The editor of a newspaper has called for other publications to back a campaign which is hoping to save fishing rods and the sport.

Jon Stokoe from the Whitby Gazette wants others to sign up to the Fight For Our Fleet scheme it has launched, with sister titles such as the Scarborough Evening News and the Bridlington Free Press among those to have already made the pledge.

Mr Stokoe's call was issued shortly after a similar call to help anglers with fishing rods was put out by the Hastings and St Leonards Observer.

He argued that fishing is the lifeblood of Whitby and those who continue to use fishing lures in a bid to catch a haul are struggling.

"We thought it only right to try to support them – whether we can make a difference who knows, but it is only right we try," Mr Stokoe told Hold the Front Page.

A Facebook page for the Fight For Our Fleet campaign already has more than 700 fans.

Anglers in north-east England are growing increasingly confident about the number of fish they will land from the region's rivers with their fishing rods over the next few months, it has been claimed.

The Newcastle Journal reports that stocks in local waterways appear to have risen in recent times, with some fishing enthusiasts reporting that they had landed small roach and dace from the River Tyne at Newburn, Tyne and Wear.

"Slowly but surely, coarse fishing in the region is beginning to improve," the news provider observed. "All fisheries have been yielding out-of-season carp to add to the more traditional silver fish sport."

Hexham's Wydon Water has been closed since its platforms were damaged by severe ice earlier in the winter, but Environment Agency officers recently visited the venue and are believed to be looking at ways in which the problem can be resolved.

Last week, professional fisherman Steve Ringer told the Angling Times he was backing a campaign to stop British Waterways removing carp from canals across the UK.

Energy firm United Utilities has been ordered to pay thousands of pounds in compensation after being found guilty of polluting the River Tame in Greater Manchester, disrupting the sport of fishing rod users.

The Environment Agency (EA) took action against the company after receiving reports in June 2009 that hundreds of dead fish had been spotted along the waterway near Mossley. United Utilities was this week fined £24,000 by Tameside magistrates.

After contacting United Utilities to discuss the matter, the EA visited the nearby Buckton Water Treatment Works and discovered that sodium hypochlorite bleach had overflowed from a container into the Tame.

"Incidents like this, which have a significant impact on the river, can and should be prevented," said EA officer David Orr. "United Utilities uses sodium hypochlorite on site as part of the treatment process and is fully aware of the risk of harm."

Earlier this month, two anglers caught by EA bailiffs without fishing rod licences were fined £550 and a further £127 in legal costs at Milton Keynes Magistrates Court. 

One of angling's leading figures has temporarily put down his fishing rod to support a campaign.

The Angling Times reports that commercial fisherman Steve Ringer has opposed the removal of many large carp from the country's canals by British Waterways (BW) and is the latest person to sign a petition to restore the species.

He responded to claims that carp were ruining the matchfishing of two angling clubs local to the Fazeley canal near Birmingham, which provoked the BW measure, by describing them as a "joke".

"I'm told that carp are never caught in matches on the stretch that was netted. An angler fishing any venue can get seen off by a big fish – that's just the way it is," he said.

The petition 'to stop the de stocking of Carp in UK canals' has acquired more than 650 signatures since it was posted online by Richard Griffiths, brand manager for Shimano UK, on January 31st.

Yesterday (February 14th), NarrowBoatWorld described British Waterways as being stuck in the middle over the dispute.