Post by camo on Oct 14, 2004 14:12:41 GMT -5
Just read this report by I.S.H.A.
River field fish farm under the guidance of a guy called Simon Hughes is producing genetically modified Carp lard, holiday complexes such as Anglers Paradise are full of multicoloured bath toys and venues all over the country have litter and discarded tackle with only a handful of sites that have dragged themselves from the dark ages by installing space age technology ....... Toilets for instance !
All the above have one thing in common, . . . . mindless idiocy.
The irresponsible pursuit of profit at any price that is purely greed driven is what lays at the heart of our sport. Several months ago we decided to look seriously at whether there was a long term future in the UK in the light of the threats from the animal rights fanatics and the ban on hunting, which we are actually pleased to see go as it shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath as angling.
Was angling next ? Was there a future that we could recommend to our clients and investors in the industry ? We looked at every item in detail and analysed mountains of data from market predictions to consumer trends. The figures produced countered many widely held inaccuracies that pleasure fishing is too big an industry to be sacrificed. For instance the actual number of people directly employed within the industry is less than many large companies axe at the stroke of a pen when moving their call centres to Outer Mongolia and the vast sums quoted with regards to income generated are actually very misleading as most of the money goes to create jobs and profits in the Far East where a large proportion of tackle is manufactured. Complex and discouraging but after a while we came to the conclusion that we were looking for an answer to the wrong question.
Instead of asking " Is there a long term future for angling in the UK ?"
We should have been asking " Do we want a future in the UK angling industry anyway ? "
The honest answer has to be no.
As from today, October 12th 2004, we will not be taking any more UK contracts and will not be renewing our current ones once they reach maturity.
There are of course a few good, well run venues. There are also many responsible anglers but they are both in the minority. For several years now we have refused contracts that involve day ticket fisheries or holiday complexes and concentrated on more specialised venues where both ourselves and the owners can make sure that the members look after the fish and their environment. Sadly it is a fact that the parasitic elements within the industry would not exist if they were not driven by market forces. General 'anglers', and I use the word sarcastically, must want poor sites, bad facilities, jelly beans and fluorescent genetic freaks otherwise they wouldn't be provided. Pulling out of the UK will leave a profitable hole in which other companies will be more than pleased to crawl, and they are welcome to it, but it does leave us with two dilemmas. Firstly our departure will mean abandoning the genuine anglers that actually do care about the sport and secondly our ISHA members deserve to have a voice. The fact that Supafish has interests abroad that secure our own future is of little use to the few that want to change UK angling for the better.
Having thought long and hard with many discussions and arguments I have to agree that to disappear over the horizon and abandon the few good things that do exist would be unfair to those that share our views and also remove the thorn that we like poking in the groins of those that exploit the decent anglers that do exist. Problem is that as a company we do not want to try and unite the many factions within our sport that fight amongst themselves because they always will, neither do we have any faith in the many 'umbrella' organisations that preach once a month at the local pub and actually make very little difference, concentrating mainly on how to raise the next donation rather than exploring genuine mass-scale education and how best to apply pressure on the commercial storkroaches whose very existence they have to thank for their own.
So, no unity, no campaigns and no idealistic unachievable dreams, but we do have Diobas. This is our research and development unit that not only gathers data on specimen fish behaviour and habitat requirements but also carries out project viability analysis all over the world so it occurred to us that it is an ideal vehicle to continue our own aims and objectives. If it were to take over the administration of ISHA it would further enhance its operation and provide much needed administration and funds to what is probably the most difficult specimen angling organisation in the world to join due to the exhaustive and lengthy selection process. There will be more information on Diobas when it's own website is launched later this month and some of the veil of secrecy surrounding its operation will be lifted but the exclusivity of its services as a consultancy will remain.
As for Supafish itself we will be concentrating our efforts elsewhere and will continue to carefully select any project before accepting the contract. All of our services will remain but no longer be available in the UK. There are many areas in the world where we are well established and some have comparatively fledgling angling industries that we may be able to influence and warn against creating the genetic mess, poor facilities and lack of responsibility that has occurred in the UK. Perhaps these areas too will one day become just as ludicrous and exploitative but at least we can do our best to prevent it with a program of education and by helping to create quality, good value rotated venues. From what we have seen so far there are many countries that are not yet populated by anglers that are more concerned with hair jel and the latest gear than whether or not the Carp are being bullied into disfigurement, dragged in on tree trunks and tow rope or thrown into unsuitable bags and nets.
