While damage to fish stocks was not immediately apparent, within a few days dead fish were floating belly-up on the water, and others were gasping for air. Highly-valuable, large specimen carp were among those found dead. This was reported immediately to the EA by local anglers, who knew that there is a maximum of 48 hours to get oxygen back into the affected water to save dying fish. The Todmorden Angling Society (TAS) asked the EA to bring aerators with them to do this but, for reasons which remain unclear, the EA delayed and insisted on visiting the site first to make their own assessment.

On arrival, the EA agreed that the oxygen level was dangerously low (16% when it should have been around 75%) and only then made arrangements for aerators to be deployed, wasting several hours. After around 40 hours constant use, the water condition improved significantly, but sadly it was too late to save most of the fish. Whilst in the immediate aftermath of the pollution no one fished for health and safety reasons, more recently anglers report that very few fish are being caught and there is an absence of the large specimen fish that were once the major attraction for club members and day ticket sales.

To add insult to injury, the EA refused to undertake a fish kill assessment despite being pressed on the obvious need to properly assess the damage caused to fish stocks. When challenged by Fish Legal about this, various different reasons were given and further requests for a full and credible explanation were at first deferred and then later, refused.

The EA’s own target for making enforcement decisions is 12 weeks from knowledge of the incident, and yet 38 weeks after the incident the EA were still talking about bringing its investigation to “a swift conclusion”!  It was not until the 14th of October 2013 (some 72 weeks later) that it told Fish Legal “we have now concluded our investigation”, but was still unable to confirm the outcome. The EA eventually wrote to the club on the 25th of February 2014 to say it would not take a prosecution.

Despite confirming that the pollution was a Category 2 incident, which means it has a significant impact on the environment, and confirming the pollution had “caused significant fish mortality” including an offence under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010, the EA decided to serve the polluter with only a formal warning letter. The polluter was prosecuted separately by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) for two breaches of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £6,000 at Trafford Magistrates Court in February 2014. The HSE’s commitment to enforcing the law and prosecuting offenders stands in stark contrast to the Environment Agency’s shoddy investigation, delays and weak enforcement response.

Fish Legal has requested the EA’s case file under a freedom of information request and will submit a formal complaint to the EA inviting it to reconsider its enforcement decision and asking for a fuller explanation as to why it did not take decisive action. Unlike the EA in this case, Fish Legal will battle on to try and help TAS, and is committed to taking the polluter to court if necessary, to recover compensation for the club to restore its fishery.

Cameron Hogg, Solicitor at Fish Legal, said

“It is hugely disappointing to wait so long for little or nothing to happen. The EA failed the club by delaying with aerators, then again by refusing to do a fish kill assessment, then once more by failing to prosecute. It also took more than seven times longer, at over 91 weeks, to make an enforcement decision, than the EA’s target of 12 weeks. The EA has not given a sensible (or sometimes any) explanation for the actions it refused to take, or its delays. The EA has been given the bullets, but has not pulled the trigger - again.”

Will Rundle, Head Solicitor at Fish Legal, said

“This is yet another example of Environment Agency failures when responding to pollution killing wildlife. In this case they failed to take timely action to protect the environment and punish offenders. We recently exposed serious failures within the Agency in its management of its pollution response function, which highlighted delay, inconsistency, and a failure to follow its own guidelines. This case demonstrates those problems and just goes to show how bad it has got; a significant fish kill has resulted in a mere warning to the polluter nearly two years after the event. It begs the question whether the EA is fit for purpose.“

Source: Fish Legal

Helping Support the Little Princesses Trust & the Ruimveldt Children's Aid Centre.

The contest will work differently to traditional pairs matches in as much as angler's do not get to pick their partner. Instead, pairs will be drawn on the morning of the match. The reason for this is two-fold; firstly, the event is open to all anglers of all abilities - not just top match anglers; secondly, it gives casual anglers the opportunity to be paired with some of the country's finest anglers for the day.

Prizes are to be confirmed.

As per last year's event, there will a raffle offering some fantastic prizes. Tickets cost £10.00 per strip with all proceeds being split equally between both the Little Princess Trust and the Ruimveldt Children's Aid Centre.

For more information about the event, please contact Matthew Blackmore on matthewblackmore@hotmail.com or 07825 817 474.

Source: Larford Lakes

Last year's event saw sixty four (64) competing anglers pile an incredible 24,370lbs of fish onto the scales. The average was over 76lbs of fish per angler per day! Catches were made up of large bags of bream, hybrids, roach, tench and carp.

Again, the event will be run on a points system with overall weight deciding in the event of a points tie.

