The Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network
The Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network (SSACN)
SCOTTISH SEA ANGLERS WORTH MILLIONS
Fisheries Minister Lochhead experiences sustainable 'catch and return' sea angling
Over £140 million a year to the Scottish economy.
Scottish sea angling’s contribution is greater than that of salmon, trout and coarse angling combined, and at least as valuable as incoming golf tourism according to the long awaited Government sponsored study into the value of Scottish sea angling which was undertaken by Glasgow Caledonian University.
Released on the 29th July 2009 at a meeting in Drummore, Dumfries and Galloway where Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Richard Lochhead, met with representatives of the Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network (SSACN www.ssacn.org), local politicians and business leaders.
Introducing the report he said
“This ground breaking report shows that the popular sport of sea angling lands thousands of jobs and millions of pounds for Scotland,"
and continued
"The potential for further development is huge and the next step must be to set up a group to take forward a development strategy.”
SSACN understands the group is expected to comprise sea angling representative bodies, local authorities, tourist agencies, marine scientists and other representative bodies and be tasked with delivering a strategic plan before the next Holyrood election.
Our Vice Chairman, Ian Burrett, pointed out to all present that the cost of implementing such a plan will be minimal compared with the rewards and that the cost of inaction will be a worsening ecological disaster, a multi-million pound missed opportunity and more pressure on the economies of coastal communities.
As recently as the late 1980's, Scotland was a major European destination for sea anglers, however, due to poor fisheries management over the last two decades, the stocks of many of those have been almost totally depleted which apart from the tragic loss of biodiversity in our seas, has caused hundreds of jobs and millions of pounds to be lost from the fragile economies of many coastal communities.
Following the meeting, Mr Lochhead joined members of SSACN to experience sea angling at first hand off the Mull of Galloway catching a number of pollack; this enabled him to experience truly sustainable fishing by following the anglers and returning all those caught.
John Scott MSP (Cons), Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs & the Environment, who was also at the meeting said later "After two years of silence, it is crucial the Scottish Government comes up with a significant and well thought through plan to ensure the potential of the sea angling industry in Scotland is not lost."
Scottish anglers have spent around £3 billion in the last 20 years on their sport, it is about time they received something in return !
NOTES for editors / background information
The Government Study
Executive summary at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/280284/0084431.pdf
According to the study, over 148,633 adults and juveniles/ yr go sea angling in Scotland contributing £140,868 million to the Scottish economy and supporting 3,148 full time jobs.
The report was conducted by the public policy division of Glasgow Caledonian University, which has specialized in examining other types of angling.
SSACN Facts
The Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network (SSACN. www.ssacn.org) is a charity pressure group which believes the Scottish politicians are failing in their duty to protect marine biodiversity in inshore waters.
Recreational sea angling is a selective, environmentally friendly and low-impact fishing activity; it is the top coastal recreation activity in Scotland and with over 100,000 anglers regularly taking part is of great social and economic importance.
SSACN is leading the way on marine conservation in Scotland with initiatives such as the Shark Tagging Programme (www.tagsharks.com) to help provide the Government with the data it says it needs to protect certain species.
Last month, we organised Sharkatag, a three-day volunteer tagging weekend which attracted more than 200 anglers from all over the UK to the Solway to help gather data on threatened shark species. The event was worth more than £40,000 to local businesses in Dumfries and Galloway.
England and Wales are moving rapidly towards implementing sea angling strategies yet the Scottish Government is looking increasingly isolated due to its lack of action.
SSACN envisage a number of angling regeneration centres in key areas such as the Solway, Clyde, Moray Firth and Loch Etive in order to :
• Minimise the need for species by species legislation
• Protect inshore marine biodiversity.
• Promote the sustainable use of natural resources.
• Increase public awareness and knowledge of the inshore marine environment.
• Increase the number and diversity of people taking part in the the sport.
• Preserve angling as the nation’s most popular participation sport.
• Demonstrate recreational sea angling leadership in Europe.
Contact details . . .
The Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network
SSACN Chairman - Steve Bastiman - steve@ssacn.org