WE can make a difference

[clwydman]

The following thread has been up on one of the neighbouring forums for some time with few people responding it is such an important issue that I feel it should be posted elsewhere to encourage us all to use poloticians far more to help improve things for migratory fish in the UK.

Our big chance to make a difference!
« Thread Started on Feb 27, 2007, 9:21pm »

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The Assembly elections are due to be held on the 3rd May this year, and the feeling is that the fight for political power in Wales will be tough. Anglers, local and visiting contribute millions to the Welsh economy and billions to the British economy. Angling is the most popular participation sport in the country and the Environment Agency and the Assembly are actively encouraging people to participate in the sport. Yet the EAW and, by implication, the Assembly, allow the fish in the rivers and estuaries of Wales to go relatively unprotected and they remain easy pickings for the thieves who we call poachers. The Irish drift nets are, we hope, being removed so next year should be a good year for migratory fish. These fish will be even easier pickings for the poachers unless action is taken to protect them. This may be our last real chance to allow nature to repopulate the salmon and sea trout waters of Wales. We must take concerted action now.
I have recently written to Carwyn Jones AM Minister for Environment, Planning and Countryside asking for some assurance about increasing the level of policing on our waters and await his reply. When this is received I will let you know and we can formulate our plan of action to apply pressure to the potential Assembly Members to make some real promises and give some real assurances to which they can be held after the election. This is a real chance for us to really influence events and assist in preserving the fish stocks of Wales.

Together we will make a difference.


Does anyone out there want to offer support

[elwyman]

Clwydman - I assume that the Vale of Clwyd angling clubs, the Federation and other angling interests will all support any lobbying campaign, and I would be happy to lobby prospective AG candidates in my area.

Let us know what response you get from Carwyn Jones.

[clwydman]

Will do that as soon as I find anything out. This was a thread started by someone else but seemed to be getting little response on other forums. This is the future, without political support migratory fish returns in England and Wales will be a thing of the past in a relatively short time for many rivers. Every angler, angling club, fishery owner, environmentalist needs to be hammering home the fact that greater input from above is required.

[highplains]

It is with great reluctance that I comment on this thread prior to receiving a reply from Carwyn Jones AM. However I attended a Federation meeting last night at which our chairman advised us of the following statistics regarding Irish rivers.

The current status is that 100 Irish rivers are closed to fishing, only 47 remain open!

If the same happens in Wales it will destroy many clubs and put massive pressure on the rivers that remain open.

The EAW can not be allowed to preside over the devastation of our rivers by failing to put sufficient resources into policing our rivers. When I pointed this out to one eminent angling representative he pointed out that we also need to look after water quality and other such duties as the EAW currently encourages: and quite rightly so. The point is this, we must pay attention to all aspects of fish protection - habitat enhancement, water quality protection, discharges, poisoning and pollutants etc. WE DO HAVE TO MAINTAIN A BALANCED APPROACH and neglecting the protection of our fish seems to me to be a most basic and fundamental failure. This is the legal responsibility of the EAW and they have an obligation to do it properly or appeal for the funding to do it properly if they feel they are being under funded. Let's face it we as anglers have made a big enough issue of it and the EAW are proud to boast of the value of anglers and angling to the Welsh economy.

Is apathy choice?

I will try to refrain from further comment on this matter until I hear from the Assembly.

Tight lines.

Highplains

[clwydman]

Here is a copy of the latter sent to Carwyn Jones

Re: Our big chance to make a difference!
« Reply #15 on Mar 21, 2007, 8:51pm »

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The letter to Carwyn Jones. It was delivered, by hand, to his constituency office and later by email under cover of a suitable covering comment.



Carwyn Jones AM
Minister for Environment, Planning and Countryside
National Assembly for Wales
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff
CF99 1NA



Dear Minister,

Re: The Appeal by the Anglers of Wales, Visiting and Local to the Assembly Government.

You will recall that you were presented with an Appeal on behalf of the anglers of Wales, visiting and local, by Mark Isherwood AM on the 19th June last year. I am the author of that appeal and have, along with many others, continued the campaign to have the waters of Wales properly policed by the Environment Agency Wales.

