Angling Trust calls for balanced approach to zander

WHILE welcomed by some anglers as a sporting fish, zander have been blamed for declines in silver fish stocks, particularly on parts of the canal network.

After consultation with advocates on both sides of the debate, the Angling Trust has produced a policy position which accepts that the fish are here to stay and are officially classified as no more than ‘medium risk’.

The paper states: “Zander are a popular and valued sport fish among many predator anglers and have enjoyed recognition in the official British Record (rod caught) Fish lists for many years. Equally, we acknowledge that in certain environments their presence is not welcomed by other coarse and competition anglers who view zander as detrimental to their own sport.”

AT chief executive Jamie Cook said: “Division in angling is never good and we’ve worked extremely hard on this difficult issue to develop a sensible and pragmatic way forward. Criminalising anglers for practising catch and release fishing is unacceptable and unnecessary.”

However, the trust also supports the right of clubs and fishery owners to manage zander stocks in waters where they are considered to be damaging, as the law allows.

Jamie added: “If zander stocks need to be controlled, and we totally accept that there are locations where this is the case, then there are more efficient and palatable ways of getting the job done. And let’s face it, the Environment Agency and the police have many more pressing issues to deal with including tackling polluters, poachers and other wildlife crimes.”