Is Competitive Angling in South Africa seen as a "BLOODSPORT"?

[ronny]

At the recent SASSA AGM it was announced that SASSA had a membership of 2951. KZNCAU make up 40% of this number with 1183 members. SASSA's membership continues to fall due to the perception that it is a "Bloodsport". The debacle regarding the Great White Shark in the Southern Cape was discussed and agreed that the need exists to disqualify catches of protected species like the Great White, Brindle Bass etc.

What can be done to make this sport more acceptable and accessable to the Greater South African angling public.  

 

 

[Noweeds]

I'm almost too scared to reply to this cause i think my head might explode!!!!
Nothing to do with you Ronny - just the fact that competative anglers pay for the sins of everybody else!!!!!

 

[Raggieman]

It is not necessarily competitive anglers but more the joe public angler(and not all of them either) who is not that conservation minded as competitive anglers and the rest of us and as result we are all painted with one brush.

 

[ronny]

Noweeds, i agree with what you saying but we have to be proactive and think of ways to combat this or else all that we strive for in angling may be for nothing. There is talk of taking away SASSA's right to award Protea colours. Let's put our ideas together and save the sport that we all love.

 

[KLIPVIS]

I think a lot have been done the past few years to clean out the sport and maybe it is those that left that didn't share the same intentions.We even have comps now that are strictly catch and release even for edibles.Agree with Weeds that unfortunately one anglers stuff it up for the rest every now and then.I think the sport has become much more profesional and much more enviromentally friendly also.I mean get disqualified if we leave any litter on a beach , hell even if we use the wrong gaffs these days.Lets keep on improving our public image by doing our bit.So lets resort to gaffing people who give angling a bad name , and please use the biggest gaff you can find.We love this sport too much to let it go down the drain.

 

[SeanB]

We've tried to increase the image of competitive anglers by publishing exapmles of the club rules (WP SAA have some nice sections on conduct on the beach etc).

One thing I would have liked to have seen passed was the rubbish buckets for league fixtures. It's a token effort but that's the kind of thing the public want to see.

Having some more fish to catch would also help but that's another crusade:temp:

 

[Noweeds]

The problem is that joe public does whatever the hell he wants and the only people that government or MCM or anybody else can truly affect are the competative anglers because we are governed by our assosiation. This is why some of us get so upset when inapropriate photos of fish get posted on the internet. The joe public will not be affected by any repurcussions that occur.......its the league anglers who will bear the brunt!

 

[Raggieman]

Ronny if they take away SASAA right to awrd Protea Colours would that then mean no Protea colours or some other body would then decide on that.

sorry to sound so pessimitic but competitive angling and Conservation minded non competitive anglers will always be subject to the actions of everyone that fishes because the public does not draw a distinction between Joe Provincial or Protea angler and Joe Conservationist and Joe the Scavenger and plunder of our resources

 

[SeanB]

That was going to be my next point.

We have a massive problem with the uneducated, joe public and those that just don't care (the unlicensed majority) and the response I'm getting from the DEAT is that they concerntrate on abalone issues as a priority RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR:uzi

I would like to see the authorities making as much effort as the associations and clubs.

The only way we will clean up the image of the sport is by our own personal conduct and when the authorities start to clean up the rubbish that pillage the fish stocks.

 

[ronny]

Our sport enjoys amateur status whereas other sporting bodies that award Protea colours are professional eg. Rugby, Cricket. Is there a possibility that an organisation like ESA may be awarded the right to award colours? They call their anglers PRO anglers and portray the correct image via TV coverage. They hold tournaments where prize money is available called the Pro Series similar to the BASS Classic in the states. They enjoy sponsors from the major tackle brands because they receive coverage on TV. SASSA has nothing to offer these sponsors. Andre Henn, the ESA editor was part of SASSA. SASSA may have to align itself with ESA in order to survive.

