[ FISHERIES ] Sport ďŹ shing as food acquisition and economic activity
Incomplete database makes precise statements difďŹ cult Fishing is one of the oldest ways by which people have fed themselves and their families. In a certain sense the original idea of the individual hunting for ďŹ sh has survived to this day in sport ďŹ shing. Whereas in the past, however, people ďŹ shed only for selfsufďŹ ciency, ďŹ shing is today also a form of recreation and a leisure activity for millions of people. That makes sport ďŹ shing a billion dollar business with enormous commercial importance.
A
general definition describes sport fishing as the attempt to catch aquatic animals – primarily fishes – for personal consumption or as a leisure activity. It can be carried out using either active or passive fishing methods. The active methods include line fishing, spearing fishes, or gathering, for example shellfish, by hand. In contrast, passive methods make use of nets, traps, or longlines. During the course of history the significance of fishing by individuals has thus undergone remarkable changes, today ranging from its original significance for sustenance to a popular leisure time activity whose particular value lies in physical exercise and the direct contact of the angler with nature. In the meantime not only men go fishing but women and young people, too, irrespective of their background or social status. It is estimated that in industrialised countries about every tenth adult carries out sport fishing regularly as a hobby. In addition there are numerous occasional anglers who go fishing from time to time, particularly on holiday. All of them need fishing gear for their hobby, not to mention accommodation, transport, catering and other things which together make sport fishing an important economic factor. Together their expenses add up to considerable sums that usually remain in the www.eurofishmagazine.com
$ *.''
pertinent areas close to rivers, lakes or the sea and represent a mainstay of the local economies. According to the European Fishing Tackle Trade Association (EFTTA) over 5 billion euro are spent on fishing tackle every year in Europe. That secures 52,000 jobs among EFTTA members alone. If the small shops and traders who are not members of any organisation are added to this the sum would probably be almost double that. According to current estimations there are at least 25 million anglers in the EU. 8 to 10 million of them mainly fish in salt water and more than 20 million mainly in freshwater. In 2006 sport fishermen in the then 27 EU member states spent a good 19 billion euro on their fishing tackle, licences and fees, fishing trips and accommodation. This figure, which is only a rough estimation, has clearly risen since then for in March 2015 participants at the first meeting of a new group in the European Parliament which is primarily involved with “Recreational Fishing and the Aquatic Environment� even assumed that annual turnover within the whole angling industry was 40 billion euro. The positive social, economic and health aspects of fishing cannot be overlooked or seriously contested.
During migration to their spawning grounds in the spring, herring draw thousands of anglers to the southwest Baltic coast.
Anglers’ commitment to nature conservation not sufficiently recognised That is only part of the story, however, for angling also comes under criticism. Especially animal welfare and environmental organisations never tire of pointing to the negative consequences of angling for the environment and fish stocks. The permanent conflict between fishermen and nature conservationists has many facets that essentially amount to two main allegations. On the one hand, fishing is considered unnecessary cruelty to animals because today no one in Europe is forced to rely on this archaic form of sustenance. On the other hand, anglers allegedly cause serious,
often even irreversible, damage to the environment, and their stocking measures distort naturally developed species communities and endanger stock maintenance because they selectively remove excellent specimens at reproductive age from the waters. Although both types of fishing, i.e. commercial and sport fishing, have comparable effects on fish stocks and aquatic ecosystems sport fishing is considered worse because it is hardly subject to binding rules, there are no fishing quotas and it is virtually impossible to control. Fishing associations hold against this, and point to the enormous benefits that anglers everywhere in Europe contribute to the protection of nature and conservation Eurofish Magazine 4 / 2015
49