The stocking of carp has nothing what so ever to do with shops closing down, far from it.
My local shop now has 14 full time staff, thats just in the shop. The shop sells more Carp gear than anything else. I would say for every float rod they sell, they will sell 60 carp rods, and that isn't joking.
At the tackle show this weekend, we didn't sell one float rod, yet we sold close to 100 Free Spirit carp rods, thats without those that ordered rods to be made to their specification.
Match fishing has gone to mud puddles, you no longer see canal paths full of anglers, and the rivers are just the same.
At the end of the day many anglers just want to catch fish, and thats where the carp has taken over. These venues also hold some very good fish of other species, that mostly don't get fished for, yet are getting bigger on the carp feed.
These venues are not for me, but it is easy to see why anglers fish them.
If our rivers and canals still had the fish stocks of years gone by, tackle shops would still be closing.
Phones, Playstation, Computers, kids getting fatter and kids wanting to catch bigger carp than their mate, thats the problem, getting kids to fish for everything, and getting kids out on the bank in the first place.
Kids of today are wimps, its cold, its raining, give um a kick up the backside and into the real world.
There is only one thing worse than seeing a little fat kid fishing in the summer, thats seeing his fatter mate next to him fishing. Well not fishing, just on the phone whilst eating.
I wouldn't say the web has much to do with it either, as most shops have their own websites, and will do cheaper deals on line than in the shop. i don't buy from websites full stop.