Fishing News from April  2009 to December 2009

Fishing News from January 2010 . . . page 1    page 2    page 3

Fishing News from April 2009 to December 2009

Fishing News from October 2008 to April 2009

Fishing News from  May 2008 - October 2008

Local and national fishing news and articles.

Latest news courtesy of the Environment Agency National Press Office.

Any news will be added as it becomes available.
If you would like to post an article for your fellow anglers to have a look at send it to jim@Fish-uk.com

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Check out more information at www.environment-agency.gov.uk

 Click on a link below to read more

Easter rod licence bailiff blitz

Your Licence, Your Money – The TV Show

Environment Agency relocates 300 River Itchen fish

Carp Angler Obliterates Current British Bream Record

Pub owner’s illegal fish fingered

Big fish bonanza from River Thames survey!

River Trent escapes a serious pollution

10,000 dead fish at Farmoor Reservoir water intake on the River Thames

Coarse fish removal – new byelaws to protect fisheries

Stillwater brown trout close season announced

2nd April 2009 Environment Agency -  Press Release

Easter warning for anglers
Look out there’s a bailiff about!

Bailiffs from the Environment Agency will be out in force over the Easter weekend (10-13 April), visiting rivers across England and Wales to check that anglers are not river fishing in the close season and those fishing on still waters have valid rod licences.

The close season lasts from 15 March to 15 June inclusive each year in order to protect fish during breeding times. It applies to all rivers, streams and drains in England and Wales, but does not apply to most still-waters and canals.

Anglers on those waters still need valid rod licences, must use legal methods of fishing and must have the permission of the landowner. Anglers must be able to produce their licence when requested by an Environment Agency bailiff or other authorised person and anyone fishing without a rod licence will have their details recorded and may be prosecuted up to £2,500.

Mat Crocker, Head of Fisheries at the Environment Agency said:
“During this period there are still plenty of opportunities to fish on still waters and lots of anglers will be out on the bank. Just make sure that you have your new rod licence ready to show the bailiffs or you could be facing an unwelcome Easter fine.”

Last year, Environment Agency bailiffs checked more than 139,000 anglers’ licences and the good news was that over 96% checked were fishing with a valid licence. However, 4846 offence notices were still issued.

Anyone 12 years old or over who wants to fish for salmon, trout, freshwater fish and eels in England and Wales and the Border Esk in Scotland requires a licence from the Environment Agency. By the end of the close season all anglers need to have bought a new style rod licence, launched this year. Licences run from 1 April to 31 March and two licences are required if an angler is using three or four rods.

The Environment Agency has switched to a membership card style licence, replacing the old-fashioned paper version, which has seen few style changes since it was introduced in the 1860s. The credit card sized licences are now water resistant – helpful for anglers – and feature fewer personal details on them, to reduce the risk of identity theft. They also sport a barcode, making it possible to verify licences on the riverbank. The changes will also make the rod licence cheaper to administer, freeing up more licence money for fisheries improvement works.

“Angling is more popular than ever, and we expect to see even more anglers on the banks in 2009, as people tighten their belts and look for credit crunch-friendly entertainment,” said Mat.

“It’s encouraging to see that the majority of anglers in England and Wales are buying rod licences, but this doesn’t mean we can become complacent. We put all the money we make from rod licences back into fisheries and angling facilities, so the people who don’t buy licences are just cheating their sport and fellow anglers.”

“This year we are also looking at remote sites where anglers think we won’t find them. Be aware we have extensive local knowledge and regularly get tip-offs via our 24 hour 0800 807060 hotline.”

Angling has seen a resurgence in popularity over the last two decades, with licence sales hitting a ten year high in 2008 and predicted to increase by a further 26,000 this year. Environment Agency research recently showed that freshwater angling in England and Wales generates around £1 billion to the UK economy every year. Better water quality in the country’s rivers, as well as improved habitats, have helped boost fish stocks for the sport. To supplement this, the Environment Agency’s fish farms puts more than 300,000 fish into rivers each year, to create new fisheries, to enhance angling at popular fishing spots and to re-populate rivers after pollution incidents.

