ANGLING IS waking up this week to a revolution in its corridors of power as work begins on an ambitious five-year development plan under a new and unified Scottish development organisation.

The three discrete governing bodies that control the sport - game, sea and coarse fishing - have set aside old prejudices to join forces and capture key funding from sportscotland and establish the Angling Development Board of Scotland.

Under chairman Ian Robertson, a professional sports development officer, the board aims to draw up a single plan for angling in Scotland by 2013. The challenge will be to exploit areas of common ground while maintaining the distinct characteristics of each of the three disciplines.

Its launch has been hailed as a new dawn for a recreation historically hindered by factional self-interest and which, despite mistaken popular opinion that it is the biggest participant sport in the land, is currently in decline.

It also sees Scotland set an example that will be envied south of the Border where similar unification objectives remain stalled amid political in-fighting.

Stewart Harris, chief executive of sportscotland, whose £18,450 of extra funding this year has triggered the project, said: "Working together to share information and expertise will deliver huge benefits to existing members and allow the sport to attract a whole generation of new anglers."

Declining membership is one of the reasons why angling's administrators have had to get together. Mike Horn, president of the Scottish Federation of Sea Anglers, said: "We also have to be able to attract funding and that is only going to be possible if we have a centralised development structure."

Robertson - funded by the Scottish National Angling Programme currently halfway through a £335,000 three-year project to attract younger participants - admits engaging with countless thousands of anglers not members of any club or organisation will be difficult. A sophisticated marketing campaign is envisaged.

"We have to realise the old father to son' approach is not good enough any more."

It is important Robertson's drive reels them in. There are just 33,000 official members of the three angling organisations in Scotland, yet rod fishing is worth an estimated £113 million a year to the rural economy and helps support up to 2800 jobs.