This major piece of legislation will have a huge impact on farming and river management practices in the future.  The legislation will specify important quality targets for the majority of local watercourses, streams and rivers to protect and enhance fish stocks, water habitats and eco-systems in the future.

However, as things stand, the majority of the UK’s rivers and streams do not meet the WFD targets and many will struggle to do so.  By working together on this issue, these two small, but influential conservation charities will ensure that those implementing the legislation will continue heeding the advice of expert conservationists.

The two charities will bring their own specific strengths to the partnership – the GWCT will deliver the scientific research findings while S&TA will deliver this into policy.

Paul Knight, Chief Executive of S&TA said, “The Salmon & Trout Association is well placed to transfer important scientific findings into policy.  We have more than 108 years of campaigning experience and are already known in the corridors of power, having influenced water and fisheries legislation over this lengthy period of time. Today, we also have seats on both Defra’s, and the Environment Agency’s WFD groups.”

Teresa Dent, Chief Executive of the GWCT said, “The GWCT undertakes wide-ranging fisheries research and runs one of the leading centres for salmon research on the River Frome in Dorset.  In addition, we have been carrying out extensive studies on soil and water issues on our research farm in Leicestershire to reduce any environmental impacts caused by loss of soil and nutrients into water courses.”
The Water Framework Directive is perhaps the most significant water legislation to be passed by the European parliament to date and ushers a new approach to the management of river catchments from an ecological perspective.  The collaboration between the two charities will help ensure that this legislation is good news for aquatic wildlife as well as being underpinned by practical well-researched solutions that land and river managers will be able to deliver on the ground for the benefit of our natural water environments.

Gift Aid

This new collaboration was made possible because of our adoption of charitable status in 2008.  During that time, 25% of our members have signed a Gift Aid declaration and gained us significant additional income from HM Revenue & Customs, at no cost to our members at all.

If you have taken this highly effective step to ensuring we gain the tax benefit that is rightfully ours, thank you.  If you have not, would you please do so now? Then we can also claim the extra government transitional relief of three pence in every pound on payments received before 6th April 2011.

Gift Aid is one of the simplest ways of making your contributions to the S&TA go further. It is a scheme introduced by HM Revenue & Customs, which allows us to reclaim the basic rate tax you pay as a UK taxpayer.  It means that for every £1 you donate we get an extra 25p. All that is required from you is a one-off declaration, which you can give by simply ticking a box on a form, online or by agreeing over the phone, and we'll do the rest.  If you are a higher rate tax payer you can claim back the extra tax paid on your tax return.  Click here to register for Gift Aid online.  

The extra Gift Aid income and your continued support, together with our new single-issue collaboration with GWCT, means that your Association is more effective than ever.  We can step up our battle against water abstraction, non-sustainable fish farming, agricultural and industrial pollution, out-of-balance predators and the decline in water habitats - and so much more.  Not just for ourselves, but for our children and future generations as well. 

Source: Salmon & Trout Association