Quote:
SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR FISHERIES AND CONSERVATION
Many rivers support important and valuable fisheries for salmon, sea trout and brown trout.
This information sheet provides additional guidance for individuals and organisations
intending to work in or near rivers in respect of Section 7.1 of the Special Requirements in
Relation to the Environment Agency, which deals with Conservation and Fisheries
Requirements.
I have just come across the above wording in one of my tenders which got me thinking...
...are coarse fish and coarse fisheries any less valuable? It might be an unfortunate use of words on the part of the EA but how times have changed. Game fishing, once a sport reserved for and enjoyed by the Gentry, and the coarsest of fish for the lesser people. But what are 'Game' fish. Whilst we understand them to be fish of the salmanoid family, they are fish angled for by virtue of their food value. But what of coarse fish and the 'Game' value of 'The Hunt'? Which of the two groups holds the greatest 'value' by virtue of their following and consequent impact on tackle trade etc. I would wager the man angling for the coarser fish spends more on his pastime...
