The Angling Trades Association (ATA)

The Angling Trades Association represents angling manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, publishers and distributors and is the Voice of the British Angling Industry. Formed in 1977, the ATA remains the only trade body representing the angling industry.

It counts amongst its 60+ strong membership base a majority of the countries leading angling suppliers, as well as a number of the industries leading retailers.

Its function is to promote, represent and protect the trade across all three angling disciplines - sea, game and coarse fishing. In so doing it aims to achieve not only long-term stability for the sport but, more importantly, growth and development.

The Association is run by a board elected from its membership with the assistance of a Chief executive and secretarial guidance from the Federation of Sports & Play Associations (FSPA), the UK's largest sports trade body. The ATA are one of 17 UK trade associations who operate under the umbrella of the FSPA.

ATA Press Pack

The new ATA Press pack is now available to media and related organisations to download for more information about the Association

Please navigate the menu to the left to find out more about the ATA and its members.

Latest news stories

Latest News

Northern Ireland - Sports Minister is urging fishermen and anglers to quit catching salmon
Appeal to anglers on dwindling salmon

Angling Trades Association Warns Against Illegal Lead Fishing Weights
Anglers are being urged to avoid purchasing lead weights in sizes that are illegal for angling use. The call – made by the Angling Trades Association (ATA) – comes after it conducted research into the sale of lead shot on the internet and in ‘pound shops’. This revealed that some illegal weights are being offered for sale, leaving both the sellers and the users liable to prosecution.

Salter is back fighting for fishing
Big names from the worlds of fishing and politics have this week welcomed the appointment of former parliamentary angling spokesman Martin Salter as the new National Campaigns Coordinator for the Angling Trust. Martin, who stood down from the House of Commons at the last election, has recently returned from 'a fishing and writing sabbatical' in Australia which saw him publish a landmark report - Keep Australia Fishing - on the challenges facing the recreational fishing sector. Martin has made good his pre election promise to return and campaign for a better deal for both anglers and for the fisheries on which our sport depends. This new, part time post has been made possible following donations from the Angling Trades Association (ATA) and two individual benefactors who support the Angling Trust.

Angling Trust Media Release : Special Bailiff Scheme launched to help stamp out fish theft
Research shows that fish theft and illegal fishing are the two biggest concerns for today's angler. By joining the Angling Trust and Environment Agency "Special Bailiff Scheme" anglers can help stamp out fish theft on rivers, lakes, canals and estuaries helping to preserve fisheries for generations to come

River Wear fish protected from birds by 'hedgehogs'
Devices called hedgehogs are coming to the rescue of fish in the River Wear in the first project of its kind in an English river, according to the Environment Agency. Conservationists have placed 12 spikey, plastic refuges in the river near Prebends Bridge in Durham to give fish places to hide from predators

Trials show fishermen can drastically reduce discards
The dreadful waste of thousands of tonnes of dead fish being thrown back into the sea every day could be stopped if fishermen are required to count all the fish they catch as part of their quota, pioneering UK trials have shown.

Angling Trust Media Release : Environment Agency 'Complacent' about Hydropower Regulation
The Angling Trust has written to the Environment Agency demanding action after it was revealed that Settle Hydro on the River Ribble has breached its licence 238 times in just 12 months, but has not faced any enforcement action from the regulator. Volunteers from the Ribble Fisheries Consultative Association have compiled a catalogue of errors and mismanagement at the hydropower installation since it opened in January 2010 and had opposed its construction because of fears about the impact on salmon and sea trout runs on what is one of the top six rivers for migratory fish in England and Wales.

Launch of Thames Tunnel Now! : Angling Trust Media Release
Today, 15 major environmental charities and amenity groups representing over 5 million people have come together in a unique coalition in support of proposals to construct the Thames Tunnel to end the scandal of 39 million tonnes of untreated sewage which enters the capital's river every year. Please see below the joint statement agreed by the Thames Tunnel Now partners, including RSPB, WWF, Thames21, Angling Trust and London Wildlife Trust.

Stafford Sports College, 'Sportivate' Angling Programme
Thirteen young people from Stafford Sports College aged 15yrs to 16yrs participated in a ‘Sportivate’ Angling Course organised by Chase Aqua Rural Enterprise (CARE) CIC. The course, run by ADB (Angling Development Board) licensed, qualified Level 2 and Level 1 angling coaches took place at Carney Pools, near Rugeley over several ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ sessions totalling during September and October 2011.

Minister praises anglers as a 'force for good' in the Big Society
Institute of Fisheries Management news release: Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon in his opening address to the Institute of Fisheries Management Annual Conference in Oxford stated that his vision was to unleash the ‘emotional capital’ of anglers as a force for the good of the environment, so playing their part in Big Society. He saw the Government as providing the framework and the anglers playing their part in delivery. Anglers are the eyes and ears, helping others to protect the environment. He cited a number of cases where fishing had improved the quality of people’s lives, including projects such as ‘Get Hooked on Fishing’ and ‘Dreamstore’.

NATIONAL FISHING MONTH – BETTER THAN EVER
National Fishing Month (NFM) 2011 has been hailed as a resounding success with more than 300 events taking place across the country attracting over 15,000 participants of all ages, ethnic backgrounds and social profiles.

Angling Trust Media Release : Angling Trust Calls On All Councils To Follow Rother's Lead And Back Sea Angling
The Angling Trust will be calling on all local authorities around England's coast to follow the lead set by Rother District Council in East Sussex who has thrown its support behind recreational sea anglers by recognising them as all-year-round visitors and important contributors to the seaside economy.

Council plans sea angling to catch more tourists
Rother District Council wants angling to help boost tourism along its 15 miles of coastline

Taking Action To Tackle Poaching
The Angling Trust, angling's representative body, has launched a Seven Point Plan to tackle poaching and fish theft in English waters. There have been widespread reports of poaching and large numbers of fish being taken illegally by individuals and criminal gangs throughout the country.

Angling Trust Media Release : 2011 England Youth Flyfishing Rivers Championships
Summer might be just about over and the trout season drawing to a close but its not quite time to put the fly rods away, NOT yet! The grayling fishing is coming to its very best, so why not make it an autumn to remember and become the 2011 England Youth Flyfishing Rivers Champion?

Angling Trust launches Cormorant Watch micro-site
Angling’s representative body, the Angling Trust, has launched a new web site for anglers to record sightings of cormorants, goosanders and mergansers throughout the UK: www.cormorantwatch.org. The new site is easy to use and will gather vital data to help persuade government of the need for action to protect fisheries. In its first week nearly 1,000 anglers submitted over 7,000 sightings and now less than a month later over 1,800 anglers have reported 13,185 birds. The Angling Trust is urging anglers to use the site in the coming three months so that they can compare existing numbers of cormorants with birds that come to the UK in the winter months.