THIS WEEK IN 1988: Harbour fishing ban will be a '˜risk to life'

A senior Solent coastguard backed anglers' claims that controversial new government fishing proposals could have led to loss of life at sea.

Angry angling clubs in the south warned government officials their members could have perished under the proposed new rules, which would introduce a blanket ban on fishing in sheltered estuaries and harbours for part of the year.

Bob Woodwark, the district controller for Solent coastguards said he was ‘very concerned’ about the proposals – if they were introduced there was ‘potential for loss of life,’ he warned.

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From January 1990, the ministry of agriculture, fisheries and food was proposing to ban fishing during the summer months in Langstone, Portsmouth and Chichester harbours, and Southampton Water.

Ministry officials claimed the ban was needed as part of nationwide conservation measures to protect dwindling nursery stocks of young fish.

But furious angling clubs said it would only serve to force their members’ small dinghies out into the unfamiliar and dangerous tides of the Solent – with possible disastrous loss of life.