More than 150 of Europe's top sea anglers; eight hours of fishing off Scotland, and one solitary haddock

Published on Saturday 19 September 2009 19:55

THERE'S always been plenty more fish in the sea. But 154 of the world's best anglers, who descended on Scotland for a fishing contest, managed to prove the old saying wrong.

Despite spending eight hours off the coast of Orkney for five consecutive days, among the catch was just a single haddock.

The solitary haddock underlines the growing absence of fish that used to teem in northern Scottish waters. Now one of the organisers of the 2009 European Sea Angling Championships in Orkney has written to the First Minister to raise his concerns about the "howling mess" of Scotland's seas, and calling for new restrictions on inshore trawling.

Alastair Forsyth, former chairman of the European Federation of Sea Angling (EFSA), which hosted the contest, blames the failure to catch haddock – the one landed was thrown back – on a "disgraceful" lack of stock.

He wrote: "One hundred and fifty four of the best anglers in the world were at sea for eight hours on each of five consecutive days in near perfect conditions and between us we caught one haddock. Yes, one single haddock."

He told the First Minister he felt "obliged to inform you of the absolute howling mess you and your gang of bureaucrats have made of Scotland's once bountiful seas" and he called for action to reverse declining stock levels.

Anglers from England, Ireland, Wales, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Portugal, Gibraltar and South Africa travelled to Scotland and each paid 580 to take part in the competition last month. They set out each day from Stromness to the once-rich fishing grounds off Orkney Mainland's west coast.

However, Forsyth said the lack of fish meant the competition became "an embarrassment to Scotland". "This year's championships in Orkney were described to me by an angler from Sweden as the poorest ever in the 50-year history of the championships," he said.

"Imagine what some anglers think of Scotland having flown half way round the globe to reach our shores and not catch any fish at all."

Forsyth, 59, who has been fishing in Scotland since the age of five, blames the abolition, in 1985, of a three-mile limit that until then had banned trawlers from fishing close to shore.

He believes Scotland may not be allowed to host the championship again, meaning it would go the way of many other once-thriving fishing contests that have been relegated to the history books in Scotland.

He said: "This has been going on for decades now and it has been getting worse and worse."

Joe Connolly, chairman of EFSA, agreed that sea angling has "deteriorated" over the years: "I think it's due to over-fishing by trawlers. As soon as the haddock come in the Spanish trawlers are coming in and sweeping them up."

Steve Bastiman, chairman of the Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network, said he shared the concerns: "Pretty much everyone is agreed that the removal of the restrictions on trawlers in 1985 heralded the beginning of the end.

"Since the trawling limit was lifted there are now 21 stocks which at one time used to be very common in Scotland's inshore waters, which are now essentially in certain areas locally extinct or are certainly economically unstable.

"These aren't rare or exotic species. They are things like the common skate, which was given that name because it used to be common."

He called for a plan to be devised to regenerate marine biodiversity, including bringing back restrictions on inshore trawling. Unlike on land, he said, removal of species from the sea is not well monitored: "It's a case of out of sight, out of mind. They don't have feathers and they don't have fur so they are forgotten about."

A recent study commissioned by the Scottish Government suggested sea angling in Scotland generated 140m a year for the economy and supported more than 3,100 jobs, many in rural areas.

This means the sport is worth at least as much as golf tourism, and more valuable than all freshwater fishing combined.

Following the research, environment secretary Richard Lochhead announced a strategic plan for sea angling was being drawn up by the Scottish Government to examine how best to promote the sport.

The study, "Economic Impact of Recreational Sea Angling in Scotland", commissioned from Glasgow Caledonian University, found there were 125,000 regular participants in Scotland.

The researchers concluded there was significant potential for growth in the sector, noting that a 50 per cent increase in sea angling would secure at least 1,675 jobs. It said the key to unlocking this potential was to "ensure the availability of fish stocks for anglers to catch".

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: "We recognise some of our stocks are in difficulties, particularly some whitefish stocks on the West Coast of Scotland.

"That is why we have already put in place strong conservation measures to help recover the stocks, although we recognise that it may take some time for the tide to turn."