A campaign was launched yesterday to encourage young people to get out on to the banks of Scotland's rivers and lochs.

The Scottish National Angling Programme (Snap) hopes to attract around 50,000 more youngsters to the sport in the next decade.

The scheme was launched at Kingennie Fishings near Dundee by Paul Young, the actor and presenter of Hooked on Fishing.

The drive, initiated by the Scottish Countryside Alliance Educational Trust (SCAET), is supported by Scotland's leading angling organisations.

Tony Andrews, founder of Snap and chairman of SCAET, said: "Angling is such an important part of Scottish life. It is a lifelong passion for thousands and generates more than £100m a year for the national economy.

"Snap will bring young people into angling, give them a hobby which will introduce them to the wonders of the Scottish countryside and help us secure the future of this most wonderful of pastimes."

Every year, around 400,000 Scots and 250,000 tourists are drawn to angle at lochs and rivers such as the Tay, Spey and Tweed. However, despite boosting the economy by £113m annually, many fear angling faces terminal decline because fewer youngsters are taking up the sport.

According to sportscotland, the number of young anglers has stagnated at 30,000, or just 6% of under 16-year-olds.

Snap hopes to revitalise the pastime as well as play a part in the fight against antisocial behaviour. The scheme will produce one credible coach education programme and develop a national web-based club run by - and for - young people, providing affordable angling equipment and instruction.

Mr Young said: "Angling has brought me such happiness and adventure over the years. It has also taught me to respect and cherish our natural environment. Snap is an outstanding project which promises to enrich the lives of thousands of young Scots."

Ian Robertson, manager of Snap, added: "Everyone is concerned about antisocial behaviour and children with nothing to do. Angling offers young people a superb hobby with the chance to learn skills and to spend time in the countryside. Snap will not only rejuvenate Scottish angling but will help improve our communities."

However, the move was criticised by Advocates for Animals, the animal welfare campaign group. Ross Minnet, its director, said: "Given our modern scientific understanding of suffering in fish, should the Scottish Countryside Alliance really be encouraging children to cause unnecessary suffering in the name of a sport' such as angling? City-dwelling young people should certainly be encouraged to enjoy the countryside but they should surely be encouraged to treat it and its animals with respect. People who are more compassionate to non-human animals also tend to be more compassionate to humans."

The Scottish SPCA, meanwhile, urged budding anglers to adopt "good practice". Doreen Graham, its spokeswoman, said: "The Scottish SPCA believes fish are capable of suffering pain and distress. Anyone undertaking the sport must possess the equipment and expertise necessary to dispatch the fish immediately. We urge anglers to adopt the code of practice based on the Medway Report which includes, among other recommendations, avoiding the use of double and treble hooks, especially when the intention is to return fish alive to the water."

The charity also expressed concern over the injury to wildlife caused by reckless discarding of fishing lines.

Researchers at Edinburgh found evidence three years ago, that fish had feelings, including stress and pain in the form of "trout trauma".

Experiments indicated the fish's head not only had nervous system receptors that responded to damaging stimuli but that the animal also reacted to the application of corrosive substances.