At a meeting in London today, stakeholders from the Recreational Sea Angling (RSA) Sector, the catching sector, environmental organisations, fisheries scientistists and DEFRA agreed to move forward with the devlopment of DEFRA Strategy for the Development of the valuable RSA Sector.

The original draft document was hammered out between RSA and DEFRA officials earlier in the year, and was presented to the Inshore Working Group of the Marine Fisheries Stakeholder forum to be taken forward.

A sub-committee of the Inshore Group was formed specifically to bring various stakeholders together, charged with producing a document that was broadly acceptable to the various sectors which DEFRA could take ownership of for delivery of the proposals it contains.

The proposals include management plans for species of particular interest to the RSA sector, proposals for reducing commercial pressure close inshore (the Golden Mile proposal) together with a large number of other issues that will impact and benefit RSA activity.

Following today's meeting it is DEFRA's intention to produce a draft document shortly, that RSA organisations can distribute on to their membership with the intention of attaining their views and comments.

There will then be a further meeting in early February to feedback those views before the final document is more widely distributed amongst all stakeholders for formal consultation and adoption by DEFRA as government policy, and eventual delivery of the proposals.