Federation of Welsh Anglers.
Supported by the Sports Council for Wales and the Environment Agency.
Federation of Welsh Anglers. Supported by the Sports Council for Wales and the Environment Agency. |
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Angling more popular than football At the start of the coarse fishing season, a new poll commissioned by the Countryside Alliance has revealed that more people have participated in angling (38%) than in organised football (36%) or birdwatching (22%). |
Federation of Welsh Anglers Newsletter - Spring 2009 www.fed-welshanglers.co.uk
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Uniting angling in Wales Newsround Get Hooked returns to WalesWith support from the Environment Agency, the FWA’s own Helen Pearce has been appointed to develop Get Hooked on Fishing Project in Wales. Get Hooked specialises in working with the communities to introduce angling to minority groups and has great success in working with socially challenging youngsters in areas of social deprivation and has an envious record of reducing crime and anti- social behaviour in project areas. Angling Clubs Insurance
The first year of the FWA’s angling insurance scheme was an outstanding success with 94 clubs taking up the great value insurance offer. The insurance scheme is open to individual anglers also and cover is provided free with individual membership to the FWA. For further information contact Chris Bond on 01685 814899 or email info@fed-welshanglers.co.uk.
Competition Fishing - Internationals UKCC National Angling Coaching QualificationThe FWA and the Angling Development Boards of England and Scotland have been working in conjunction to develop a new national angling coaching qualification backed by Government and Sports Council. These new UKCC Qualifications are designed to provide a level standard of coaching across all sports. Level 2 will be the first of four levels introduced for angling. For further details of the new coaching qualification and how to become an angling coach, contact us at info@fed-welshanglers.co.uk
FWA Coaching event at Cardiff BayAngling DevelopmentFWA coaches excelled themselves last year, promoting and developing angling through Wales. The FWA plan its coaching schedule in conjunction with Environment Agency Wales, supported through its sustainable Fisheries Programme which together with Sports Council Wales (SCW) provides support funding for the FWA’s Angling Development Initiative. Battle of the Barrages
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We call this programme of work Fish for the Future. We are producing this newsletter to keep our partners informed Protecting freshwater migration routes means that soon all fish will have the same freedom to migrate as salmon about the coming changes and the opportunities to work together to make sure we get them right. In the first edition, we introduce the legislative changes expected this year, primarily as a result of the Marine and Coastal Access Bill: • Better protection for more species page 2 New regulations will protect fish stocks, giving everyone more opportunity to enjoy fishing Better protection for more species At present, we are only responsible for regulating salmon, trout, coarse and eel fisheries. This leaves fisheries for other migratory species unregulated, including rare and threatened species. Background to the legislation Fishing in England and Wales is governed mainly by the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act, as well as other legislation such as the‘The Marine Bill will extend our regulatory responsibilities to river and sea lamprey, and smelt’ The Marine Bill will extend our regulatory responsibilities to river and sea lamprey, and smelt. We will gain powers to license fishing, as well as making and enforcing byelaws. This will help us to meet important European targets for protecting these species. Allis and twaite shad are also threatened and protected under wildlife legislation. Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government considered extending our remit to these species, but the conservation agencies argued for the status quo. ‘If we become responsible for shads in the future, we will make sure we provide at least the same level of protection as they have at present’ The independent Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Review conducted a thorough review of fisheries legislation, and in The Marine and Coastal Access Bill The independent Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Review conducted a thorough review of fisheries legislation, and in The Marine and Coastal Access Bill Commonly known as the Marine Bill, this will introduce a planned approach to managing the many different uses of our coastal land and water. It will create a new planning system, improve regulation and introduce Marine Conservation Zones. There are measures in the Bill to reform inshore and freshwater fisheries. We hope the Bill will become law in the summer or autumn. The Marine Bill will allow the English and Welsh ministers to amend the list of species in our jurisdiction. If we become responsible for shads in the future, we will make sure we provide at least the same level of protection as they have at present. The Bill will also clarify what fishing methods are legal or illegal, and give us powers to authorise other fishing methods. By withholding authorisations, we can regulate methods that are potentially damaging. The maximum penalty for illegal fishing will increase from £2,500 to £50,000. When will these changes happen? We will become responsible for lamprey and smelt fisheries when the Marine Bill passes into law later this year. New licence and authorisation schemes will start in January 2010 