Believe it or not, there are actually whole nations of anglers who are proud of their right to fish and would be horrified if their native stock was contaminated with boilie buckets, loaded with lard or had an appearance that warrants a Salvador Dali signature. What's next, albino fish that come complete with a colour by numbers chart and a pack of felt tips ?
The saddest thing of all is that there was once a time when British anglers had respect throughout the world, proud, innovative and aware of the environment. Slowly that is changing. If you are a UK angler you have the industry, stock and venues that you obviously want, ... congratulations. But it isn't for us.
On behalf of Supafish I would like to say a heartfelt goodbye to the many clients and well wishers that have tried to persuade us to stay and apologise to the many on our books that are waiting for our services but I really do not have any other option. Of course we are a commercial concern and of course we need to be financially viable, the UK earns us a great deal of money, but to continue to operate in a climate that frankly deserves to be abandoned by its own actions would make a mockery of what we stand for. It is a sad day for us and especially me personally as we have been through a great deal over the years and have many friends,....... ( we have more enemies which at least has made the time here worthwhile! ).......... but I can no longer sanction any participation in promoting Carp or any other species in the UK that have as much value as a painted lump of cardboard used in magnetic fishing games.
Together Supafish, Diobas and ISHA will be heavily involved in creating a string of sites around the world that provide excellent facilities, quality natural fish with genuine gene lines and good value fees where costs and group packages are kept down. Having witnessed first hand what the majority of anglers in the UK both obviously want and have created I doubt there will be many enquiries from there. Our sites will not have what they want. If however you are one of the minority and still crave and more importantly value unexploited and genuinely evolved fish then contact us and we will do all we can to listen to what you want and provide it in a part of the world where Carp lard, colouring books and disfigured fish are actually frowned on. Venues like Kerr lake where you will almost certainly never catch the same fish twice, they do not have names and wont greet you with a Glasgow grin.
As for me I'm off to head Diobas, coordinate ISHA and oversee the collaboration with Supafish.
So we say goodbye to British angling,
I hope you all enjoy what you have created, either by compliance or silence.
River field fish farm under the guidance of a guy called Simon Hughes is producing genetically modified Carp lard, holiday complexes such as Anglers Paradise are full of multicoloured bath toys and venues all over the country have litter and discarded tackle with only a handful of sites that have dragged themselves from the dark ages by installing space age technology ....... Toilets for instance !
All the above have one thing in common, . . . . mindless idiocy.
The irresponsible pursuit of profit at any price that is purely greed driven is what lays at the heart of our sport. Several months ago we decided to look seriously at whether there was a long term future in the UK in the light of the threats from the animal rights fanatics and the ban on hunting, which we are actually pleased to see go as it shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath as angling.
Was angling next ? Was there a future that we could recommend to our clients and investors in the industry ? We looked at every item in detail and analysed mountains of data from market predictions to consumer trends. The figures produced countered many widely held inaccuracies that pleasure fishing is too big an industry to be sacrificed. For instance the actual number of people directly employed within the industry is less than many large companies axe at the stroke of a pen when moving their call centres to Outer Mongolia and the vast sums quoted with regards to income generated are actually very misleading as most of the money goes to create jobs and profits in the Far East where a large proportion of tackle is manufactured. Complex and discouraging but after a while we came to the conclusion that we were looking for an answer to the wrong question.
Instead of asking " Is there a long term future for angling in the UK ?"
We should have been asking " Do we want a future in the UK angling industry anyway ? "
The honest answer has to be no.
As from today, October 12th 2004, we will not be taking any more UK contracts and will not be renewing our current ones once they reach maturity.
There are of course a few good, well run venues. There are also many responsible anglers but they are both in the minority. For several years now we have refused contracts that involve day ticket fisheries or holiday complexes and concentrated on more specialised venues where both ourselves and the owners can make sure that the members look after the fish and their environment. Sadly it is a fact that the parasitic elements within the industry would not exist if they were not driven by market forces. General 'anglers', and I use the word sarcastically, must want poor sites, bad facilities, jelly beans and fluorescent genetic freaks otherwise they wouldn't be provided. Pulling out of the UK will leave a profitable hole in which other companies will be more than pleased to crawl, and they are welcome to it, but it does leave us with two dilemmas. Firstly our departure will mean abandoning the genuine anglers that actually do care about the sport and secondly our ISHA members deserve to have a voice. The fact that Supafish has interests abroad that secure our own future is of little use to the few that want to change UK angling for the better.
