Fishing for the truth about angling in Scotland
TUNE in at 8:30 tonight to BBC-1’s Panorama when reporter Richard Bilton gets his teeth into the background behind the parlous state of fishing in the Clyde estuary. He talks to Professor Callum Roberts, co-author of the recent damning scientific report on over-fishing, as well as Howard Wood chairman of COAST, the Community of Arran…
Continue ReadingInshore creelers petition for 3-mile trawler ban COMMERCIAL fishing in the Clyde estuary is on the verge of extinction according to an alarming report just published by scientists. The study blames dredging and bottom trawling combined with ineffectual fisheries management by successive governments for precipitating what they call an “ecological meltdown.”
Continue ReadingTHE Scottish sea angling pressure group SSACN (Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network) is setting the example for all anglers about how to mount a concerted and sustained campaign to improve their sport. Its team of volunteers works tirelessly conceiving and running events – like the hugely successful June Sharkatag weekend which injects an estimated £50,000…
Continue ReadingI HAVE been away, hence the gap in news postings. In China. Well, Hong Kong to be exact. The former British colony continues to thrive under Special Administrative Area communist status and maintains its unique blend of Oriental charm, ruthless business drive and pursuit of coin, combined with slavish observance of style and latest designs….
Continue ReadingTWO KEY marine planning publications have emerged within the last few days, each of which has direct implications for anglers.
Continue ReadingTOPE will be the main target for the Scotland’s second Sharkatag weekend, scheduled for this June. The event, which last summer attracted more than 200 volunteer participants and generated more than £40,000 for the local economy in the Solway area of south-west Scotland, was recognised as the biggest sea angling conservation exercise ever mounted in…
Continue ReadingSCOTLAND’S first shark project officer is now at work. James Thorburn, a marine biologist who studied at Stirling and Heriot-Watt universities, has a strong track record of involvement in Scottish research projects. His appointment, as part of a £52,000 support package from Scottish Natural Heritage and the Argyll and Islands LEADER programme, comes at…
Continue ReadingIT HAS had a gestation period longer longer than the celebrated spiny dogfish, but at last Scotland’s Marine Bill has been passed, promising the birth of a new era for our seas and the prospect of, potentiallly, a brighter future for all the creatures that live in them and the people whose livelihoods depend on…
Continue ReadingIF YOU weren’t watching More4 at 10:00 tonight you missed a real treat – the first UK television screening of The End of the Line, Rupert Murray’s remarkable documentary film which is changing the way people think about the future of the world’s sea fish populations. Immensely watchable; immensely frightening, it charts the activities of…
Continue ReadingENVIRONMENT minister Richard Lochhead has won cautious praise for following up quickly on his pledge to create a Scottish sea angling strategy group. Steve Bastiman, chairman of the Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network (SSACN), the principal campaigners for Government action to protect and revitalise inshore fish stocks, revealed today that it has had a preliminary…
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