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The Angling Trust took a big step forward this week when Sport England awarded it formal recognition as the National Governing Body (NGB) for game, sea and coarse angling.
Mark Lloyd, Angling Trust Chief Executive, explains: “At last angling has a single membership organisation recognised by government to represent the voice of anglers and the future of their sport. This builds on the recent success of the Angling Development Board in getting angling recognised and funded as a sport by Sport England. Angling clubs who are members of the Angling Trust will now find it easier to get support and funding from their local authorities and County Sport Partnerships.”
“More than 1,100 clubs and just over 10,000 individuals have joined the Angling Trust so far. This makes the Trust one of the largest NGBs already in terms of club membership. If the 250,000 anglers who are members of our member clubs were to join as individuals for just £1.75 a month, we would be the largest NGB in the country. We also need the support of all anglers to create a powerful and influential organisation which can demonstrate the importance of angling to government and other decision-makers.”
Mike Heylin, Chairman of Angling Trust said: “Governing body status is important to all of us for the funding of development plans for angling but anglers need to understand that it does not mean that Angling Trust governs angling. For anglers we remain a representative body taking the message of the importance of angling and all our fisheries to government and beyond. Angling is governed by law, regulation and byelaws, the importance of the Angling Trust is that it can speak with the law-makers and regulators and represent the views of anglers nationally, that is why it is important that anglers take up membership.”
Governing Body status will also make it easier for the Angling Trust to secure public funding to support its activities promoting angling participation and will give it the authority to govern the national angling teams fishing in international competitions. The official recognition will also help the Trust campaign and lobby on behalf of anglers on issues ranging from access to waters, local angling bans and environmental and fisheries legislation.
Anglers can sign up on the Trust’s website at www.anglingtrust.net. Clubs, fisheries, tackle shops and riparian owners should contact us on 0844 7700616 for more information about Angling Trust and Fish Legal Membership.
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The merger of six angling and conservation bodies creating the Angling Trust, the new voice of angling, was completed to plan on Monday, January 5 2009.
“It is an organisation angling has needed for many years,” said Stephen Marsh-Smith, the first chairman of the Trust. “It represents more than a million regular coarse, game and sea anglers in England. Angling contributes £3.5 billion to the economy and supports 37,000 jobs.”
Embodying all the assets and staff of the legacy organisations, the trust will be publicly launched at 10 am next Wednesday, January 14 at the Fishmongers’ Hall, London Bridge.
Among the guests will be Martin Salter MP, the government’s spokesman for angling and shooting.
“Dr. Marsh-Smith said nearly 2,500 individual anglers and clubs had already signed-up to the trust which would “run a forthright campaign to conserve marine and freshwater fisheries, promote and protect all recreational angling against commercial overfishing, habitat destruction, poaching and disease.
“We also plan to develop coaching and education for new and experienced anglers, increase participation in national and international competitions and tackle the growing problem of the predators which attack our fisheries.
“It is an ambitious programme but we believe anglers will support us and we are encouraged by the supportive messages we have already received,” Dr. Marsh-Smith added.
Individual membership is £20 a year which includes public liability insurance, newsletters and magazines. Members will be enrolled in Fish for Free (www.fishforfree.net) an innovative loyalty programme which generates credits for fishing equipment, permits and the freshwater rod licence. Clubs will be able to join Fish Legal which provides advice and takes action against polluters.
Mark Lloyd, chief executive of the Angling Trust said: “Now that we have a single body for all anglers with a comprehensive benefits, we look forward to their support and to working for and with them. We will only be able to do that if we have the mandate and the resources to do so.”
The Angling Trust’s web site www.anglingtrust.net is now live and will be developed further over the next few weeks. Anglers can sign up on-line, by telephone or by post.
Source: Angling Trust
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Carmarthenshire's salmon are set to benefit from a new partnership project between Carmarthenshire Fishermen's Federation (CFF) and Environment Agency Wales.
The project – Supporting Catch and Release has been set up to help save Carmarthenshire salmon by encouraging more anglers to release their catch back to the river. Anglers that register their released salmon will also have the chance to win angling-related prizes, and all anglers will receive limited edition CFF badges.
With salmon numbers throughout the county's rivers declining, there may not even be enough salmon to sustain stocks. Action aimed at conserving and rebuilding these valuable fisheries is urgently required. This project should help ensure that our future generations can enjoy the social and economic benefits associated with thriving salmon stocks in Carmarthenshire.
Catch and Release is an effective management tool which is supported by anglers, the Environment Agency, sports governing bodies and international salmon organisations. By practising catch and release anglers can continue to fish whilst still protecting the stocks.
Anglers that register their released salmon will also be entered into an end of season prize draw. An extensive list of reward-prizes include fishing tackle and fishing permits on the prime Tywi and Taf estate and club waters. All anglers releasing salmon will receive limited edition CFF badges, either bronze, silver or gold, according to the number of fish released to river.
The Supporting Catch and Release promotion will be open to all anglers fishing the rivers Tywi and Taf and will run from 16 June until 7 October. Claim forms will be widely available locally to register a released salmon.
Philip Morgan Fisheries Officer for Carmarthenshire said: ‘Increasing salmon release rates on the county's rivers together with other measures such as building fish passes and restoring degraded habitat, will help with the recovery of stocks. All anglers can get involved and play their own part in helping to conserve and restore our precious salmon stocks.’
Garth Roberts, Hon Secretary of Carmarthenshire Fishermen’s Federation added: ‘The rewards of releasing a salmon are modest compared with the value of our wild salmon to the local community. By working in partnership we are able to achieve real benefits for fish stocks on our rivers.’
Source: The Environment Agency
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