Tackle Trade World - December 2022

DECEMBER
2022
04
TackleTrade
www.tackletradeworld.com
EDITORIAL
Editor:
John Hunter
+44 7990 542958
john.hunter@dhpub.co.uk
A journalist all his life and with 20-plus years
of international business magazine experience,
John was the founding editor of TTW and has
now returned to the helm. He has helped
many brands launch and grow over the years
through B2B publications and via his own
consultancy business.
Co-Editor:
David Haynes
+44 7766 263908
david.haynes@dhpub.co.uk
A lifelong angler, David has tried his hand
at most types of fishing and is a great
accumulator of tackle and now focuses on
competition fishing. Having worked at DHP for
the last 16 years on every title in the company’s
portfolio, he brings a wealth of knowledge and
experience to the editorial team.
ADVERTISING
North America:
Bart Manganiello
+1 914 722 7601
bartalm@optonline.net
For over 35 years, Bart has been working with
trade magazines, 31 in the tackle industry.
Since 2001, he has been TTW’s North
American Director, providing provide the
best communication programs to companies,
helping them connect with current and
prospective trade partners around the world.
Rest Of The World:
Guido Knegt
+39 3475036436
guido.knegt@dhpub.co.uk
A born and bred Dutchman, he spent five
years travelling the world as a scuba-diving
instructor and English teacher before settling
down in Sardinia. Guido previously worked for
TTW between 2014 and 2017.
China: Robert Li
Li Ziwei
+86 13451914155
robert.li365@gmail.com
Li Ziwei (Robert) has been working as news
editor for over 20 years. He founded the most
influential Chinese fishing forum in the Straits
and successfully organised many industry
events. His love for culture and tourism has led
him to devote his entire life to the exchanges
between China and southeast Asia.
Magazine Manager
Justin Fox
+44 7813 327966
justin.fox@dhpub.co.uk
A hugely experienced communicator with
more than 20 years at parent company DHP,
Justin knows what it takes to grow brands
and businesses across the tackle sector.
Art Editor: Paul Evans
Editorial Design: Brad Sharp
DHP LTD
Editorial, administration, subscriptions and
accounts to: DHP Ltd, 1st Floor, Nene House,
Sopwith Way, Daventry, NN11 8EA, UK
www.tackletradeworld.com
TAKING IT TO
THE HEART OF
GOVERNMENT
It seems that governments – whether
local or national – come up with ideas
to ban or curtail angling with alarming
regularity.
Sometimes this is in the name of
conservation such as looking after
habitat or allowing fish stocks to recover,
sometimes it’s about business – think
Pebble Mine in Alaska – and occasionally
it’s about safeguarding the health of all of
us, lead being a classic example.
The latest region to face proposed
fishing restrictions is Western Australia
over concerns about dwindling stocks of
demersal species.
The suggestion by those in the corridors
of power is that, by restricting recreational
fishing for these important species like
pink snapper or dhufish, to just a handful
of weeks a year, they will be able to recover
in time.
Now that’s all well and good – and many
countries and regions have fishing ‘seasons’
to allow fish to breed undisturbed or to
limit the effects on them during extremes
of temperature – but it seems in the WA
case the rationale is open to question.
Indeed, there is already a closed season
in place for some of the key demersal
species – between October and December
– but this has not been enough and there
is concern that a shortage of older fish will
impact on breeding success for generations
to come.
The solution? Reduce fishery catches
by half – something both recreational and
commercial anglers already agreed on.
But the government wants to achieve
this by closing the fishery for up to
3,511
6,466
nine months – but, strangely, only to
recreational fishing, leaving commercials
to continue year round, albeit under much
stricter controls on line hours to reduce
catches.
It’s this that has angered groups such
as lobbyists Recfishwest and, crucially, the
Australian Fishing Trade Association, the
latter of which has mobilised anglers in
such force that it has delivered a petition
to the WA government signed by an
unprecedented 18,000 fishermen and
women.
The American Sportfishing Association
and other groups did something similar at
Pebble Mine, garnering so much support
against the plans that they seemed to have
disappeared (although there has been
momentum back towards the mining
operation in recent months).
Meanwhile, the European Fishing
Tackle Trade Association continues to
work behind the scenes in Brussels, to get
recreational fishing taken more seriously
by Euro lawmakers and ensure it has a
seat at the table in future conservation and
sustainability discussions
Time will tell whether these
interventions will succeed on behalf of our
sport and those whose livelihoods depend
on it – but it is heartening to see the
industry bodies really working hard and
taking the fight right to the heart of those
who, sometimes, have no idea what our
sport really entails.
John Hunter
Editor