The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is inviting anglers, as well as students and entrepreneurs, to make suggestions for new fishing gear that could reduce the number of discards and avoid species being caught accidentally.

"Discards occur for a number of reasons including legal constraints on landings, commercial choice and insufficient selectivity in the fishing gear used," explained WWF-UK fisheries policy officer Giles Bartlett.

He added: "We look forward to seeing many entries from the UK."

First launched in 2004, this year's competition will award $30,000 (£18,500) to the best idea and is also offering runner-up prizes of $10,000.

The total discards among the world's fisheries weigh 7.3 tonnes, accounting for eight per cent of the total recorded catch, according to United Nations estimates.

Over 40 years ago, a deadly algae destroyed many fish stocks in the river and anglers fear the same may occur again if the sediment is disturbed by dredging in the Heigham Sound, near Hickling, according to the Norfolk Eastern Daily Press.

Norwich and district Pike Club committee member John Currie claimed that many local fishermen were disappointed not to have been consulted about the plans, which he claimed represented a "huge danger".

"We are urging the [Broads] Authority to at least carry out the work over a two-year period so they can limit dredging to cold water conditions," he added.

The organisation dredged a small area of Heigham Sound last summer, which had no environmental consequence.

Elsewhere, angling enthusiasts in the US held up banners and marched through St Petersburg, Florida in demonstration against the removal of the gag grouper from local waters, Tampa Bay Online reported.

Broads Angling Strategy Group (BASG) has expressed its concerns over the plight of pikes after Environment Agency (EA) officials found three dead fish in the northern Oulton Broad in Suffolk.

BASG chairman John Currie said that although the reasons behind the deaths of the fish remained elusive, anglers should be careful when fishing for the species.

"I would urge all anglers to help us protect pike stocks by ensuring they use the correct handling techniques and proper equipment at all times when pike fishing," he said.

The EA claimed it was working closely with Mr Currie's organisation to examine various causes that may be influencing the current levels of pike in the area.

One of the three pikes found weighed more than 30lbs.

Last week, the Angling Trust discovered that the EA had known of the reasons for low stocks of salmon on the River Teign but failed to implement measures to rectify the problem.

Ms Damanaki was upfront about her desire to change the policy – which sees fishermen throw away up to half of their catches dead to meet their quotas – when she appeared on the BBC Today programme.

"This is something we could afford when we had healthy stocks," Ms Damanaki said of the policy, adding that "nobody can justify" the level of discards today as fish stocks decline.

She will be putting her thoughts to delegates from EU member states in a meeting in Brussels today, and hopes to bring a ban into force when the Common Fisheries Policy is reformed in 2013.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's TV Fish Fight series focused on the abandoning of many caught fish and the waste of food resources, which he believes are upheld by the EU policy.

The European Union's (EU's) controversial policy has divided the opinions of many in the industry and Scottish Fisheries secretary Richard Lochhead has written to the EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki ahead of the announcement, the Press Association reports.

In the letter, Mr Lochhead claimed that fish discards had been reduced in Scottish waters "at a faster rate than anywhere else in the EU" and urged the organisation to follow the country's example.

"I welcome that a process is finally under way to address the problem," he added.

The Scottish government has also joined campaigns for a solution to the policy.

Last week, members of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations offered Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall advice on how to implement the changes he called for regarding to discards policy.

The competition will be held on the Willen and Furzton Lakes in Milton Keynes and not on Peterborough's River Nene after organisers made the decision to move the event.

Official Ken Wade told the publication he was "genuinely excited" for the change, but admitted that he was slightly disappointed to be bidding farewell to the former venue.

"It will be a sad day to see the match moved off the Nene because it's my local river … but it does look as if it's run its course," he said.

Some teams threatened to boycott the final in recent years due to the lack of flow on the Nene and abundance of weeds.

Earlier this month, the Angling Times supported plans to build a new National Angling Centre capable of hosting the World Championships. 

The Angling Times reported that Mid Kent Fisheries is to stop day-ticket anglers from fishing on waters at all its venues including Conningbrook.

Owner Chris Logsdon cited "litter and general disregard for the fish" as one of the reasons behind the move to ban such anglers.

"I'm not saying all day-ticket anglers are irresponsible. It's a classic case of a few ruining it for the majority," he explained.

However, others in the industry have voiced opinion to the contrary.

Manager of Richworth Linear Fisheries in Oxfordshire Roy Parsons disagreed with Mr Logsdon's judgment, telling the publication it was important that average anglers, many of whom rely on day-ticket programmes, were given the chance to fish as others are.

The Bristol Evening Post recently highlighted the problem of litter-dropping anglers at the Battery Point in Portishead, where problems are being caused by discarded fishing lines.

The Environment Agency (EA) was given a list of recommendations to improve the population of the species by scientists at the University of Hull International Fisheries Institute in 2008 but these were not implemented, an investigation by the Angling Trust alleges.

Experienced local angler John Montague said he had witnessed a "dramatic decline of salmon" over the 50 years he had spent fishing on the Teign, but said that whenever anglers had previously informed the EA of the situation they were "met with stony indifference".

The Hull study, which was commissioned by the EA, had concluded that over-abstraction had led to lower flows of salmon in rivers after their long journey from the Atlantic Ocean.

US angler Rob Schmidt did not seem to have any problems catching the species in the Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby, scooping $10,000 (£6,227) in prize money for a 18.90lb haul, the News Tribune reported.

The Environment Agency recently approved a new hydropower plan that is likely to impact the flow of water at Pershore and affect fish habitats in the area, according to evidence.

Angling Trust technical director Alan Butterworth said that of the 70 schemes he has spoken about on behalf of his organisation, "this is one of the worst".

"There is a complete lack of analysis of the turbine's impact on the water environment by the developer and the Environment Agency's own internal fisheries experts have been ignored," he added, claiming the plans should not have been permitted.

The Angling Trust explained that they had not been notified about the decision to give the go-ahead to the project and feared for the river's chub and barbel population, which it thinks will be destroyed by the measure.

Earlier this month, the Angling Trust teamed up with the Angling Times for an awareness campaign seeking to address the threat posed to the industry by hydropower.

The organisers of the project – Natural England, the Environment Agency (EA) and the Norfolk Rivers Internal Drainage Board – are hoping that the changes will encourage aqua cultural life.

Natural England adviser for the River Nar Jen Small said the project would bring back pools and riffles to the valley, which would "improve the habitat for plants and animals living along the river, enhancing the wonderful natural setting for the Nar Valley Way and providing opportunities for good fishing".

Eels, sea trout and brown trout, as well as many species of wildlife, are expected to benefit from a scheme that will restore shallow gravel areas to the river channel and reed beds along its banks.

The EA recently announced that work was being carried out on the River Great Ouse to improve access for anglers and flood defences.