ROB HUGHES The big zander conundrum
THERE’S no question that having many different styles within angling is great for boosting participation, especially in light of falling rod licence sales.
Even more so when we talk about styles involving casting light lures for things with lots of teeth, because predator angling is one of the few growing areas of our sport. So, the furore surrounding the removal of zander from various Midlands waterways by the Canals and Rivers Trust makes interesting reading.
Match anglers and clubmen are all for the practice as they seek to return the stretches to their former silverfish glory, while lure anglers are up in arms.
You can read both sides of the argument, in full, on page 14, but I’d ask you to spare a thought for the bloke in charge of the CRT, John Ellis, who’s copping it from both sides.
He wants, and needs, to keep all the interested parties happy, but his hands are tied. Why? Because if he doesn’t toe the line he becomes liable to prosecution. This is because, as a non-native species, the zander have to be removed under the rules of the CRT’s site permit for keeping fish. It also means that it’s actually illegal for anglers to return zander to the water once they’ve been caught.
Now, to my knowledge, no one has ever been prosecuted for returning a zander, but potentially they could be, and that’s a difficult position. A compromise needs to be found, and I think that John’s proposal of a designated ‘zander zone’ is the most logical suggestion in what’s becoming an increasingly acrimonious debate.