May I thank you on behalf of the anglers, for requesting that the Environment Agency Wales to undertake a review of its current enforcement activities in Wales, in your letter to them dated 28th June 2006. I am sure that you are aware that the review you requested is ongoing and that their report is due to be presented to your good self early in the next financial year.


However, the reason for the inadequate protection and policing of our rivers is that you, in your Environment Agency Remit Letter 2006/07 addressed to Sir John Harman Chairman Environment Agency, make no mention to this as requirement of the Agency. Further, by implication you all but deny the Agency the opportunity to carry out this work by stating in your letter that the items contained therein are to be used as the basis for benchmarking the performance of the Agency and thereby measuring its performance. Under these circumstances it is little wonder that they are failing to protect our rivers!

I do however believe that the Agency ought reasonably to have brought this apparent omission to the attention of yourself or to your advisors, given the value of our waters and the fish in them to the economy of Wales, as you yourself have pointed out on many occasions.

Will you please include the following in your next remit letter to the Agency

a) Introduce the production of an intelligence lead data base of the criminals involved in the illegal taking of fish, other than by rod and line, from the rivers and estuaries of Wales. Many of whom are already known to them, but the Agency lacks the resources to pursue.

b) Introduce performance targets for the apprehension of those taking fish illegally, other than by rod and line, based upon a percentage over and above those that were being apprehended prior to the drastic reduction in Agency enforcement staff back in 1992 .

c) Or any such similar activities to improve the policing of our waters.


Yours faithfully

[highplains]

This is the response from Carwyn Jones.

[clwydman]

Typical politicians answer. At the risk of sounding rude, this is what we are dealing with. No Balls. None of these polititians have the balls to stand up and be counted for fear of losing the odd vote from wherever they can grab them. Gone have the days when you knew what you were voting for.Gone are the days when politicians nailed their colours to the mast and asked people to vote for their views. We are in a world where everyone wants to be grey, to be liked by everyone and they wonder why so few people go out to vote. Or...................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................... ...........................................................Maybe I am wrong, maybe I am being unfair, maybe some politicians somewhere will come out of the woodwork, nail their colours to the fence and agree that the current situation where anglers pay more and more for their rod licience in England and Wales and get less and less for there money, whilst other groups eg. canoeists who pay nothing for accessing our rivers seem to have AM's and MP's crawling everywhere to support them. Why is that? Well I can guarantee if this thread was on a canoe forum looking at the future of canoeing there would be a d**n site more views given by their members. Anyone of the 211 members of this forum who have not expressed support for this work under taken by Highplains should be ashamed of themselves.

PS. Don't come crying to me on the river bank when there are no migratory fish returning to our rivers and what fish there are are taken by poachers!

[davewallbridge]

clwydman said:

Anyone of the 211 members of this forum who have not expressed support for this work under taken by Highplains should be ashamed of themselves.

clwydman,

I have to agree with you.
I have raised this matter on several forums over the past couple of years, as has highplains, but the response has been similar.
It amazes me that so many people will spend hours researching their next rod, reel or line purchase but are not prepared to put in ten minutes of their time to write a letter to their MP.

I know that this does not effect the Scottish members of this forum, but for anyone who's river comes under the auspices of the EA please have a think about putting a few words on paper to point out that all the C&R that we have been encouraged to do will be pointless unless the returned fish can be protected from poaching.

Dave

[highplains]

Silver Stoat,

Well said!

I really did think we could make a difference bu I badly miscalculated the apathy of my fellow anglers.

Disgruntled.

Highplains

[clwydman]

Thread about future of migratory fish read 277 times, only 5 anglers feel the need to support or respond. Sat my 7 year old on my knee tonight and had the following discussion
' Son, you know those pictures of grandad with those big salmon he caught?'
'Yes Dad'
'and the pictures of me with a salmon or two as well'
'Yes Dad'
'Well son, you may be lucky and get a picture of you with a salmon as well'
'Great Dad'
'But there's not chance of your kids getting a photo because there wont be any left!' :'



Call yourselves anglers, you are nothing but a bunch of selfish b******s who cannot be arsed to put your 15'ers down and write to your MP or support this thread.



Common sense does not seem to strike a chord with many here so lets see if simple abuse will!

