THE proposal by the European Union to allow member state Governments to set their own fishing quotas for each protected species has noble ambitions, but as ever the devil is in the detail.
Under new plans, Britain's 1.4 million sea anglers could be forced to record their catches, turning a popular hobby into a laborious form-filling exercise.
Shore anglers are understandably furious whilst the idea that each boat or dinghy will have to be registered and every possible launch point policed is a bureacratic nightmare in the making.
For the EU to target recreational sea anglers after years of fudging the commercial fishing industry problem is both lazy and misguided.
Happily Defra threw out a recent proposal on licencing sea anglers after robust lobbying from the Countryside Alliance, so we will be looking for a similar rejection this time.
Simon Hart, Chief Executive, Countryside Alliance The Old Town Hall 367 Kennington Road London SE11 4PT Website: countryside-alliance.org.uk
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