The Environment Agency is the leading organisation for protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales. We are responsible for making sure that air, land and water are looked after by today’s society, so that tomorrow’s generations inherit a cleaner, healthier world.

Every year over 1 million people buy a rod licence from the Environment Agency, costing between £3.50 for one day’s coarse fishing to £70 for a year’s salmon fishing. At just £26 for a full year’s coarse fishing licence, and with rod and line packages starting from around £30, fishing is becoming the price-savvy consumer’s pastime of choice, coming in at under £5 a month. Annually, that’s £40 cheaper than a monthly trip to the cinema (without overpriced snacks), over £300 cheaper than a monthly theatre ticket, and over £500 cheaper than a premier league season ticket.

Around 15,000 Post Offices and other outlets sell rod licences.

A direct debit can also be set up, and they can be purchased over the phone (0870 1662662) or on-line at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/rodlicence any time, day or night.

5 May 2009 Environment Agency Press release

The Environment Agency has teamed up with TV Channel, www.OnlineFishing.tv to bring anglers a fascinating insight into where your licence money is spent – and it’s free to view.

The 30-minute ‘Your Licence, Your Money’ show featuring voice over from Geoffrey Palmer (of ‘Butterflies’ fame) takes anglers to the fisheries laboratory at Brampton, and to the Calverton fish farm to show you some of the scientific work going into keeping our fish stocks healthy.

Learn about why EA fisheries officers regard the tiny Topmouth Gudgeon, which can breed four times a year in the UK, is among the most serious alien threats to UK fisheries. Indeed the EA is keen for information from anglers about this species and has teamed up with OnlineFishing.tv to glean information on its whereabouts

(see www.onlinefishing.tv/survey ).

The programme heads out and about to various rivers across the country with dedicated Environment Agency teams, looking at barbel refuges, flood refuge projects and electro-fishing operations to see how fishery stock levels are monitored and maintained. Next spend a day in the life of EA enforcement officers. Find out how important their job is and the lengths they go to, to keep people from doing things they shouldn't be! There’s some amazing stake-out footage of a husband and wife poaching team that’s not to be missed!

Taken individually, each of these operations is important and fascinating in its own right. But they are also pieces of a jigsaw and it’s by placing each of them together that you get the full picture of the work going on to benefit our waterways and what needs to be done to keep them healthy and full of fish.

OnlineFishing.tv’s Head of Channel, Gareth Purnell, said: “There were record rod licence sales last year and like most anglers we were curious about what happens to all that money. Rather than speculate, we decided to find out for ourselves.

“Having travelled the length and breadth of the country, it was a revelation to discover that not only do the vast majority of people working for the fisheries department actually fish themselves, but also their commitment to the angling cause is nothing short of hugely impressive.

“The nature of the beast means that the EA, with its wide and varied commitments combined with the pressure from politicians, is always going to come in for some criticism. However, as far as angling is concerned, we are sure viewers will be left with the clear impression that if there was no rod licence revenue, the fisheries department would be virtually non-existent and that the state of UK fishing would be a pale shadow of what it is today.”

The programme is available free to view only on the Internet based TV Channel OnlineFishing.tv by going directly to the link below: http://www.onlinefishing.tv/channel/feature/your-licence-your-money/low/

Published  9th September 2009 Environment Agency

Environment Agency relocates 300 River Itchen fish

Last Friday (4 September 2009) Environment Agency Fisheries Officers from our Fradley Park offices in Lichfield relocated about 300 fish in the River Itchen at Long Itchington near Warwick to enable work to continue on a flood risk management scheme.

The Environment Agency commenced construction work two weeks ago (24 August 2009) on the Long Itchington river bank refurbishment scheme.

The scheme aims to improve the current condition of the existing flood bank to a standard that will protect properties from floods with a 1% chance of happening in any one year, taking into account the impacts of climate change. It will also improve the design of the embankment, extending its lifespan and allowing for effective and safe future maintenance.