Managing fishing effort 'Fishing effort' is the total amount of time spent fishing. We need to manage net fishing effort in order to protect fish stocks and the fisheries they support, but at present we have only limited powers. We can protect salmon and sea-trout in most net fisheries by asking the English or Welsh minister to issue a Net Limitation Order to cap the number of licences we issue. However, these measures do not apply to other species. Tagging all net-caught fish will help stop poachers selling their catch Protecting salmon and sea-trout Salmon stocks remain depleted, with multi-sea winter and especially spring salmon still in decline. There are similar concerns about sea-trout in many rivers. ‘We have introduced byelaws to protect salmon and sea-trout’ We have introduced byelaws to protect salmon and sea-trout: • Renewed spring salmon byelaws, which extend the salmon net fishing close season to 1st June and make it mandatory to return rod-caught salmon before 16th June. • New byelaws to ban the sale of rod-caught salmon and sea- trout. (It will still be legal to take fish for personal consumption.) • New carcass-tagging and logbook byelaws for net-caught fish. All net fishers will have to fix a numbered carcass tag to salmon and sea-trout, and record the details in an annual logbook. The ban on selling rod-caught fish will reduce the numbers caught and killed by the few anglers who routinely sell their catch. Combined with the carcass-tagging scheme, this will also give poachers less opportunity to dispose of illegally caught fish. When will these changes happen? In the future, Ministers, on our advice, will be able to make Net Limitation Orders for any species of fish, in order to protect fish stocks or other wildlife at risk. The process for doing so will also be made simpler, and Ministers will no longer have to call a public inquiry if they receive just one objection to capping or reducing a fishery’s licences. Net Limitation Orders will still not apply to privileged fisheries When will these changes happen? Protecting migration routes for more species Making it easy for fish to migrate naturally along rivers and streams is essential to ensure they survive and thrive. We can currently protect and restore migration routes for salmon and sea-trout, but we do not have powers to do this for other species, including eel. Making it easy for fish to migrate naturally along rivers and streams is essential We will have more means of regulating elver fisheries, to help reverse the catastrophic decline in stocks The UK has legal commitments to protect and improve rivers and lakes, under the EU Water Framework Directive. To help meet these commitments, Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government are proposing new regulations for England and Wales. These will extend our powers to protect migration routes for all fish species in freshwaters. They will also increase the range of Protecting and restoring migration routes means mitigating the barrier effect of man-made structures. For example, we can ask the owner of a weir to install a fish pass to ease migration. We can also make sure water intakes and outfalls are screened, to safeguard migrating adults and juveniles. Barriers to migration could prevent us from meeting the objectives of the EU Water Framework Directive. Fish populations are critical to our assessment of ‘good ecological status’ of rivers, streams, ponds and lakes. The Directive also aims to restore rivers to a natural state, which removing obstructions can help to achieve. Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government are consulting on their proposals for the regulations this year. Our 'statement of intent' accompanying the consultation explains how we intend to put the regulations into practice. The consultation closes on The Environment Agency owns many weirs and some abstractions and discharges. Leading by example, we will assess these structures and first address the ones where we can make the biggest gains. When will these changes happen? Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government are likely to introduce the regulations in summer 2009 Improving arrangements for inshore sea fisheries Inshore sea fisheries are those in estuaries and up to six nautical miles out to sea. Twelve Sea Fisheries Committees currently regulate these fisheries in England and Wales. Their coverage of the coastline is patchy and several government reviews have New arrangements Sea Fisheries Committees will also be abolished in Wales. The Welsh Assembly Government will take responsibility for managing inshore sea fisheries, and is considering options for how to put this into practice. Our responsiblities We will work closely with the new IFCAs in England to make sure there are no gaps in managing migratory fisheries through estuaries and out to sea. Together we will need to set practical working boundaries between our respective jurisdictions. We also want to ensure that marine fish migrating into freshwaters beyond IFCA boundaries are not exposed to unregulated fishing and other pressures, which would compromise conservation targets in the Water Framework Directive. We are talking to the English and Welsh governments about retaining a role in managing estuarine fisheries, as joining this work up with our migratory fisheries work would help us achieve better ecological standards in tidal waters. When will these changes happen?
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Rural affairs Minister Elin Jones attended an FWA angling event at Cardiff Bay, and greatly enjoyed the experience. The Bay should prove an exciting venue with mullet and marine species providing variety and adding spice to the usual catches of coarse fish.