CHAOS reigns supreme in Portugal again after government agencies voiced plans to kill all ‘exotic species’ in the nation’s waterways. The list of fish includes carp, pike, perch, largemouth bass and the wels catfish to name just a few.
The move could devastate the Portuguese trade, which is still recovering from the hammer blow handed to sea anglers in the form of a sea fishing licence introduced two years ago.
TTW believes that the main focus will be to eradicate carp from Portugal’s waterways.
We spoke with David Lloyd who is the owner of an online shop, www.clbaitsupplies.com, specialising in carp fishing in Portugal. He told us: “I really don’t think that this will happen.
“Most Portuguese anglers are saltwater specialists. The few that do fish the inland waterways find them to be full of carp and bass.
“The proposal, if it gets passed as law – and I don’t think it will – will mean that anglers are supposed to kill any fish they catch.
“It’s a ridiculous proposal anyway. The potential in angling tourism is massive. Why would you try and kill millions of euros of tourism money off?”
The notion has arisen because of Portugal’s ongoing problem with supplying freshwater.
David continued: “Plant life diversity is being mentioned but the real problem is the water. In the summer it is so hot here that there is no freshwater – the rivers dry up and the plants die. Killing ‘exotic species’ is not going to stop that problem.”
TTW will report more news on this as and when it becomes available.
Click on www.total-fishingclub.com – the UK’s No1 online match fishing club – to win a trip to the world match fishing championships, and save money off tackle
