The Hague, 13 January 2023
Cooperation and the latest figures
The Sportvisunie, the Unie van Waterschappen and the national government signed the Cooperation Agreement Sport Fishing Lead-free 2022-2024. With this agreement they continue the Green Deal Sportvisserij Loodvrij. The parties will keep working to reduce the use of lead in recreational fishing.
The agreement has the same objective as the Green Deal: a completely lead-free recreational fishery by 2027. The emphasis is on continuing the awareness campaign about the impact of lead on people and the environment. At the same time, the parties are pushing for European measures to further reduce fishing lead.
In this article we discuss the most recent figures on the use and loss of fishing lead. When we say "sportvisser" we mean anglers.
Fisheries research and monitoring
The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV) uses two types of surveys for monitoring: Screening Surveys and Logbook Surveys. The Centre for Fisheries Research (CVO), part of Wageningen Marine Research (WMR), conducts these surveys on behalf of the ministry.
In addition to this monitoring, fisheries research by Deltares (2013) plays a role. That study estimated the annual lead loss from recreational anglers at 470 tonnes in saltwater and 54 tonnes in freshwater. Those figures were used in the decision-making around the Green Deal.
Most recent estimates of lead loss
The CVO/WMR report for 2020, 2021 estimates the annual lead loss at 27.3 tonnes in saltwater and 8.5 tonnes in freshwater. For 2018, 2019 the estimates are 25.2 tonnes (salt) and 7.4 tonnes (fresh). Both periods yield estimates of the same order of magnitude.
In 2020, 2021 the number of recreational anglers increased by almost 30%. As a result, the average estimated lead loss per angler fell overall.
The Logbook Survey shows more detail:
- In saltwater an average of 18.9% of fishing trips lost lead in 2020. That was 14.3% in 2018.
- The average weight of lost lead in saltwater decreased from 130 grams (2018, 2019) to 94 grams (2020, 2021).
- In freshwater the share of trips with lead loss was 5.6% in 2020, 2021, compared to 4.7% in 2018, 2019.
- The average weight lost on those occasions remained virtually unchanged: 28 grams (2018) and 27 grams (2020).
The estimated annual totals from the Logbook Surveys are considerably lower than the Deltares estimate. That calls for an explanation of methods and samples.
Why the figures differ
Estimating annual lead loss requires extrapolating over a whole year. The Logbook Survey has anglers record any lead loss per trip. Deltares used a recall survey. Recall surveys often lead to overestimation (recall bias).
Deltares estimated that a sea angler loses about 1 kg per year. That result was based on only 49 sea anglers. The report itself stated that this sample was too small. In addition, mainly keen anglers from the magazine Hét VISblad completed the survey. That group differs in behaviour from the average recreational angler. Due to recall bias, a too-small sample and a non-representative respondent group, the Deltares estimate appears substantially higher.
The Logbook Survey can, conversely, slightly underestimate. Keen anglers can become underrepresented. Deltares used an average of 13.7 fishing trips per angler per year. CVO/WMR believes the average is closer to 5 trips per year. CVO/WMR calculates total lead loss by multiplying the average loss per trip by the number of anglers in each fishing-frequency category.
Read more about methods and explanations in the CVO/WMR report.
Use of lead alternatives
The Screening Survey measures how often anglers use lead alternatives. Between 2017 and 2021 the share of anglers who had ever used a lead substitute rose from 10% to 23%. The number of recreational anglers grew from 1.16 million to 1.35 million. As a result, the absolute number of anglers who fish at least once a year with a lead substitute increased from 116 thousand to 311 thousand.
The surveys say little about frequency. The Screening Survey asks anglers for the number of trips with lead alternatives. Those results show anglers are using lead alternatives more often and more consistently. In 2017, 17% of anglers said they used an alternative on more than 10 trips. In 2021 that rose to 24%.
The Logbook Surveys show the share of fishing trips with lead substitutes:
- Saltwater: 6.2% (2018) to 8.9% (2020).
- Freshwater: 2.9% (2018) to 6.8% (2020).
The Screening and Logbook Surveys use different methods. Therefore they are not directly comparable. The Screening Survey is a recall survey and probably overestimates the share of trips. The Logbook Survey records the weight used per trip and thus provides more accurate statements.
Results from the ongoing logbook survey for 2022, 2023 will be reported at the end of 2023. That will show how the trend continues.
Important reports and studies
- Emissie van lood naar de Nederlandse zoete en zoute wateren door verlies van vislood in de sportvisserij (Deltares, 2013)
- Loodverlies en het gebruik van loodvervangers in de sportvisserij (CVO WMR, 2021)
- Basisdocumentatie probleemstoffen KRW (Deltares, 2018)
- Loodverlies en het gebruik van loodvervangers: Analyses van de 2017-2021 Screening Surveys (CVO, WMR, 2023)
We keep the figures and methods under close review. The Sportvisunie closely monitors how lead loss and the use of alternatives develop.