THE EUROPEAN ANGLERS ALLIANCE
Report from the West Region January 2004

West Region Meetings
The last meeting of Region West took place at the General Assembly in Leipzig. No meeting was deemed necessary since as relevant issues were dealt with in sub-group meetings however we now need to discuss new proposals from the Board so I propose to call a meeting for the Region at the end of February on a date suitable to all.

EAA Office and Secretary General
At present the SG runs the EAA office from his home (for which he receives an allowance). This arrangement has been mutually beneficial to both the SG and EAA however because of the increasing profile of the organisation a professional approach is now necessary. The Board is not happy with the way the office is working at present. As can be seen from the SG's calendar of events he has been busy on the lobby front with the result that administrative matters are suffering. Information from the office is not being distributed in a planned manner and various reports etc are not prepared on time. The Board proposes to address the situation in the short term as follows. Jan Kappel will continue to take care of all the lobby functions. Chris Poupard and Christanne Beale, presently our translator, will be asked to undertake the administrative duties of the EAA office on a part-time basis. The SG's contract will be extended until March 2005. By then it is hoped to recruit a part-time SG, to have in place a properly functioning office with adequate staff and a professional lobbyist. These proposals are subject to new subscription rates being agreed by the GA. Discussions are ongoing with EFTTA for an increase in their contribution towards lobbying and running the office. They are not in a position to make a decision until May 2004.

Profit and loss account 2003
Results at present show an operating surplus of €12,000, however, there are several items of expenditure outstanding and the likely result will be closer to break-even. Subscription fees from a number of countries are still outstanding.
2001 and 2002 - Belgium (VVVS)
2001 - Italy. Italy claims subscription paid but lost in transfer to Sweden. Italy asked to chase their bank for proof of transfer.
2002 - UK. Still confusion over this payment.
2003 - Ireland (second half). Poland and Slovenia (second half), and Macedonia (whole).

Committee on the Review of the Statutes
This Committee was established at the 2003 GA charged with the task of producing a new subscription scheme and revising the statutes. The committee considered the Regional structure as a platform for electing the members of the Board was still relevant, however, its importance as the forum for addressing the relevant issues of EAA was diminishing in favour of the sub-group system. It recommends further discussion on this topic at the 2004 GA.
The committee recommends the following changes to the Subscription scheme.
1. Minimum subscription level for bandfactor 1 to be €1,764 for membership <17,000
2. New bandfactor 2. Membership 17,000 - 40,000. This would have the effect of doubling the subscription fees for Austria, Ireland and Sweden to €3,528.
3. Application of a GDP index. The committee recommends that all countries with a GDP less than 90% would have their subscription fees adjusted accordingly. This would affect the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. All other countries would be deemed to have an index of 100. This change would have the effect of preserving the income of EAA at 2003 levels

Scientific Committee
This committee has not as yet been formed. The question arises as to whether EAA needs to have a formal group of scientists on board or whether we have a group of angler-friendly scientists we can call on as the need arises.

Reports from the sub-groups
Rivers:
A meeting of the sub-group River-systems took place in the headquarters of NVVS in Amersfoort, Holland in November. The meeting discussed the collapse of eel stocks and proposed a new resolution for discussion at the GA. The meeting also agreed the production of an information brochure on river sport fishing and a guide to the water framework directive subject to the approval of the GA.
Sea:
A meeting of the Sea sub-group took place in December in Brussels. The meeting agreed a draft memorandum of understanding with CIPs and a definition for recreational angling. A press release on the cod crisis, criticising the Commission for their failure to endorse ICES advice, was issued, and a basis for a resolution on reform of the CFP was agreed.

Migrating Species
EAA, represented by EAA Sweden, attended a meeting of BSFC. The NASCO NGOs met Edinburgh on 31 January 2004. A paper on a review of NASCO was discussed by the meeting. The proposals in the paper, if agreed by the annual conference in Iceland next June, should address many outstanding problems such as the regulation of aquaculture.

CFP reform
The establisment of the RAC's will not now be finalised until March partly as a result of our lobby efforts. At the moment we have been offered one member out of 12-18 on each of six RACs though there were regional variations. The commercial sector currently have a 67% majority and we were trying to have this reduced to less than 50%.

Socio-economics
In the Netherlands a study had shown that anglers spent €575 per person with a total spend of €526m per annum. The industry employs 3,500 - 5,000 people. A Mediterranean study, promoted by CIPs as a result of the allegation that the recreational sector took 10% of the catch, would be published soon. In the UK a DEFRA study showed the value of recreational sea angling at £1.6bn, with prospects for growth, with the commercial catch valued at only £640m, with no prospects under the current management regime of the CFP.

General Assembly 2004
The10th General Assembly of EAA, organised by FSPFB, will take place in the city of Dinant in the South of Belgium from 26th to 28th March 2004. The programme has been distributed to the national organisations already with notification of the final date for registration and payment of attendance fees being 20th February. The cost for delegates attending is €698. The cost of accompanying persons will be €360. A briefing meeting and power-point presentation for "angler-friendly" MEP's will take place in the EU Parliament in Brussels on Thursday morning 25th March. This will involve the presentation by the President, Harm Minekus, of a folder containing all the socio- economic data to either Fischler or Holmquist. Short presentations by DG Fish, DG Environment and DG Tourism will take place followed by lunch.

EAA strategy
The board will propose a new long-term strategy for EAA at the GA 2004. The 3-year plan will be consistent with the Region North proposal from the 2003 Assembly. To realise the plan EAA needs a professionally equipped office with sufficient staff. This will require an estimated budget of €250,000, which will mean that subscription income will need to increase by between €50,000 and €100,000 over the next 5 years. It is expected that the remaining extra funding required will come from increased contributions from EFFTA, sponsorship and web-based sales and advertising.

Election to the Board
The posts of both President and Treasurer are up for election at the GA 2004. Harm Minekus has indicated that, subject to forthcoming medical treatment, he would consider standing, but not for a full term. CP said he would follow the same pattern.

Resolutions
Two resolutions will come up for discussion. Eel: this is an improvement on the resolution passed at last years GA. NASCO: Resolution in support of proposed review taking place in NASCO.

Memorandum of understanding with CIPs
The meeting will be asked to approve a memorandum of understanding agreed with CIP's.

European Year of Education through Sport (EYES)
This is an initiative for 2004 which EAA had agreed to support and we feature prominently on the website. Hungary proposes a Youth Camp for 2005. Member nations are asked to establish events which EAA could offer as part of this programme. Report back by 15 February please.

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