by
C. Wenst
National Board of Fisheries, Gothenburg, Sweden
and
H. Runnström
Swedish Anglers' Association, Stockholm, Sweden
This paper surveys certain aspects of the Swedish Anglers' Association such as its organizational set-up, its activities and its aims.
Etude de certains aspects de l'Association suédoise des pêcheurs à la ligne, tels que son organisation, ses activités et ses buts.
The Swedish Anglers' Association is the only nation-wide anglers organization in Sweden with about 75 000 members. Thirty thousand of these are members in different sport fishing clubs.
Sweden is divided into 24 counties. In every county there is a regional district coordinating the work within the clubs, between them, and activating the non-club members.
From its start the organization has informed anglers, not only its own members but also non-organized people and tourists from abroad about legislation, fishing waters (a yearly publication of all licensed fishing waters in Sweden has been published).
Many clubs and a few districts rent their own waters, sell fishing licences and make a good job in managing their waters. Very often the clubs have their own youth sections. In this connexion it could be mentioned that sport-fishing lessons nowadays are quite common in schools, two hours a week in grade 7, 8 and 9, where the youngsters can make a choice themselves between different things to study. Certain advice is given by the organization in a small booklet.
One of the most important objects of the organization is to create a more social view on sport fishing. In this way the association acts as a pressure group.
Other very important aims are to stop the still increasing pollution. In Sweden, the acid rain fall has been a very serious environmental problem. Several lakes in the western part of Sweden situated outside Gothenburg are dead lakes, lakes where no animals can exist.
Also the building of hydro-electric power stations constitutes a great problem. Only a few of the Swedish rivers are not developed for hydro-electric power. Today the technicians also want to utilize the remaining rivers. Therefore the organization is very much interested in all kinds of socio-economic data concerning sport fishing. There have already been too many calculations made only from the strictly economical point of view.
The Anglers Association was among the first which together with Dr. I. Norling initiated socio-economic research in Sweden. It was necessary to get a shift “from fish to people”.
After 10 years' of work there now seems to be a real break; the politicians are set under pressure; the Minister of Agriculture has instructed a certain commission to work on these questions and to decide the future set-up of sport fishing in Sweden. The organization is also represented in the commission as well as in the Board of Fisheries.
Another good thing is that there is a real good team work between the organization and the National Board of Fisheries and also between the organization and the Environmental Protection Board. The future seems promising.
