Kids and fishing

I would like to offer ome advice regarding Jim Barnes question in the Q&A section.
ALL fisheries which are open to the public have a Duty of Care under the Health & Safety at Work Act (1974)
Should any child be injured whilst fishing on the complex you mention, eg if the young lad who jumped in after his pole had drowned, it is very likely that the owners of the complex would be in serious trouble with the HSE.
I know I've mentioned Health & Safety on this site before but it aplies to fishing as much as anything else.
The owners of the complex should have carried out a risk assessment on the hazards of young people fishing unsupervised. This means that they must assess all reasonable risks which the kids might encounter. Having assessed the risks they must do something About any riskswhich are deemed to be unacceptable. Assessing the risks is basically a common sense job but it MUST be done properly.
Any major injuries or fatalities would result in the attentions of the HSE.
Should the complex owners be deemed to have failed to discharge their duty of care, they would very likely be prosecuted with serious consequences.
Just as an example, how many fishing venues do you know of with rescue equipment? If an adult falls into water and cant swim, the owners of the water would be liable for prosecution if there was no rescue equipment available.
They should also have public liability insurance.
I know that this may seem to be "over the top" but the law applies here every bit as much as a building site.

...and river guides and tutors 'must' have an insurance policy and do the same risk assessments to cover themselves...Ray

All fishing clubs should have public liability insurance. in todays sueing culture it is iresponsible and foolhardy not to.

most waters also only allow juniors to fish when with an adult......at least the rules normally state that. whether it works in practice is another matter

I always thought that if i drowned I'd only got myself to blame.

Is it only me who thinks this is totaly o.t.t. Water is dangerous, if you fall into it and can't swim you drown! Seeing as angling and water are intrinsicaly connected there will always be a risk. The anglers enter into this risk under no illusions. What ever next? Security barriers round every lake and river perhaps?

Two or three people - including a lad trying to retrieve a snagged float - have already drowned this year.

I think that puts things into perspective.

Interestingly enough one of my local clubs (membership approx 2,500) has just this season put a disclaimer in the front of the permit book.

"the club accept no responsibility for any injury,loss or damage caused by cattle other animals or any circumstances on club waters.Anglers are asked to note that all fishing on club waters is undertaken entirely at their own risk."

I suppose that this poses the question as to how this would stand up if tested in law.

There are a multitude of opportunities for injury when you look at the state of many of the stiles and fences that have to be negotiated on our fisheries,very few of them seem to be erected with a burdened angler in mind.

Tony, while the law regarding H & S applies to building sites they are often flouted.The nature of the game also makes it virtually impossible to complain if you wish to continue working.

I do however feel that we are becoming too much of a nanny state.

The very act of living is a risky business. It is impossible to eliminate them. I believe that while risks can be minimised, there ought to be more of a focus on taking responsibility for your own safety.

Dave I couldnt agree more, taking responsibility for our own safety. And parents taking resposibility for the safety of their children. I have a ten year old daughter who loves to fish, but as yet she is not a strong swimmer. I quite simply will not take her to a water with deep margins. And even when I take her to waters with shallow margins, she always fishes very close to my side. I will not allow her to wander further afield, untill I am satisfied that she is strong enough to swim proficiently fully clothed. As her father that is my resposibility. It can hardly be left up to clubs and water owners, to decide upon the induvidual risk of every water user.

One ticket I have includes in its price insurance.If I want to take my lad along I have to pay ?25.00 insurance for him. Pit 4 in the valley includes insurance in its fee.You will find that any water that has any sort of involvement with a private company or firm big enough for a Legal Dept will take these matters into account.Sadly the current climate means that no one is responsible anymore , it is never the fault of the silly bugger having an accident , the courts are full of people suing someone else, like the bloke who jumped out of the window at Broadmoor to escape then sues for damages after he hurts himself or all the whiplash claims after shunts that put car insurance premiums through the roof.

Whilst I agree with those who think we are becoming a "nanny" state, this does not absolve anyone from the law. A club which puts up a sign saying that they accept no responsibility etc etc is living in cuckoo land. The sign if anything is a liability as it could be construed as an admission that the facilities are dangerous. It would not stand up in a court of law.
Clubs and fisheries have a duty of care to the people who use their facilities and to the general public.
I am aware that the law is often flouted on building sites but this does not remove the onus from anywhere else.
I think that things have gone too far in some respects and I am just stating the law as it stands. This does not mean that I agree with it.