 

[Pylstert]

Hi Ronny

Have you guys seen American bass tournaments? If I was anti-fishing that would be my prime example to use to stop fishing. The gross commercialisation and the anglers holdig up the fish on a floodlit stage with commentators is very reminiscent of the world wide wrestling show. I hope ESA doesn't go this route, or competitve angling in this country, it's all fair and well to make fishing professional but rather than make it more civilised then that type of Roman circus, because that's what those american bass tournaments look like in my opinion. Then the public might stop labelling all anglers the same way.

My 2c's.

Cheers

Leonj

 

[Dmx]

Ronny. Our clubs in the west coast always talk about the same isseus. Before I go on, please mind my spelling. Eks afrikaans. As I was saying, we are extremely waried about the whole blood sport thing. We as the west coast club anglers dont use gafs anymore, we use barbless hooks. little thing like this to try and get the whole blood sport thing to cool down. its dificult to angle without gafs on the rock and clifs, but that is what we desided to do, everyone can do the same, atleast in the club seen. This league seen is the only place where we can start to make a difference. For sharks rather use a rope around the tale. Try to use cirkle hooks. thy realy work once you get the use of it. Fishing is a bloodsport if not done the right way. There are guy out there that gaf 5kg sharks just because they can. many time I have stood on the cliffs in Gordensbaai and seen how some people kill little spottys, just because they got hooked. That is the bad part of the fishing seen that needs to get a smack over the head. thats the bad part thats giving us profetional anglers a k@k name. why should this bad part be assotiated with angling as a profetional sport. got to go now. Just my 2 cents.

 

[ronny]

Good Day All

Guys please don't get me wrong, i'm not promoting ESA. What would be nice is if SASSA can arrange coverage of our tournaments, Interprovincials or League. We can then reach a far greater audience. At the moment all the good things are not conveyed to the masses but one bad incident is blown up in the media. Let's face it - Sensationlism Sells. The WP guys started the Litter Bucket idea and has been adopted by us in KZN starting 2008. The "No Gaffing" policy and barbless hooks have to be shown to the public. We have to reach out to the masses and show them the error in their ways. The sport is by no means cheap, but we must find ways to get more people involved.

 

[Hoosen]

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=14&art_id=vn20070816044549267C160227

 

thought u guys would like to read wat is in todays paper

 

[ronny]

Thanks for that Hoosen

This is a tournament that was planned by the Natal Deep Sea Rod and Reel Club. We as Rock and surf fishos will be painted with the brush as these okes. Questions must be raised by their controlling body. Here is an article worth reading.

KZN Sharks in Deep Trouble



I don't usually react to alarming emails or charity appeals. but this one merited a read through, so I'm passing it on.:


A group of anglers in KwaZulu Natal are planning a shark fishing competition on the weekend of the 18th and 19th August. They've advertised in the Natal Deep Sea Rod and Reel Club newsletter and will catch and kill the sharks, not tag and release them. Their motivation is that their catches are often taken by sharks and "a number of anglers have now got together to find out for themselves what is going on with regards to the shark numbers", to quote from their newsletter.

In the guise of a very questionable charity event, they will target sharks over 20 kilograms and "donate" the fins through a local Asian buyer, and further donate potentially mercury contaminated meat to an underprivileged children's home. Contradicting their implications that there are too many sharks, they add that they cannot find any to satisfy their foreign clients who are only interested in catching sharks - another serious concern (see full details from newsletter on the AOCA website on the link What's Up). As it stands the competition is illegal as it goes against recreational permit conditions.

In light of the severe plight of shark populations worldwide, including in South Africa as depicted in our recent documentary Sharks in Deep Trouble, we cannot condone the unnecessary slaughter of animals that are in desperate need of protection. The motivation for this competition is unacceptable and not supported by scientists.

Considering the overwhelming slaughter of over 100 million sharks per year, which is driving many shark species to extinction, we fight an uphill battle to make a difference in saving them.
We need your help through this petition to stop this competition, and also to put pressure on Marine and Coastal Management to change the current recreational fishing limits of sharks of 10 per day per fisherman. We demand adequate scientific evidence, thus far lacking, to support this number, and failing which a precautionary approach for deciding daily shark catch limits. We've only got a few days and need all the support we can get to make a difference.

