The North's multi-million-pound angling industry looks set to come under renewed threat from animal rights campaigners.

The threat comes in the wake of new research on the intelligence and memory span of fish.

Activists at animal rights group PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - say the research by universities in Britain and abroad adds weight to their calls for a ban on the pursuit.

Recent tests in aquaria at Oxford University, Edinburgh's Roslin Institute and Plymouth University have found evidence of complex social behaviour in shoals.

It includes the ability of fish to learn and retain memories for months, rather than minutes.

And that, say organisations like PETA, brings with it important ethical questions about the level of pain felt by fish when caught with a rod and line. But anglers and countryside campaigners in the North-East say clean and thriving waterways such as the Coquet, Tweed and North Tyne hook millions of pounds for the region's economy.

A PETA spokeswoman said: "Fish feel pain, just as all animals do.

"Anglers may not like to think about it, but fish suffer when they are impaled in the mouth and pulled into an environment in which they cannot breathe.

"There are more than 500 research papers on fish intelligence proving that fish are smart, that they can use tools and that they have impressive long-term memories and sophisticated social structures."

Base-line figures for the Tweed alone estimate that each salmon or trout caught there is worth about £1,300 in total spend - amounting to £13m a year - and sustains the equivalent of more than 500 full-time jobs.

Nationally, angling and the spin-off eco-tourism industry is estimated to net in excess of £1bn.

Richard Sanderson, managing director of the world-famous Alnwick fishing tackle manufacturer, House of Hardy, said: "Salmon have an instinct to return to the river where they were spawned, which could be termed memory.

"Whether this justifies a ban is another matter entirely.

"The majority of anglers are very environmentally aware. The licence fees they pay go towards work on rivers, which has made them the cleanest in Europe for over a century. Fishing is the single biggest recreational sport in the UK for children, adults and families, not only on our rivers and lakes but also off our coastline.

"Any such action would be a devastating blow to the North-East and its fishing heritage."

Richard Dodd, a Belsay farmer and chairman of the Countryside Alliance in Northumberland, said: "There is real anger in the countryside, because we know angling and shooting are on the agenda.

"The Government didn't listen to the impact a fox-hunting ban will have on the local economy, so why should they listen to the same argument on these other pursuits?

"Every river that is fished by anglers is kept in a good condition. Like farming, it requires a harvest to maintain it."

Allan Bagnall, head bailiff with the Northumbrian Anglers' Federation, said: "This club was founded in 1874 by the Duke of Northumberland and it was the working man's recreation. We have whole families who fish, and it is a sport that they love. Any interference would be a disaster."

Page 2: Plea to reject hunt ban and find 'sensible solution'