General Interest Articles

This is our collection of articles on various aspects of fishing and the wider marine environment covering a varied number of topics.

The History of Angling – Part One | Read the first part of our article on the history of angling, looking at ancient fishing, The Compleat Angler, and the early origins of fishing with rod and line.

The History of Angling – Part Two | The second part of our history of angling article covers the development of modern rods, reels, lures and terminal tackle.

The Biggest Fish Ever Caught on Rod and Line | The biggest fish ever caught by an angler is surprisingly difficult to establish. Find out why in this article.

Saltstraumen – The Place with the Strongest Tides in the World | Saltstraumen Strait, in northern Norway, has huge amounts of water pass through the narrow strait every high and low tide, creating the strongest tides anywhere on earth.

PETA ThumbnailPETA and Sea Fishing | Sea angling may be one of the world’s most popular recreational activities but animal rights pressure groups such as PETA want it banned. Find out more here.

SealSeals and Sea Fishing | Seals are blamed for depleting fish stocks. How much damage do seals really do, and does action need to be taken against these creatures?

Guide To Jellyfish in the UK | View this very informative and useful infographic guide to jellyfish in the UK, created by the team at the website Stay in Cornwall, and reproduced here with permission.

Angling at the Olympic Games | Read about the first – and so far only – time when angling was featured as an Olympic sport at the 1900 games in Paris.

Ambergris | Sperm whale vomit is known as ambergris and is immensely valuable due to its uses in the cosmetics industry. Find out more about this strange substance here.

TN CoelacanthCoelacanth – The Fish that Came Back From Extinction | Read the interesting story of the coelacanth, a fish that was thought to have died out 65 million years ago but was rediscovered in 1938.

TN BeaufortThe Beaufort Scale | Find out more about the Beaufort scale – a system invented by Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort in the 1800s to measure and describe sea conditions and is still used today.

TN Carl LinnaeusScientific Classification of Fish Species | All animals in the world actually have two names – a common name and a scientific name. Find out more about how this system is used with fish species here.

Welsh Ragworm Farm Scandal | How did a scheme to create jobs by setting up a ragworm farm in Wales end in police investigations, fraud convictions and jail?

Big Game Tuna Fishing in Britain | In the first half of the twentieth-century huge bluefin tuna were found in the North Sea, turning Whitby and Scarborough into a destination for big game fishing. Read more about this here.

UK Recreational Tuna Fishery | Recent years have once again seen bluefin tuna return to the waters around Britain, leading to calls to establish a catch-and-release recreational fishery for this species.

The Brantevik Eel | The Brantevik eel was a silver eel which lived in a well on a farm in a small town in Sweden. Named Åle, the eel became nationally famous as it – supposedly – lived from 1859 to 2014. Was this really possible?

The Coastline Paradox | It may seem simple to measure the length of a coastline, but the reality is that it is practically impossible due to a phenomenon known as the Coastline Paradox. Find out more here.