ATA was present at the first of the new-look European Fishing Tackle Trade Association meetings, the Annual General Assembly (AGA), on June 5th.
Attendance at the AGA was high with companies and organisations from across Europe assembled to discuss topics such as lead and plastics restrictions amongst many others.
The vision of EFFTA and its partners is now starting to form a cohesive plan covering everything from industry alerts and lobbying to advocacy.
Representatives of the new EFTTA board were able to update those members assembled on the development of the EFTTA strategy so far and to inform them of the latest developments and challenges facing recreational fishing.
A lively question and answer section allowed individual organisations to elaborate on the successes and challenges they faced in each of the member countries represented.
Several points were raised including those of environmental challenges, participation and development of infrastructures to promote angling and make the pastime more compatible with changing cultures and lifestyles.
ATA, represented by chairman Andrew Race was able to relay the current situation in the UK, which like many others, continues to be a challenge in terms of growth in the numbers of regular anglers despite investment in participation initiatives.
This particular aspect of recreational fishing development was echoed by several members present.
It seems that whilst countries differed slightly in their approach to participation, most were adopting similar tactics to solve the issue but were finding conversion from first time to regular participation a challenging issue.
Further to the brief presentation by ATA chair Andrew Race, it was agreed that further research into this issue including the collation of experiences from member countries was the next logical step to understanding the barriers to the creation of regular anglers.
With the first European angling summit scheduled towards the end of 2024, EFTTA’s new European trade construct is destined to play a vital role in both defence and promotion of angling.
As an indication of the subjects being covered, members may find the following links of interest.
- The European Anglers Alliance Leaflet on promotion of recreational angling to new MEP’s Read more…
- The pending lead ban and EFTTA’s position Read more…
- The Extended Producer Responsibilities scheme for plastics Read more…
- EFTTA’s visit to the European Parliament Read more…