French sea anglers unite to fight for their rights

Sea anglers in France, ‘exasperated’ by the latest restrictive fishing measures taken by the European Union, are being urged to join an organisation to fight for their rights.

Created less than a month ago, COPERE has already attracted 1,100 registered members and is committed to bringing together all amateur fishermen around the defence of its favourite leisure activity.

The group says that recreational fishermen must be represented by a large independent collective. It says: “The practice of recreational fishing must remain an activity accessible to all free of charge.

“Anglers must be able to exercise without constraints, while respecting the regulations in force (size, number of catches, fishing gear, fishing zones, prohibited species and periods of fishing) provided that they are taken in consultation and that they are fair for all fishermen – professional and recreational.

“The COPERE collective will endeavour to do everything possible to guarantee the right to fish freely despite the stated desire of state services to reform recreational fishing at sea in the image of freshwater fishing which would amount to privatising the practice solely to members of established structures.

“COPERE will also mobilise to defend environmental issues.”