The license debate - politics suck!

What can I say about the debate on a sea angling licence? Well, nothing with any real subsistence to be honest. I have managed to avoid any such debate until now, and have stayed well clear of offering an opinion. There are lots of reasons for this, and I believe my opinions are similar to the vast majority of young sea anglers out there; simply that politics in fishing are about as much fun as poking your eyes out with a sharp stick. This is a huge problem... how can we get more young anglers like me interested in this kind of topic?

Many would say this is because youth have no insight in to the future, and only think about what’s happening today. I would say it’s partly true, but not entirely; all my fishing buddies who are roughly the same age as me have been noticing the changes, and are all seriously miffed each time they go out and blank. Blanking isn’t so bad if it’s something you are doing wrong, or even if it’s just one of those things.... sadly, more often than not nowadays it’s because there are simply not the fish to catch. I can assure you we really do worry about the future, that’s not the problem.

Politics in fishing take many forms, from club committees to the burning issues that groups are pressuring governments with, such as the sea angling license. I believe the decision makers and people in charge of all these aspects simply don’t have a clue about fishing, and what is really happening out there now. They never seem to listen, see, or hear the raw facts. As much as the work that some anglers are doing is fantastic, and probably very necessary, I sometimes feel they are banging their heads against a brick wall.

Sadly, it’s time for my opinion. No, I do not agree that we should have to buy a sea angling license at this point in time. If the government acted now and implemented strict commercial rules similar to what they have in Iceland, and grow balls enough to say to hell with the consequences of doing such, I would gladly sign up for a licence. Can’t they see that in places such as Iceland and Norway, the fishing industry is thriving, and their seas are full of fish? Some of these places don’t even allow boats out of port during spawning time for goodness sake. That’s what I would really like to see first; drastic measures to save what is now a drastic situation, then I will gladly pay. But for them to say, everyone buy a license now to allow us to fund the good work we have been doing and will continue to do in the future, I say b******s!

There are people who have said they agree with the license, and this is fine – even I agree with it in principle whilst taking into account the provisions as above, but the reasons for this have been ridiculous. Some of the more famous faces have said that sea anglers just like to moan, don’t like to fork out cash, take their fish home to sell and should therefore buy a licence. Whilst I agree that salty anglers do like a good moan, and are definitely tight when it comes to parting with Wonga, the last part is utterly ridiculous. Yes, this does happen, but this is the kind of thing your common sea angler despises.

The latest breaking news is that the government has done a U-turn, scrapping the idea in England and Wales. What was the point in wasting all that time and money, just to go in circles and get anglers backs up? Politics suck!