To carry out the works the River Itchen will be realigned some 25 metres to the south of its current position, moving it away from the current flood bank providing space for the new wider embankment. Before work commenced in the old channel it was necessary to minimise the effect on the local fish life.

The 300 fish which were moved including Roach, Perch, Dace, Pike, Eels, Minnows, Stoneloach and Bullheads. Once caught, they were put safely back into the river upstream of the new flood scheme works.

Fisheries Officer John Andrews was delighted to find 20 eels, ranging from 15cm to 35cm long, among the catch from this 300 metre stretch of the River Itchen.

“Eels are on a serious decline so I was very pleased to find so many in such a short stretch of river. This means that they are migrating upstream and that this is an ideal river for them to live in. “ he said.

John added: “Moving fish like this is an important part of the work we do to conserve fish stocks and to improve the sport of angling for today’s anglers and future generations. It is funded from rod licence money so the more anglers buy rod licences, the more work like this we can do.”

The realignment of the river creates the opportunity to enhance the local environment by creating 600 square metres of wetland area, this will improve local fish life as it will provide a shelter for small fish during strong flows

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/

11 September 2009

British bream record broken with a specimen weighing in at 22lb 9oz
Mark McKenna from Middlesex has smashed the British bream record with a specimen fish of 22lb 9oz. This beats the previous record of 19lb 10oz caught back in 2005 by James Rust by 2lb 15oz! Mark who owns Baitcraft, was fishing for carp with one of his own T1 pop-up boilies when he hooked into monster. Fishery bailiffs think this is the same fish as the previous record caught from Ferry Lagoon, in Cambridgeshire. Mark weighed the fish using a set of Fox Digital scales and this was double check by weighing the bream again using the bailiff's scales.

Once verified, Mark will become the new British record bream holder with his 22lb 9oz slab.

Congratulations Mark

For full details of his capture and an in depth on the bank video interview with Mark McKenna, click HERE.

Published   11th September 2009 Environment Agency

Pub owner’s illegal fish fingered
Today (11 September 2009) Mrs Angela Turner, owner of The Admiral Rodney, Criggion, was found guilty at Welshpool Magistrates’ Court to a charge of handling a wild salmon in suspicious circumstances.

The charge was brought by the Environment Agency under the Salmon Act 1986. Mrs Turner was sentenced to a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay costs of £1,000.

For the Environment Agency, solicitor Dean Easthope told the court that, as the government body responsible for enforcing and regulating fisheries legislation, the Environment Agency regularly inspects the salmon fishery on the River Severn.

On 13 May 2008 fisheries bailiffs carried out a routine inspection at the Admiral Rodney, Criggion. The purpose of the inspection was to check for the presence of wild salmon and, if present, to establish whether they had come from a legitimate source.

On inspection of The Admiral Rodney wild salmon was found in a freezer. No receipts or vendor details were available for inspection. Angela Turner admitted that she had bought the 27lb fish from a unidentified man for £40. As a wild fish of that weight would normally cost over £200, Mrs Turner should have been suspicious of the source of the fish.

Speaking after the case, Environmental Crime Team Leader Al Watson said "The Environment Agency works hard to protect our precious stocks of salmon from poaching. Mrs Turner bought this fish without finding out where it came from.

“New rules this year prohibit anglers from selling rod-caught salmon and any legitimately net caught wild salmon must have an Environment Agency unique tag attached. Those buying fish should be aware that they could be prosecuted as well as the poachers. Anybody who needs advice or has information on illegally caught or traded salmon should contact the Environment Agency on our free 24 hour Incident Hotline 0800 80 70 60."

Senior Fisheries Technical Specialist Charles Crundwell added "Every wild salmon taken deprives the river of many thousand potential young salmon. Stocks are under threat due to a number of factors and I would urge all anglers to return any salmon that they catch to help ensure the future of the species."

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/

Published: 15th September 2009 Environment Agency

Big fish bonanza from River Thames survey!
Environment Agency Fisheries Officers have been carrying out surveys along 70km of the freshwater Thames from Temple to Teddington, as part of a National Fish Monitoring Program covering 2,700 miles of watercourse across England and Wales.

