THE chairman of an anglers club has warned that angling is "getting hammered" by predators. With the number of larger creatures increasing, fish are facing an ever increased danger of depleted numbers, according to Little Britain anglers chairman Eric Owen. The Mersey Rivers Trust recently announced that an otter was spotted in the River Irwell in Salford - with Eric believing increased numbers could hit the fish population. However, the main concern for the anglers at the minute is cormorants - a bird that targets fisheries regularly. There is a small quota that allows the culling of the bird, but it makes practically no difference according to Eric.