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Lead-free campaigner: ‘Industry in denial over toxic weight’

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Simon Pomeroy – a long-time campaigner against the use of toxic lead in our waterways – will be at Angling International LIVE with his alternatives and has some uncompromising words for an industry that has been slow in embracing change.

Pomeroy’s company, Pallatrax, will also be showcasing Gripz, which he describes as a third alternative in the hooks market with advantages over both barbed and barbless designs. Gripz, says Pomeroy, offer superior benefits in terms of fish safety and overall performance.

Why are you attending Angling International LIVE?
I have been in the trade for 26 years, including owning a fishery, owning two retail outlets and starting my company Pallatrax from a seed of an idea. And I firmly believe we need a professional show where trade members can showcase products and meet prospective clients whilst also finding new trade contacts. It’s something the entire trade should support.

What are you looking to achieve in Budapest?
There are things that can only happen at a trade show like this, especially for SMEs like Pallatrax who want to engage with new customers in overseas markets. There is something else too. My company is a disruptive brand and this is an opportunity to demonstrate the seriousness of our offer. We have generated a swell of interest among fishery owners and anglers with our proven and award-winning products that focus on protecting the environment whilst catching more fish. Now we want to demonstrate to B2B customers that our time has come. Additionally, I liked the marketing package on offer when I booked. My business strategy now is about drawing others to my conclusions on how fishing should be. We have innovative products associated with unique tactics, and we want to put performance and environmental considerations at the forefront.

Your Gripz hooks definitely feel innovative. What is the story surrounding them?
The question is, why are we only using two dated design options in hooks, barbed and barbless? Why are we not seeking to improve on designs that are outdated when considering many catch and release angling situations? As a serious fishery owner, my main objective is to look after my water quality and the stock that depends on it. Hence the birth of the third hook design, Gripz, which is focused around fish safety benefits while also offering heightened angling performance. It’s win-win.

The design difference is that Gripz hooks have grooves to the reverse of the point. They are neither barbed or barbless. Gripz hooks do not ‘skip’ within the fish’s mouth when pressure is inadvertently released during the fight. This skipping causes tears within the mouth that can then lead to a host of health issues for the fish. From the angler’s point of view the hooked-to-landed ratio increases as the fish find it much harder to slip the hook than they can do with the barbless design. Also, they manufactured in Japan using the highest quality wire with the most durable hook point possible. Though more expensive, it means you cannot get a sharper, more durable or more efficient hook design. It should make barbless completely obsolete.

What will we see at the show?
At the show you will see the full Gripz hook design ranges with patterns that cover carp, catfish, pike, barbel, chub and tench, through to match, game and sea fishing options. The UK handmade rigs that complement the Gripz ranges will also be on display alongside the brand new Monster Catfish pattern and associated rigs.

Your Stonze fishing weights are a prime example of a disruptive product. Tell us more about them?
I have always been very proud of our natural Stonze fishing weights, a product that some in the trade have tried to either bury or dismiss out of hand. In reality there is no gimmick. My weights are an independent angling tactic that remove the largest piece of your terminal tackle – the man-made and toxic lead – and replaces it with a natural weight that is far more effective. I am looking forward to being at the show because the benefits of Stonze are far easier to communicate when we are able to talk face to face. We utilise a natural pebble to create a standalone angling product that is not only non-toxic but actually leads to a rise in catch rates.

What do they offer the market?
Simply a genuine and very much common-sense substitute to all the lead weights, non-toxic alternatives and method feeders that the industry only sells and promotes. Though the toxicity of lead is obviously something to be aware of, Stonze allows for a tactical approach on many levels. They can be ‘stained’ with flavours and their density also means they react totally differently to lead. It has been said I am behind a lead ban to sell more of my Stonze weights, but that is a hugely flawed assumption with no truth behind it whatsoever. Yes, when I entered the weights market, I was made aware of the toxicity and the subsequent health and environmental issues of lead, but Stonze are a tactical approach. Being naturally non-toxic is just one of their benefits. I am happy to promote the lead free non-toxic options produced by other angling manufacturers, but from a competitor’s point of view they are not producing a tactic but a physical weight, so don’t have the true tactical benefits of Stonze.

You have closely followed the situation regarding lead. What is your opinion of the tackle industry’s efforts?
It’s a situation that should cause many in our industry to hang their heads in shame! I worked as a consultant with the European Chemicals Agency of Helsinki whose report on lead in fishing is nothing short of damning. Many have ignored the true perils of the lead issue using a flawed narrative that lead doesn’t dissolve in water (The report states: ‘…long-term dissolution of all lost/discarded lead-based fishing tackle in the aquatic environment will contribute to overall exposures of lead to the environment’). The impending lead ban also highlights the truth that unregulated home smelting leaves humans, especially children, vulnerable to lead poisoning. No, I am not scaremongering but saying it as it is, though some will no doubt will find the truth uncomfortable to digest.

How an earth have we got to such a stage within the industry where profit via this easily malleable but very toxic heavy metal is put before human health and environmental implications? It is beyond comprehension, not just for me but for a growing band of anglers, fishery owners and manufacturers alike. Anyone trying to defend lead is simply ignoring facts that are easily found with just the basic research, but they continue to do so and many of us are now questioning why.

Manufacturers have designed lead ejection systems responsible for the woeful littering of the substrate of our water courses with a known toxin that harms molluscs, invertebrates and all manner of life forms that support a strong biomass and are the building blocks of a healthy fishery. Ignorance is no defence and what is really damning is that this has been pointed out to many of the offending manufacturers time and time again but, instead of doing the right thing, they continue to attempt to defend the indefensible.

Is the European trade ready for outright legislation?
Well, in 2015 the industry was warned that a lead ban would be happening and the reasoning behind it, but most have simply ignored it for their own benefit. For the better part of ten years only minor action has been taken, but not by the majority of brand leaders. This has been ten unnecessary years where damage to human health and the environment could have been prevented.

There has been a growing pressure to make the industry do the right thing and go non-toxic – the clue is in the name – but it appears that some are just waiting for a ban even when non-toxic weights are readily, and easily, available. More recently, we have had the findings of the ECHA report and subsequent statement by EFTTA. This statement, which doesn’t appear to have been taken seriously by many, focuses on proven facts, and not the fiction that those who seek to protect lead continue to peddle. Such entities seem to ignore the power of social media and are leaving our sport open to serious anti-angling challenges, and we should all be asking these companies one question: Why? Anyone defending lead is now leaving themselves and our beloved sport open to huge critique, not just from the anti-angling brigade but also by the general public. God help us if the facts got out to mainstream media. The industry would be crucified.

T: + 44 241135
info@pallatrax.co.uk
www.pallatrax.co.uk

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