page 50 in todays daily star."quote"
labour angling spokesman martin salter told the commons that sea anglers could see benifits if they are asked to pay for a licence.
his comments came in a debate on the new marine bill which will give the government power to introduce sea fishing permits.
the mp for reading west also suggested the creation of a 'golden mile' of protected coastal water where commercial fishing will be banned and the stocks left for anglers to target.
he added"we need to give sea anglers the confidence that the marine bill will put measures in place to protect stocks."
This was also the message put over by David Miliband. The parliamentary debate (19/04/2007)was an all party affair for adjournment of the white paper. From my reading of it appeared to have all party support with a few minor queries over wording of individual paragraphs. The first mention of recreational sea angling appears here
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm070419/debtext/70419-0016.htm
where the use of white deisel for recreational boats is discussed and what to do with the extra revenue earned.
Its long winded but very relevant.Here is the word for word transcript of what was said in parliament by Martin Salter.
"Martin Salter (Reading, West) (Lab): It is always a great privilege to be called to speak on any occasion, but particularly so for me today, which is my
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birthday—[Hon. Members: “Ah”.] Clearly, the marine environment was a subject close to my wife’s heart when she presented me with a birthday present at 7.30 this morning. It was a book, “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen”—an iconic study of an interesting project, which some of my colleagues will recognise as a literary masterpiece. It was a welcome birthday present and I intend to continue the same theme of the marine environment in my speech.
I support much of the marine White Paper, which I and many colleagues on both sides of the House have long campaigned for. I particularly want to deal with measures to protect the marine environment, to improve fish stocks, to stop the over-exploitation of our inshore waters and, of course and inevitably, I want to extol the benefits of recreational sea angling. I also want to sound a note of caution for the Government in respect of any attempts to introduce a sea angling licence and deal with the preconditions necessary to make such a licence acceptable to the recreational sea angling sector.
I should also declare that, from time to time, I advise the Minister for Sport and his colleagues on angling matters. I am particularly grateful for the guidance, support and assistance of people such as Richard Ferre, chairman of the National Federation of Sea Anglers, John Leballeur, chairman of the Bass Anglers Sportsfishing Society, and Leon Roskilly of the Sea Anglers Conservation Network.
The marine environment is a precious resource and we all have a duty to protect it, to help it develop and to help to sustain it. I very much echo the comments of the hon. Member for Uxbridge (Mr. Randall). Uxbridge, like Reading, does not have a lot of coast, although as global warming and climate change continue, we may both have more than we want. As the hon. Gentleman said, we all have the right to take an interest in and to comment on the marine environment and we all have a duty to protect it.
The Labour party manifesto of 2005 included a commitment to a marine Act to
“introduce a new framework for the seas based on marine spatial planning that balances conservation, energy and resource needs. To obtain best value from different uses of our valuable marine resources, we must maintain and protect the ecosystems on which they depend.”
Before that, the strategy unit in Downing street produced marine stewardship reports, the first of which was entitled “Safeguarding our Seas”. Again, it shared this vision of clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse ocean and seas around our coasts. Clearly, there is political commitment and fine words, which we need to turn into practice. I believe that the marine White Paper, “A Sea Change”, is a definitive document, which points the way forward for introducing a new framework for managing the seas.
The Minister in his contribution drew attention to the alarming decline in fish stocks globally. Some 25 per cent. of all species are depleted, or, in other words, at risk, and 52 per cent. are fully exploited. No one wants to see a collapse in fish stocks, as happened—this was referred to earlier—on the Grand Banks in Newfoundland, which was once one of the world’s finest cod fisheries. That collapse, which was a result of greed, commercial exploitation and short-sightedness by the commercial sector, had a devastating impact on the fisheries and fishing communities that
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depended on the Grand Banks. They have still not recovered, despite stringent and vigorous efforts by the US and Canadian Governments.
I sometimes despair at the short-sighted approach of a number of those in the commercial sector, who set their faces against every attempt to introduce sensible conservation measures to ensure a sustainable fishery. It was rather regrettable—all Members will share my sadness on reading the press reports—that not only was the president of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations in court a while ago for breaches of quota and submitting false returns, but so was the chairman of that organisation. That organisation will quite virulently attack the Minister and any other Member who stands up in the House and has the courage and foresight to put forward arguments in favour of the conservation of marine species. Perhaps the NFFO needs to put its own house in order before rushing to make judgments.
Coming back to the worrying statistics that the Minister shared with us, it is simply not sustainable to have 70 per cent. of global fish stocks either depleted or fully exploited. The marine Bill, or most of it, will be particularly welcome for recreational sea anglers. In particular, they will welcome the commitment to establish marine conservation zones in order to aid the recovery of rare or threatened species, and to protect spawning grounds, areas where marine species gather and are vulnerable to commercial exploitation, and, quite rightly, features of particular geographic interest. They welcome the proposed reform of sea fisheries committees. The committees have not had sufficient representation from the recreational sea angling sector. Recreational sea anglers especially welcome the strengthening of enforcement powers to tackle the abuse of conservation measures and widespread illegal fishing, including, in particular, coastal netting. Currently, the sea fishery committee that covers the Essex and Kent area and is responsible for hundreds of miles of coastline has just two fishery protection vehicles—covering all that coastline, all the estuaries, and all the sea out to the 6 mile limit. If our fisheries are to be sustainable and enhanced, they need better protection. There is a resource implication, but there is also a legislative argument to be borne in mind.
I want to turn to the benefits of recreational sea angling. Why should anybody worry about the recreational sector? Why should any politician worry about it? Well, there are a million people involved, and they vote. That is probably a good reason. The hon. Member for Leominster (Bill Wiggin) rightly drew attention to the fact that the sector is worth £538 million in England and Wales alone and makes a contribution to the UK economy of £1.3 billion annually. In employment terms, there are about 20,000 people involved in the recreational sea angling sector alone. A healthy and vibrant recreational sea angling sector provides a huge economic benefit from tourism as well as social benefits. That compares fairly favourably with the commercial sector, which sucks up about £90 million in Government support, which equates to something like £10,000 per full-time fisherman. I do not begrudge that support, but, financially, we need to put both sides of the argument.
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It goes on and can be read here.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm070419/debtext/70419-0018.htm
Its a worthwhile read and a real eye opener as to the intentions of the white paper and how it will affect anglers.
We need to be sure that in the event we end up paying a license fee it wont be until we see changes that benifit us as anglers. The governments track record and inparticular that of Ben Bradshaw in providing legislation is not good to say the least so we need to ensure we get improvements before we pay any license fee.
Cheers
Dave