[ibrox]

Clwyman,

I love my seatrout and salmon fishing and I know exactly how you feel, our ST and salmon stocks are starting to suffer and have been for some years. As a scot living in Scotland with a Scottish MSP what can we do to help . I may be a bit niave but you are campaigning for Welsh rivers are you not ? can we help and if so how ? if there is anything I can do please let me know.

ATB Mike

[clwydman]

I think it is a nation wide concern with regard to the decline of the migratory fish stocks and the distinct lack of protection these fish are given. The general advice being given on other forums is that anglers should lobby their mp's etc. to seek greater funding for such things as bailiffs coastal patrol vessels etc.

[highplains]

Clwydman,

I have to give you full marks for trying. I wonder what we bother for? I am getting of the age where the fishing days ahead are far fewer than those glorious days of the past. Why bother?

I bother because I feel obliged to say "thank you" to the progeny of those many many fish that I failed to catch and that went on to spawn. Thanks in great part to the sterling work of the Rivers Authority bailiffs. I want my grand children to have the opportunity to see and if they choose, fish for these wonderful fish.

We need to do all we can to see that these fish are protected. If the lifting of the Irish drift nets means a good run this season, the poachers will have a bean feast, the fish need protecting. If the runs fail and there is only a trickle of returning fish they will be all the more precious and need protecting.

The Environment Agency is failing its duty, the anglers and more importantly the fish they are charged with protecting. The Government is failing to instruct the Agency to perform properly by not setting appropriate performance indicators.

I begin to despair but will not give up.

All the best

Highplains

[highplains]

Just to let you know that I have emailed each and every Assembly member requesting their support for the campaign to have the number of enforcement officers increased in line with our request to Carwyn Jones. I have requested their permission to post the replies I receive from each one. I will let you know of the response.

They were each emailed individually. Had I sent the same email copied to each from I Assembly address list, it may well have been classified as spam. This way they all get the message. Let's hope they understand and sympathise.

Please send in your own letters and emails. It all adds to the pressure and only takes a few moments.

Need any email addresses just PM me.

Keep up the good work.

All the best


Highplains.

p.s.

This issue may appear to be "playing" as a Welsh issue only, but this is not the case, the lack of enforcement applies equally to the rivers of England. The Severn, the longest river in England has only three bailiffs to cover its hundreds of miles of main river and tributaries. The Environment Agency are cutting enforcement staff at an unprecedented rate.

Please write to your M.P's and MEP's.

[highplains]

I have been amazed at the fact that some of the replies I have had to my email to Assembly Members clearly show that the recipients have not read the content. However the following is the first, of what I hope will be many, to respond in a meaningful way.

I will post all meaningful responses, if they are as worthy as this, regardless of the politics of the sender. Have no wish to get involved in politics so hope, under the circumstances, I will be forgiven.

Regards.

Highplains

William Graham JP (Conservative - South Wales East)

Strongly endorse your campaign and will see that something is done after May 3rd. From a family of keen coarse and fly fisherman I am well aware of the many problems that anglers currently face. As a lay magistrate of 28 years seniority I have not seen enough prosecutions of this most anti social offence.The economic and environmental case is well made.The Assembly must act to safeguard this most valuable resource. Please let me know if I may assist your cause further.

[highplains]

Latest responses as promised.

Tamsin Dunwoody (Labour - Preseli Pembrokeshire)

Thank you for your extremely informative email. I have read it with great interest. From the information you have provided, it certainly appears that there is a significant problem. I am not well versed enough on the issue to be able to answer your concerns categorically but hope the following helps:

I am more than happy to look at this issue in depth. I recognise that protection of our fish stocks and appropriate issuance of licences are critical to proper management of the industry and the rivers. I am not, however, convinced that setting targets for arrests/prosecutions is appropriate. The danger with that approach is over enthusiasm of arrests etc. So I would have some concerns at that approach and would seek a more flexible approach to enforcement based on intelligence gathering and areas of greatest abuse.

Likewise, I am unable to commit any funding to anyone but especially have no Authority to commit funding of the Environment Agency to any part of their operational management.

Should I be in a position to exert any influence in this matter after May 3rd, I re-iterate that I would be very happy to look at the issue.

With best wishes,

IN view of the apparent lack of understanding shown in Tasmin Dunwoody's reply I emailed her to explain the actual situation. Below are copies of my email and her reply.