The registration and draw for the lake permutation will be held at the fishery lodge at 09:00am prompt on Monday 4th August 2014, followed by the draw for your lake peg at 09:30am. The draw for the remainder of the festival days will then revert back to a 09:00am draw each day.

Entry fees for the five day event this year will be £60.00 per person plus £20.00 per day pools. This means the total entry fee, including pools, will be £160.00. We are NOT taking part payments or deposits this year for the festival. It created a lot of extra work for us in the past and we had to chase final payments right up to the day of the event. Payment must, therefore, be made in full by Friday 18th July 2014 to secure your entry. Payment on the day will NOT be accepted - no exceptions!

The draw format will mean that each angler will rotate between all four banks of the Specimen and Match lake with one day out of the five on the Arena Lake.

EXAMPLE: Your rotation draw could be:

Day 1 - Match Lake (A) Shallow Bank
Day 2 - Specimen Lake (C) Burr Bank
Day 3 - Match Lake (B) Burr Bank
Day 4 - Arena Lake (E)
Day 5 - Specimen Lake (D) Chalet Bank

* you then draw daily for your peg number of your permutation.

Event Schedule

Monday 4th August        Day 1        Draw 9:00am for permutation     Draw 9:30am for peg number / Fish 12:30 - 5:30pm
Tuesday 5th August        Day 2        Draw 9:00am - peg number        Fish 12 noon - 5pm
Wednesday 6th August   Day 3        Draw 9:00am - peg number        Fish 12 noon - 5pm
Thursday 7th August       Day 4        Draw 9:00am - peg number        Fish 12 noon - 5pm
Friday 8th August           Day 5        Draw 9:00am - peg number         Fish 12 noon - 5pm
        
Presentation 6:30pm plus buffet and bar                

There will be cash prizes each day on all sections and overall lake winners.
Lake winners will receive a daily cash prize.
Top 2 in section will win a daily cash prize.
Top 5 in the festival overall will win cash and / or tackle prizes.

As we don't know at this point how many anglers will be participating we cannot forecast the overall winners prize fund, but last year's winner collected winnings over £1,000 plus tackle prizes from Maver (UK) Ltd.

ALL POOLS PAID INTO THE FESTIVAL WILL BE PAID OUT 100%

For a full report on last year's final, plus all the results, pictures and details of accommodation for the festival, visit the Larford Lakes website.

In order to book your place on this exciting festival, contact Maver (UK) on 01527 406 300 and request an entry booklet.

Source: Larford Lakes

The FIPSed under 23s World Championship is due to be staged at Assen in the Netherlands from 25th-26th July 2014, and a team is required to represent the Angling Trust and team sponsors Drennan International.

Where and When
The Angling Trust Drennan Team England youth assessment will take place on Saturday 12th April on the Gloucester canal.

Applicants must have been under 23 years of age on 31st December 2013 to apply.

All competitors will be fishing to full international rules. Rules are available on the FIPSed website at http://www.fips-ed.com/index_eng.php

Applicants who are invited along must impress the Angling Trust Drennan U23s England Manager, Mark Downes. This will be a pole only assessment, and the anglers will be expected to work a2 lines, the 5-6m and a full 13m line.  Bait limits for the assessment will be; 1 pint joker, hooker, bloodworm, ½ pint pinkies, ½ pint maggots, ½ pint casters, ½ pint worms and 15 litres groundbait and leam.  Mark Downes will supply 2 x leam and 3 x ground bait)

How to Apply
Anyone wishing to apply for the assessment trial must complete an England youth assessment trial form by contacting Sandra Drew, Competitions & Events Manager at the Angling Trust.

Email: sandra.drew@anglingtrust.net, or telephone: 0115 9061 301/7. 

Completed forms must be returned by no later than 1st April 2014.

Application forms have automatically been sent to anyone who applied for the assessment trial last year.

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

The Angling Trust and Countryside Alliance are members of the Sustainable Access Campaign Cymru (SACC), which represents hundreds of thousands of anglers and land owners in Wales and was co-founded with Angling  Cymru, The Country, Land and Business Association and the Welsh Salmon and Trout Angling Association back in September 2013. 

They stressed at the meeting that they were supportive of Voluntary Access Agreements (VAAs) to increase the number of rivers where canoeing is allowed, but stressed that these must include restrictions to avoid damage to sensitive ecosystems from boats and slashing the capital value of fishing rights, which may be worth as much as £1billion in Wales.  They also pressed the officials to introduce the registration and licensing of all vessels on rivers so that such agreements can be enforced.

