An open letter to non-EFTTA members

EFTTA CEO Jean-Claude Bel writes: How would you react if your company was made to stop trading? If the business you had built up, perhaps over many years, was threatened with such force that it would cease to exist? I am sure you would fight tooth and nail to save it, spend whatever you could afford to fend off the outside influences that threatened it. And if other companies that you relied on for trade were similarly at risk, surely you would not hesitate to join forces with them to save your livelihoods?

So why have you not joined EFTTA? For more than 25 years the Association has been acting to protect the interests of the trade in Europe. When the interests of the trade – and by that I mean the interests of your company – have been threatened, EFTTA has reacted.

I would not like to imagine the state of the industry if EFTTA had never existed, and yet the threats are still there. In fact, they are growing more numerous, more powerful and more determined.

Thanks to the support of our current membership we have financed a lobbying office in the European Parliament. It has worked to counter the pressure exerted by national governments and powerful publicly-financed NGOs. You can see every months in this magazine that we are very active in this regard, but sometimes it is like David against Goliath.

Lobbying consumes time and energy. You need to supply precise data and economic statistics; and you need to hire expert and scientists to counter the arguments of your opponents, in angling’s case most of them heavily finance with European public money. Our opponents have a big voice and they are surfing on the extremist ‘Green Wave’, particularly at election time. It makes them particularly dangerous.

And yet we have taken on fights and won. With the precious support of EFTTA members we fought a long battle to convince the European Parliament to vote to adopt a control of Europe’s cormorant population. With our members’ support we have been able to achieve modifications to Article 47 of the new Common Fishery Policy, exempting saltwater fishermen from quotas and licence requirements.

But we have succeeded not only on behalf of our members; every company in Europe has benefited, including your own.

So, I ask again, why have you not become a member? Surely you can not believe it is right that a membership of 250 companies is financing action that benefits all 2000 companies across Europe – including your own?
But if the interests of fair play do not motivate you, think about this. We have achieved so much with one full-time lobbyist, just imagine what we could achieve with extra resources. And it is certain that we need them because the threats keep coming.

Why have you not become a member when your industry is threatened by the trend towards micro power stations? They sit on rivers producing so called ‘green power’ yet without our vigilance they can end up destroying the river’s life and fragile ecology.

Why have you not become a member when there are powerful forces who want to ban fishing altogether? They argue that fish feel pain and that it is not fair to play with them without killing them. It’s happened in Switzerland, so where next?

Why have you not become a member when yet more threats, as yet unknown, could rear their heads and catch the industry off-guard? When will it be too late for you?

I know that EFFTA has your goodwill. But goodwill is not enough. If we are to protect your interests, we need resources, and for that we need finance. To continue to protect your business we need your membership. You need to understand that being a member is not just about participating in EFTTEX, it is about contributing to the future of the trade – and ultimately saving your own business.

The more finance we have, the more effective we will be. It’s as simple as that. EFTTA is an efficient, well-run Association that has proved itself over many years. Your contribution will be used wisely paying for an experienced second lobbyist, for access to important data, for the appointment of credible experts, for meeting MEPs and arguing our case. It will be a genuine investment.

Why have you not become a member? I don’t think you have an answer.