My email

Good afternoon Tasmin,



How nice of you to reply so promptly, and you actually read my email. No, not sarcasm! You would be amazed at the replies I have had from Members who clearly have not bothered even to glance over the contents. So thank you.

I have posted your reply on the web, without comment. I let it speak for itself and I'm sure it will be well received.

I know you are busy, but just for the sake of clarity. The Assembly has asked the Environment Agency to report on it's enforcement activities, however the remit letter from the Assembly does not require these duties to be carried out. It all relates to the cursed performance indicators. The fault lays fairly and squarely with the Assembly.

Sorry to be a bore!

Her reply received a couple of hours later.

Hi *.* ,

Thank you for clarifying that. I will look at the remit letters as soon as I am re-elected!! Fingers crossed!

With best wishes,

Tamsin

Well, lets hope she is as good as her word!

Regards.

Highplains

[highplains]

Another meaningful response.

Glyn Davies (Conservative - Mid and West Wales) Chair of Environment, Planning and Countryside Committee.

Dear *.*,

I agree with your assessment of the importance of fishing to the Welsh economy. It is obvious that there must be sufficient numbers of Fisheries Enforcement Officers to prevent poachers from despoiling the industry. This is not an issue that I have become involved in before. However , I will raise the matter with Environment Agency Wales at the earliest opportunity.
Best wishes, Glyn Davies

I will, of course. remind Mr Davies that the issue is the remit letter from the Assembly that fails to instruct the EAW to carry out enforcement duties.

Regards

Highplains

[highplains]

I did write to Mr Davies and he responded as follows:

I hope the election goes sufficiently well for me to be in a position to write the remit letter ! This will be done by the appropriate Minister. Glyn
We must keep up the pressure

Regards

Highplains

[highplains]

A further worthwhile response.

All the best

Highplains

Dear Mr. *.*

Thank you for your e-mail on behalf of Welsh anglers and the role of the Environment Agency in protecting legitimate fishing and tacking the prevalence of poaching. You say that you have made representations to the current Labour Assembly Government and you expect their response shortly.

You will know that the Assembly does not have full powers over the Environment Agency and we can only make representations at present. Nevertheless, as the leader of Plaid Cymru in the Assembly I can give you I I disagreeurance that I will want to make sure that the Agency carries out its enforcement responsibilities to protect fish in Welsh waters.

Once the election is over, and if we form the next government then we will take on the work started by the current government and work with the relevant stakeholders to seek a satisfactory response by the Agency.

Yours sincerely,

Ieuan Wyn Jones AM

Leader Plaid Cymru

[highplains]

The latest updates.

More support.

Highplains

Dear *.*



Thank you for your email addressed to Nick Bourne AM regarding the lack of Fisheries Enforcement Officers in Wales and its consequent effect on poaching.



Nick has asked me to reply on his behalf in his absence on the campaign trail to acknowledge receipt of your concerns and to say the Welsh Conservatives will consider your comments sympathetically in our response to the Environment Agency Wales' review of its enforcement policies when it comes before the National Assembly.



Thank you once again for contacting Nick Bourne.



Paul Morris

Group Administrator

Welsh Conservative Group

The following reply from Eleanor Burnham is on behalf of her party in Wales, other members of her party having emailed me to this effect.

All the best

Highplains

Eleanor Burnham (Liberal Democrat - North Wales)

Dear *.* ,

Thank you for your letter regarding the protection of Welsh fish stocks.

We acknowledge the concerns of the Federation of Clwyd Angling Clubs and are widely supportive of your points regarding the current restrictions within the remit of Environment Agency Wales. The Welsh Liberal Democrats will consider, working with Environment Agency Wales as the responsible statutory body, introducing more concrete requirements in their remit letter to protect fish stocks in the waters of Wales. This could indeed extend to the apprehension of poachers taking fish by means other than rod and line.

As the Environment Agency Wales review into its current enforcement structure and activities to protect Welsh fish stocks is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to pre-empt or pre-judge its findings. We look forward to examining the findings of the report when it comes before the Assembly. The specific results of the current review could also form the basis for more precise content of a revised Environment Agency Wales remit letter.

I hope this letter clarifies our position and answers your concerns.

Yours Sincerely,

Eleanor Burnham AM
Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for North Wales and Spokesperson for Sport.