Fishing for the truth about angling in Scotland
SEA ANGLING in Scotland is to have its first strategic development plan, environment minister Richard Lochhead pledged today. A working group will be set up within the next three months to examine how best to promote the sport –revealed in a major study published today to be be worth more than £140 million a year…
Continue ReadingTHE ORGANISERS of Sharkatag, the biggest single sea angling conservation exercise mounted in the UK, have just published their report on the event. It makes interesting reading. The three-day tagging marathon held from 12-14 June in the western Solway area of south-west Scotland, was in itself an undoubted success, attracting more than 200 anglers from…
Continue ReadingReview: ‘Saving Scotland’s Salmon’ Derek Mills :: Medlar Press :: £25.00 IT IS something of a paradox that the Atlantic salmon is one of the most regulated fishes in the world, yet today seems to be as threatened and as much at risk as ever. The so-called king of fishes has inspired generations of naturalists,…
Continue ReadingI’VE NO idea if J. M Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan, ever went fishing as a lad. With nine siblings, one of whom died in a tragic skating accident, it may be possible that the young weaver’s son from Kirriemuir might have dropped a line into the waters of Kirrie Den while wiling away…
Continue ReadingA SCOTTISH fish farm company has paid out more than £13,000 compensation in a unique out of court settlement after admitting it accidentally released juvenile salmon into a river system with a risk of polluting the wild strain of fish. Mainstream Scotland, a subsidiary of the Norwegian salmon conglomerate CERMAQ, paid the money to the …
Continue ReadingLoch Lomond angling committee trumpet “best start” to spring salmon season for 20 years.
Continue ReadingSHARK populations off Scotland’s south-west coast are now at a “critical low” angling conservationists warned today as results from last weekend’s massive tagging exercise were revealed. Some 215 volunteer anglers from all over the UK travelled to the Solway coast to take part in Sharkatag 2009, a three-day project to catch, tag and release various…
Continue ReadingTHE significance of the new course for secondary pupils at Blairgowrie should not be underestimated, writes Gordon Mack. Angling contributes massively to the Scottish economy. Freshwater fishing brings in £113m a year and supports 2800 jobs. Sea angling, the number one coastal recreation activity, is even bigger, with an estimated £150m and a similar number…
Continue ReadingNATURALIST Professor David Bellamy yesterday launched the first exams for game angling at a Scottish secondary school to a volley of criticism from animal rights supporters. Professor Bellamy said the move to introduce Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) from S3 onwards helps establish Scotland as “the open university for field sports”, and also educates children how…
Continue ReadingWe thought it might be interesting to look at how the five venues in the World Fly Fishing Championships performed this week in terms of rods and catches when tested by the best anglers in the world. It doesn’t make very comfortable reading for Loch Leven, home of fly-fishing and the so-called queen of Scottish…
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