The survey takes two weeks to complete and began on the 7 September 2009.

This Thursday and Friday, Environment Agency Fisheries staff will be using a specialised electro-fishing boat to catch an array of fish species. The unusual designed vessel has two arms extending from the front of the boat which pass an electric current through the water, attracting and momentarily stunning the fish, enabling them to be easily caught. The length of the fish is recorded and scales are then taken to determine their age, before they are safely returned to the water.

The information collected will be collated into results to provide a picture of the nation’s fish populations. The results will help the Environment Agency work out how factors like water quality, flows and habitat, influence the health of our rivers. It also helps the Environment Agency assess the potential impact of developments ranging from moorings to hydropower schemes which are a regular feature on rivers like the Thames.

Fisheries Technical Officer, George Gerring said:

“We can learn a great deal about the ecology of our rivers simply from the condition of its fish. Fish need a good supply of food and shelter in order to thrive. The information collected in these annual surveys helps us to understand the population structure from year to year and range of fish species living in our rivers.”

So far this year over 5,000 fish including, minnows, pike, carp and eels have been caught and measured and fisheries staff have been struck by the large number of ‘specimen’ sized fish that they have seen. These include perch to over 3lbs, pike to over 24lbs, barbel over 10lbs some very large eels and a carp which weighed in excess of 37lbs!

George Gerring also said:

“The number of very large fish we have caught this year could be due to a series of years with low flows and warm water temperatures which has caused an abundance of food available. These fish are a great indication of how healthy the River Thames currently is. It is also great news for any anglers wishing to visit the River Thames as there is every chance they could catch a personal best fish!”

Please remember that if you are going to go fishing anywhere in England and Wales anyone aged 12 years or over is required by law to have a valid Environment Agency rod licence.

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/

River Trent escapes a serious pollution
Almost £10,000 in fines for a water company that polluted the River Trent

On 17 September 2009, Severn Trent Water Limited pleaded guilty at Stafford Magistrates’ Court to causing sewage pollution to enter the River Trent.

For the Environment Agency, Amy Jacobs told the court that Strongford Sewage Treatment Works treats sewage and trade effluent from Stoke-on-Trent and the surrounding area. The average flow through the works is 150 million litres per day with the final treated effluent discharged into the River Trent. Both up and downstream of the works the water is of a good quality.

On 12 January 2009 the Environment Agency observed the final effluent coming from the plant to be a brown colour and noted a sulphurous smell. Samples showed that the dissolved oxygen, used to maintain aquatic life, was significantly reduced. This caused a significant deterioration in water quality. The water was found to be in lowest band on the Environment Agency water quality scale. Luckily with water temperatures being low there was limited impact on aquatic life.

Speaking after the case an Environment Agency officer involved in the investigation said: “This incident could have potentially wiped out wildlife near to the works. It is vitally important that companies have measures in place to ensure that pollution incidents such as this cannot happen. Where companies do not take their responsibilities seriously we will not hesitate to prosecute.”

The cause of this incident was a build of activated-sludge, which is used in the sewage treatment process, and heavy rain causing the treatment tanks to overflow.

In mitigation, the court heard that it had been the only breach of conditions at the Strongford site. The company took immediate action and the overflows were stopped on the afternoon of the incident.

The charges were brought by the Environment Agency under Section 85 (6) of the Water Resources Act 1991. Severn Trent Water was fined £6,700 and ordered to pay costs of £2,777.80, along with a £15 victim surcharge.

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/

12th November 2009

Environment Agency officers are investigating the death of a number of small fish in Oxfordshire.

More than 10,000 dead fish, mainly perch, were reported yesterday (Thursday 12th November 2009) at the Thames Farmoor Reservoir water intake on the River Thames. The reservoir is operated by Thames Water.

Mark Ormrod, Environment Agency’s Environment Manager, said: “We were alerted to this incident by Thames Water after it found a number of dead fish in the intake at Farmoor Reservoir. Officers have been deployed quickly to the scene to investigate.

