World Fishing News

I am writing this in the hope that some of you will read this and sign the following petition.

At the moment over here in Portugal, certain agencies of the government are planning to pass a law that if implemented will mean the killing of all the carp, (along with quite a few other species like pike, European perch, largemouth bass, wels catfish to name a few) in all the nations waterways.

They are planning to do this because they see carp (and the rest) as exotic species after reading some European report about environmental impacts caused by so called "exotic species".

The following is a direct translation taken from a paper the ICNB (the Conservation Institute for Nature and Biodiversity) in Portugal have written up for the local government.

"It's (the carp) responsible for the unbalance of structure or functionality of the fish communities in slow waters (still waters), in particular in the reduction of the aquatic plant diversity (Doadrio, 2001). The Common Carp has the tendency of destroying all the aquatic vegetation and making the waters murky. Through this they cause the destruction of the habitat for native species which need clear waters and vegetation in order to survive"

This is a farce and it just shows to what extent the type of mentalities us anglers here in Portugal are up against. The main, if not the only, reason there is so little plant life in most of the lakes in Portugal is due to the fluctuations in the water levels during the year. After a good winter the lakes are full and once spring arrives the aquatic plant life starts to grow in abundance. The problem is that by mid July, early August it is so hot that the water levels have dropped so much and so fast that 90% of these aquatic plants are left high and dry. They simply have no chance is creating proper weed-beds. This in turn leaves the lake beds barren and in turn makes it easy for the lakes to become murky with just the slightest of wind current. To you, me and 99% of the rest of anglers this is all common sense, but to the so called "experts"... need I say more.

Nuno Lopes

Andy Little - 23lbs

Chris - 52lbs 13

Just below this, in the same section they basically state that the carp are classified as one of the worst invading species in Europe.

Please take a minute to sign the petition which can be found here: http://www.peticao.com.pt/carpa-e-achiga

Once on the page just click where it says "Assinar Petição" (Sign the petition), you will then be taken to a page requesting the following details:

Nome (name)
Comentários (comments)
Email
BI (ID number, Passport Number or Driving License Number)
Localidade (Your Location, London, Liverpool etc).

If they get away with doing this over here, you never know, other places here in the EU might follow. Imagine the impact on the tackle industry too. Just think about that for a second.

Please forward this to anybody you think will sign this petition. It does not have to be a fellow angler, ALL SIGNATURES COUNT.

All the best and long live the carp,

Phil Rosa-Leeke,
PORTUGAL

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