Ian Rodger
President
As a young man I traveled to the UK by ship as a member of the NZ Boy Scout Contingent to attend the World Scout Jamboree. We were away 9 months. I leaned two very very valuable lessons. As we went through the Suez Canal I really saw what a real desert is. I learned the VALUE OF FRESHWATER - something we have in abundance. I leaned too that our water does not flow through neighboring countries, so is clean and fresh and in this we are among the richest countries in the world. As an angler and as an agriculturist I recognize this even more and champion it accordingly. (For the value of freshwater and for it to be used to the advantage of all New Zealander’s.) While in the UK I worked on a mixed farm. There was a lovely stream nearby, however it was made very clear to me when I asked the Lord of the Manor if I may access to fish it, that I could not. The right to fish was privately owned. Lesson two – the privatization of the fishery. I vowed and declared there and then that I would do what I could to ensure that this would not happen in NZ – hence one of the reasons for playing an active role with the NZ Federation of Freshwater Anglers and the Taupo Fish Advisory Committee.