A green paper on access to the countryside, due to be published in the autumn of 2013, has been further delayed following a huge volume of correspondence from SACC supporters highlighting the risks of access without locally-agreed restrictions.

Formation of more VAAs throughout Wales and England has been frustrated by the refusal of the canoeing representative organisations to agree to anything other than access to all areas at all times.  Furthermore, Canoe Wales has recently issued a statement on navigation policy which claimed a “right to use the inland waters of Wales” and stated that “Canoe Wales supports the rights of its members and the general public to use all the inland waters of Wales with responsibility and pride”. 

All the legal textbooks concur that no such right exists, except on navigable rivers.  This has been confirmed by independent lawyers and QCs, and no legal professional has ever suggested otherwise.  The continued suggestion from the British Canoe Union and Canoe Wales that such a right might exist is causing widespread unlawful canoeing which is the subject of a complaint by the Angling Trust to UK and Welsh Government.

Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of the Angling Trust and Fish Legal said:
“angling is worth approximately £150 million to the Welsh economy, and supports thousands of jobs.  We urge Ministers to ensure that this business, and the wild fish on which it depends, are strongly protected in any proposals for increased access.  We support increasing access to rivers for paddle boats, but is seems utterly reasonable that this access should be restricted to protect legitimate existing users and to protect the fragile environment of rivers.”

Rachel Evans Director for Wales for the Countryside Alliance said:
“any increase in access to land and water must take in to consideration people’s property rights, and must be managed to complement and protect the environment and habitats.  With regard to access to rivers, the continued stand-off by Canoe Wales and their membership is once again forming barriers for negotiation. For access agreements to work on our rivers, I think it is vital that vessels be licensed and have some form of identification.”

Note:
The Sustainable Access Campaign Cymru was established by Angling Cymru, Angling Trust, Countryside Alliance, Country Land and Business Association, Fish Legal and the Welsh Salmon and Trout Angling Association

Source: Sustainable Access Campaign Cymru (SACC)

BCAC
www.britishcarpchamps.co.uk

This coming Friday sees the start of the 16th year of the British Carp Angling Championships, starting this weekend with Farlows, Kingsbury Pine Pool, Mid Kent - Stour and Medway Valley Brooklands. The competition is larger this year with 6 additional qualifying rounds. If you would like to take part then there are a few places left and you can enter for £400 per pair through the website above. If you would like to fish any of this weekends qualifiers please call 0845 1800101.

UK Carp Cup
www.carpcup.co.uk

The little brother of the BCAC the UKCC is a singles event and this competition starts in April. Entry to the competition which carries a top prize of £5,000 is £200 per angler and you can enter via the website above.

The Euros
www.eurocarpchamps.co.uk

Taking place in October of 2014, the Euros is open to 55 pairs and takes place at the fantastic Lac de Vioreu in France - with a first prize of €20,000. This 400 acre lake is a true gem and the fishing is not bad either with the most recent match held in September 2013 resulting in a total of 1.2 tonne of carp being caught across 4 days and 3 nights. If you fancy taking part in this week long competition entry is €1445 per pair and you can enter via the website above.

Rod licences are available from Post Office outlets throughout England and Wales, online, by direct debit and over the telephone on 0844 800 5386. The phone line is open from 8.30am to 8.00pm daily from March to September and 8.30am to 6.00pm from October to February.

How much does it cost?

Prices for 2014/15 Rod Licences - valid from 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015

Category	Non-migratory trout, char, freshwater fish (coarse fish), smelt and eels	Salmon and migratory trout (sea trout), non-migratory trout, char, freshwater fish (coarse fish), smelt and eels
Full season (expires 31st March 2015)	£27.00	£72.00
Junior Concession	£5.00	£5.00
Senior Concession	£18.00	£48.00
Disability Concession	£18.00	£48.00
Child under 12	FREE	FREE
8 Day	£10.00	£23.00
1 Day	£3.75	£8.00

A salmon and sea trout licence covers you to fish for non-migratory trout and coarse fish as well. Failure to have a licence is an offence.

Remember: If you are fishing with 3 or 4 rods then you will need to purchase a second licence.

Concessionary licences

• junior concession is available to anglers aged 12 to 16 years inclusive
• senior concession is available to anglers aged 65 years and over
• disabled concession is available to anglers in receipt of a Blue Badge or Disability Living Allowance. You will need to provide your Blue Badge Number or National Insurance Number when buying your licence

Important information

• Anglers under the age of 12 do not need a rod licence to go fishing
• Full and concessionary rod licences expire on the 31st March each year
• 1-day rod licence is valid for 24 consecutive hours
• 8-day rod licence is valid for 192 consecutive hours from the start time and date

Be warned!

