Tragedy Strikes Again

David Mitchell, the Angling Trust head of marine, looks at the safety aspects of sea angling, and the return of an iconic species to our waters.

- David Mitchell

Last week I found myself being interviewed twice in one day for local radio, after a pair of experienced anglers and brothers lost their lives after being swept into the sea while fishing from rocks at Treyarnon Bay in Cornwall.

The interviewers wanted to know why it keeps happening and what can be done to prevent these terrible accidents in the future. Unfortunately all we can do is help try to educate anglers about the risks of the sea and try to reduce the number of accidents and fatalities, although we will never eliminate them completely.

Research done with the RNLI in 2012 showed us that experienced anglers fishing from rocks tend to take more risks and are at higher risk than occasional anglers – something you might not have expected.