To enter the petition send your name, email address and comments to info@aoca.org.za
In the subject line add: Shark Petition, then forward this email to as many people as possible - the number of people who sign will determine the impact we have.

Thank you for helping us to help them!

 

[Couta]

I am not taking sides in this as I am for protection of our marine resources but sharks are a problem in certain areas of Natal (or at least 1 place) ie Shelly beach where sharks actually are a pest. At times it is virtually impossible to fish for edibles there as sharks tax everything you catch.I do not know if you have ever fished there but I can tell you one thing it gets pretty annoying if you lose over 20 20+kg tuna in a day's fishing to sharks.

 

[ronny]

WE WIN THIS ROUND!

A great success has been achieved and our efforts, combined with those of others, have resulted in the anglers agreeing to postpone the Shark Fishing Competition scheduled for the 18/19 August 2007 in Durban, South Africa. They are considering holding it at a later date but using Catch and Release rules.

Our petition has been very successful; signatures have been streaming in from people around the world, including several leading scientists and NGOs. AOCA also went onto national radio and generated press coverage expressing our disapproval. Thank you to all of you who supported AOCA by signing, putting it on your websites, forwarding it, and sending it to your databases, the support has been fantastic - together we can make a difference, and we have!

This is not the end of the line for AOCA, however, in fighting this battle

 

[Karma]

Hi Ronnie

 

Valid points raised by many, but I have a few questions that I find puzzling.

# Why does SASAA not have a website

# Why can SASAA and ESA not work for a common goal by having all pro series anglers be registered to a club like all other sports (To play rugby for the Sharks you have to come through the club system).

# In one of your post it creates an implied view that Andre Henn is trying to be the one dishing out SA colours (how true is this?)

My questions are really to create a better understanding of the situation.

 

ciao

K

 

 

[ronny]

[color=#006600]Karma[/color] wrote:

Hi Ronnie

 

Valid points raised by many, but I have a few questions that I find puzzling.

# Why does SASAA not have a website

# Why can SASAA and ESA not work for a common goal by having all pro series anglers be registered to a club like all other sports (To play rugby for the Sharks you have to come through the club system).

# In one of your post it creates an implied view that Andre Henn is trying to be the one dishing out SA colours (how true is this?)

My questions are really to create a better understanding of the situation.

 

ciao

K

 

Hi Karma

I'm not on SASSA's exec. so i cannot answer your 1st question as to why they don't have a website. Apart from the KZNCAU, i have not seen any other union with a website either.

With regards to your second question, i agree with what you are saying however one must understand that ESA is a business venture where monies are generated and SASSA is an amateur body whose sole income comes from its membership. It would be great to see both parties working together towards the common good of the sport.

As for your third question, i must apologise if i created this view. What i was trying to point out is that ESA can quite easily replace SASSA because of the financial backing that they have, their image is sqeaky clean etc. If SASSA's membership continues to drop and ESA's continue to grow then it is quite possible this could happen. Any organisation with enough financial backing and member support can quite easily sway Government. It all comes down to politics.

 

[SeanB]

One overriding problem is that many/all (not sure is SASAA execs get a wage) members are volunteers, including regional associations and clubs.

We've been approaching all of these with a view to presenting them on our site and there has been a very positive responses. It does however take a while to get up-to-date info as these guys generally hold full-time jobs.

ESA on the otherhand do this as a business and therefore have the time and planning to be more successful, which I would think is a pressure for the association that could result in some dire results if not handled correctly.

In addition regional associations and clubs see an angle for themselves by going online and might not want to mix in with any SASAA plans.

Personally, and I've expressed this to the committee, I can't see the site being a viable idea unless they can dedicate man-power to the project on a full-time basis, which I think they will struggle to do.

P.S. We've recently been authorised to represent SADSAA presence on our site, something we're very excited about (I'm not trying to boast just that it's a big break for us).

Regards

SeanB