Source: Environment Agency Rod Licence

This years Coarse fish conference is aimed at coarse anglers, fishing clubs and riparian owners, to provide inspiration and practical guidance to improve coarse fish stocks in rivers and stillwaters.

All over the country 'catchment host' groups have been appointed and funded by DEFRA to help bring together stakeholders and begin planning habitat improvements on rivers and lakes at a catchment level. Supported by the Environment Agency, these groups have a key part to play in the restoration of our rivers and stillwaters. This is an exciting time and it's important that angling is at the forefront of this movement, to help ensure that fish stocks and angling interests are a key part of the planning.

This Conference will guide anglers, angling clubs and riparian owners in how this new catchment based approach can work and how to get involved. There will be presentations covering "hands on" habitat improvement skills and methods, examples of succesful angling club led projects and guidance on how to create a fishery improvement plan as part of a larger catchment approach.

If you are angler or angling club who loves their waters and want to do everything they can to improve and protect them, then this conference is for you.

Full details of the itinary will appear here when all speakers are confirmed however the outline of the day is below.

• 10.30am - 10.50am Registration
• 11.00am - 11.15am Welcome from Mark Lloyd, Angling Trust CEO
• 11.15am - 11.45am The Catchment Based Approach - Arlin Rickards, Rivers Trust CEO
• 11.50am - 1.30pm Presentations and Q&A on river habitat and fish stock issues
• 1.35pm - 2.15pm LUNCH (buffet lunch included as part of delegate fee)
• 2.20pm - 3.25pm Presentations and Q&A on stillwater habitat and fish stock issues
• 2.55pm - 3.25pm Creating a Fishery Improvement Plan - Barry Bendall, Rivers Trust
• 3.25pm - 3.50pm Wide ranging Q&A hosted by Martin Salter, Angling Trust

For more details and to book your place at this fantastic event, please just click this link  Coarse Fish Conference Booking

Or contact John Cheyne on john.cheyne@anglingtrust.net

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

This year the qualifiers will begin on Sunday 22nd June on the River Calder at Mirfield. There are 20 qualifying matches of 60 anglers on various river venues around the country, continuing on a weekly basis through to the last qualifier on Saturday 1st November on the River Nene at March. 

There is an increase in prize money available this year totalling an incredible £29,000. This sees the UK’s biggest river competition get even bigger with a first prize now of £12,000 for the winner of the grand final on 15th/16th November on the River Wye at Hereford.  (The prize money is subject to a sell out of all qualifiers and sponsorship.)

Source: Angling Trust Riverfest 2014

The squad will consist of brothers, Steve and Phil Ringer, Mick Vials, Adam Wakelin, Dean Barlow, and current Barnsley Blacks team captain, Glenn Lawrence (coach) and Tom Pickering (manager/squad member).

Rob Wootton and Adam Rooney will also be part of the set up to give them experience at International level, and to work alongside the team for the future.

The competition will be held on the Inniscarra Reservoir/Lake in the locality of Coachford, Co Cork. The venue Section is 2-8 km long and a road has been put in place along the section for easy access to the entire venue. Depth ranges from 6 meters to 9 meters at 30 meters out from the bank. Fish mostly present are bream ranging from 1kg plus, skimmers, hybrids, roach, rudd are in abundance other species, tench, carp, eels, perch, brown trout, pike, gudgeon.

Tom Pickering, England manager said
“I would like to thank Grant Albutt and Darren Cox for their contribution and hard work last year as part of the squad. I have been out to Ireland and getting a feel of the venue since trials were held in September last year to look at selecting the strongest squad to take in the build up to this year’s World Championship, and I’m very confident this year and have high hopes of excelling on our bronze medal win last year in South Africa.”

Dick Clegg, OBE, international events manager commented on Tom’s England selection stating
“'This will be the teams' best chance of a gold medal since the conception of a feeder championship  launched in Italy in 2011. Ireland is well known by English anglers and I know Tom and his squad will have put in a great deal of groundwork before the event takes place in July. There is a lot of work being done on the access to the lake and I believe it will become a very popular venue for English Anglers in the future.”

Sarah Phoenix, Preston Innovations managing director said
“We're lucky this time around that the fishing in Ireland is something the whole team has experienced before. Tommy has enjoyed some fruitful trips to Ireland in the past and I know he senses this year could be the best chance so far of clinching gold. It provides a good opportunity to spread the word about Preston Innovations once again. Ireland is somewhere that our presence is growing all the time. Good luck to all the anglers representing Team England this time around. We're delighted to be supporting the guys once again. Here's hoping for gold!”

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News