Having thought long and hard with many discussions and arguments I have to agree that to disappear over the horizon and abandon the few good things that do exist would be unfair to those that share our views and also remove the thorn that we like poking in the groins of those that exploit the decent anglers that do exist. Problem is that as a company we do not want to try and unite the many factions within our sport that fight amongst themselves because they always will, neither do we have any faith in the many 'umbrella' organisations that preach once a month at the local pub and actually make very little difference, concentrating mainly on how to raise the next donation rather than exploring genuine mass-scale education and how best to apply pressure on the commercial storkroaches whose very existence they have to thank for their own.
So, no unity, no campaigns and no idealistic unachievable dreams, but we do have Diobas. This is our research and development unit that not only gathers data on specimen fish behaviour and habitat requirements but also carries out project viability analysis all over the world so it occurred to us that it is an ideal vehicle to continue our own aims and objectives. If it were to take over the administration of ISHA it would further enhance its operation and provide much needed administration and funds to what is probably the most difficult specimen angling organisation in the world to join due to the exhaustive and lengthy selection process. There will be more information on Diobas when it's own website is launched later this month and some of the veil of secrecy surrounding its operation will be lifted but the exclusivity of its services as a consultancy will remain.
As for Supafish itself we will be concentrating our efforts elsewhere and will continue to carefully select any project before accepting the contract. All of our services will remain but no longer be available in the UK. There are many areas in the world where we are well established and some have comparatively fledgling angling industries that we may be able to influence and warn against creating the genetic mess, poor facilities and lack of responsibility that has occurred in the UK. Perhaps these areas too will one day become just as ludicrous and exploitative but at least we can do our best to prevent it with a program of education and by helping to create quality, good value rotated venues. From what we have seen so far there are many countries that are not yet populated by anglers that are more concerned with hair jel and the latest gear than whether or not the Carp are being bullied into disfigurement, dragged in on tree trunks and tow rope or thrown into unsuitable bags and nets.
Believe it or not, there are actually whole nations of anglers who are proud of their right to fish and would be horrified if their native stock was contaminated with boilie buckets, loaded with lard or had an appearance that warrants a Salvador Dali signature. What's next, albino fish that come complete with a colour by numbers chart and a pack of felt tips ?
The saddest thing of all is that there was once a time when British anglers had respect throughout the world, proud, innovative and aware of the environment. Slowly that is changing. If you are a UK angler you have the industry, stock and venues that you obviously want, ... congratulations. But it isn't for us.
On behalf of Supafish I would like to say a heartfelt goodbye to the many clients and well wishers that have tried to persuade us to stay and apologise to the many on our books that are waiting for our services but I really do not have any other option. Of course we are a commercial concern and of course we need to be financially viable, the UK earns us a great deal of money, but to continue to operate in a climate that frankly deserves to be abandoned by its own actions would make a mockery of what we stand for. It is a sad day for us and especially me personally as we have been through a great deal over the years and have many friends,....... ( we have more enemies which at least has made the time here worthwhile! ).......... but I can no longer sanction any participation in promoting Carp or any other species in the UK that have as much value as a painted lump of cardboard used in magnetic fishing games.
Together Supafish, Diobas and ISHA will be heavily involved in creating a string of sites around the world that provide excellent facilities, quality natural fish with genuine gene lines and good value fees where costs and group packages are kept down. Having witnessed first hand what the majority of anglers in the UK both obviously want and have created I doubt there will be many enquiries from there. Our sites will not have what they want. If however you are one of the minority and still crave and more importantly value unexploited and genuinely evolved fish then contact us and we will do all we can to listen to what you want and provide it in a part of the world where Carp lard, colouring books and disfigured fish are actually frowned on. Venues like Kerr lake where you will almost certainly never catch the same fish twice, they do not have names and wont greet you with a Glasgow grin.
As for me I'm off to head Diobas, coordinate ISHA and oversee the collaboration with Supafish.
So we say goodbye to British angling,
I hope you all enjoy what you have created, either by compliance or silence.
