
"Over the next couple of years, enforcement agencies and statutory conservation bodies will be looking at a whole new range of fishing activities and making recommendations on whether restrictions need to be introduced to protect conservation features".
but, one, do we want the Commercials to be penalised? I certainly don't and one of the beauties of the North East is how, in the main, the two get on (am I repeating myself here?) and two, how much damage do our boating friends do to the local bird population? Not as much, visually, as they can pin on us shore anglers with our discarded line and litter issues.
Finally, if it is just bait digging, try to see the bigger picture. Scotland is waking up to the same scenario we have here. OK different names (no MCZs) but the same pressures. Wales have just announced possible restrictions on bass catches, bag limits, increased minimum sizes, no go areas. How long before there's limited bait access in large parts of the country? How will that affect the cost of your weekend bait supply, the increased pressure on crab collection (from their "under boulder communities") and the cost of buying them? Eventually we could have a scenario where all the anti's need is not to stop us fishing where the fish are, just to stop anyone collecting bait from where the bait is. Far fetched? Maybe. Might sea fishing be beyond the financial reach of the working man? Not so maybe. Will we do owt about it? Doesn't look like it.