“While we are uncertain what has caused the death of these fish at this stage, we are experienced in dealing with this type of incident and are mitigating any impacts where we can. Water samples have been taken and we should have results in the morning.”

Anyone who sees pollution in a watercourse or lake should call
the Environment Agency emergency hotline on 0800 80 70 60.
 

9th December 2009

Coarse fish removal – new byelaws to protect fisheries

The Environment Agency is advertising new byelaws to protect and improve coarse fisheries.

The proposed byelaws will prohibit anglers from taking –
Coarse fish from rivers -

• except for 15 coarse fish of less than 20 cm per day;

• 1 pike of less than 65 cm per day;

• 2 grayling between 30 and 38 cm per day.

• coarse fish from stillwaters, except with written permission of the fishery owner or occupier.

• eel and shad from any water.

Adrian Taylor, Fisheries Manager at the Environment Agency says “Pike and grayling have historically been taken for the pot. We don’t want to stop this, nor do we want to stop predator anglers catching and using bait fish. However, we do want to prevent specimen coarse fish from being taken, to protect the valuable fisheries they support, whilst giving stillwater fisheries the option to allow fish to be taken. We also need to protect threatened stocks of eel and shad. We hope these byelaws achieve the right balance.”

“We need to work with the angling community to make the most of these new powers. We will guide fishery owners and clubs to provide us with prompt, accurate information on where and when people are taking fish illegally to help focus our enforcement. We also want anglers to spread the word among their peers that mandatory catch and release is now the norm.”

The new bylaws have been drawn up in response to mounting concern among the coarse fishing community that fish removal can damage fisheries. The draft byelaws were put out to consultation over the summer and attracted over 800 responses.

Anyone wishing to see the byelaws can obtain a copy from the Environment Agency website by visiting www.environment-agency.gov.uk/fish, from any Environment Agency office or by phoning 0870 506 506. Objections or letters of support must be sent to Defra or the Welsh Assembly Government by 20 January 2010. After responding to any objections, the Environment Agency will formally apply to the Secretary of State and Welsh Ministers for confirmation. The Environment Agency plans to introduce the new byelaws in early 2010.

The new byelaws are being made under new powers introduced by the Marine and Coastal Access Act, which was introduced in November 2009. They replace a number of incomplete and inconsistent regional byelaws.
 

15th December 2009

Stillwater brown trout close season announced

The Environment Agency is advertising new byelaws to remove the brown trout close season from stillwater fisheries.

The byelaws will remove the angling close season for brown trout from all fully enclosed stillwaters in England and Wales. Fully enclosed waters are those reservoirs, lakes or ponds which fish cannot normally swim from or to other waters. These waters will, by their very nature, not have stocks of spawning wild fish.

The Environment Agency will also have the power to dispense with the close season on a case by case basis on other waters which may not be enclosed yet do not contain wild stocks.

Adrian Taylor, Fisheries Manager at the Environment Agency said: “Close seasons are essential to protect wild brown trout from disturbance during spawning. However, where wild fish are absent and fisheries are wholly dependent on restocking, there is a case for allowing year-round angling. Removing the close season from enclosed stillwaters should give many stillwater managers this option. The additional power allows us to assess the risk posed to other stillwaters on a case by case basis and remove the close season where there is no risk to wild stocks.”

Anyone wishing to see the byelaws can obtain a copy from the Environment Agency website  by visiting www.environment-agency.gov.uk/fish, or by phoning 0870 506 506. Objections or letters of support must be sent to Defra or the Welsh Assembly Government by 20 January 2010.

After the Environment Agency has responded to any objections, it will formally apply to the Secretary of State and Welsh Ministers for confirmation. The Environment Agency hopes to introduce the new byelaws in early 2010.

Many stillwater trout fisheries do not contain wild fish and are entirely dependent on restocking with farm-reared fish. The close season here serves no purpose. The Environment Agency has already removed the close season for rainbow trout fishing on stillwaters and a recent change in the law allows it to do the same for brown trout.