Poorly marked or unmarked fishing gear can be a costly problem for recreational boaters. The RYA has long believed that fishing gear should be properly marked so that it is visible by both day and night.
What’s the problem?
Current legislation is focused on marking static fishing gear for the purposes of identification only rather than for collision avoidance. However, numerical evidence of the danger that poorly marked static fishing gear causes to boaters is scarce. Despite frequently involving third parties to help solve the entanglement, the problem often goes unreported and therefore remains under the radar. Fresh data from recreational boaters experiencing this problem is required if the extent of the issue is to be demonstrated to the relevant Government agencies.
How you can help…
If you’ve experienced an entanglement this summer, please report the incident via the RYA’s ‘Fishing Gear Incident Reporting Form.’ The simple online form will ask questions related to the incident and will cover who, what, where, when.
Completing the form and sharing details of your entanglement will help the RYA to collate quantitative data to support boaters’ concerns.
Please report any incident you are involved in to the RYA and encourage other boaters to do the same. Without input from boaters, we will never have the necessary data to demonstrate that poorly marked static fishing gear is a hazard to navigation that needs to be addressed.
Learn more about entanglements on the Fishing Gear Entanglements page.
Alternatively, if you are a RYA Member and require further information, please email the RYA Cruising team: cruising@rya.org.uk.
