All systems go on the Thames Tideway

Posted on 04/08/2015 by Admin
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The Angling Trust press new Water Minister for urgent government action to protect rivers

Posted on 03/08/2015 by Admin
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Fish survey reveals huge variety in River Thames

Posted on 20/07/2015 by Admin
The variety of fish which live in the River Thames has been highlighted by an Environment Agency fisheries survey along the river.

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The survey found dace, smelt and common bream, as well as marine species such as sea bass and flounder. A variety of invertebrates, which are an important food source, and some rare and unexpected fish, such as pogges were also discovered.
Specialist fisheries teams surveyed fish populations at 8 locations on the tidal Thames, between Gravesend and Richmond, and identified 17 different species in total. Fisheries teams have been collecting fisheries data from the tidal Thames since the 1960s, and the information is used to get a picture of the health of the river and protect fish.
Environment Agency River Thames surveys are supported by volunteers from Zoological Society of London (ZSL). The volunteers joined fisheries officers as they carried out the work, which involved netting off small sections of the river and counting the amount of fish in each section.
Peter Gray, Environment Agency Fisheries Officer, said:
The surveys provide a valuable snap shot of what species are living in the river. This year we have seen 17 different types of fish in including a really good mix of freshwater and marine juveniles that use the estuary as a valuable nursery area.
Joe Pecorelli, Citizen Science Project Manager at ZSL, said:
ZSL works with hundreds of citizen science volunteers across the capital to monitor our rivers and take practical action to improve them. The contribution of volunteers has been invaluable to ZSL being able to conserve wildlife in the Thames. Data from their surveys has enabled us to better protect species such as the European eel, allowing us to identify barriers to their migration and build eel passes.
ZSL’s conservation efforts are greatly benefited by the Environment Agency’s support and willingness to work in partnership. Helping with this fish survey provided an opportunity for experts in the Agency to impart new skills and knowledge to our team of volunteers. Thanks to this partnership, the volunteers have become an even greater asset to ZSL’s mission to make the capital’s rivers a better place for wildlife and people.
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Environmental groups welcome legal go ahead for the Tideway Tunnel

Posted on 06/07/2015 by Admin
Environmental groups campaigning for the early construction of the Thames Tideway Tunnel to remove millions of tonnes of untreated sewage that enters the river every year have given a warm welcome to the news that the last remaining legal hurdle has been crossed with the rejections of the two outstanding judicial reviews lodged by objectors to the project.
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Last week, at the Court of Appeal, the two remaining applications for a Judicial Review of the Development Consent Order process for the Thames Tideway Tunnel, were heard by Mr Justice Sales. The judge conclusively rejected the two applications by Mr Graham Stevens and a group called ‘Thames Blue Green Economy’ fronted by Lady Dido Berkley. There is now no legal route available for the applications to proceed further and construction on the long awaited project is expected to begin in 2017.
The Tideway Tunnel team, whilst obviously pleased with the decisions, made no public comment other to state in a message to local authorities:
“After a long and exhaustive process to reach this position, the project team can now focus 100 per cent on bringing the tunnel scheme to fruition. We look forward to continuing to work with you to achieve this.”
However, representatives of the river and environmental groups that make up the Thames Tunnel Now coalition were more than happy to acknowledge the comprehensive rejection of the judicial reviews which they always felt were without foundation and were simply a device deployed by opponents to attempt to derail the project.
Debbie Leach, Chief Executive of the Waterways charity Thames 21 and chair of Thames Tunnel Now said: “This is more great news for everyone who cares about having a cleaner Thames here in the heart of London. We all depend on the water in our rivers and need to protect it whenever we can – this project means that we can look forward to a River Thames we can be truly proud of, that we can use and enjoy safely and with confidence and where fish and wildlife can thrive.”
Gordon Scorer, Chief Executive of London Wildlife Trust added: “The Courts have consistently made the right decisions for the River Thames and Londoners. We need a sewage system fit for the 21st century, a system that no longer fouls the Thames, damaging the river’s fragile ecosystem and threatening the health of all who use it.”
Tim Webb of RSPB South East said: “The Thames is tainted by sewage whenever London’s drains struggle. Leaping this judicial hurdle will allow it to become an asset worthy of our world class city. Water is life and clean river water brings a lot more life on and beneath its surface as well as at its edges. We and the courts have chosen life.”
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New Parliament, new ‘Voice for Angling’

Posted on 29/06/2015 by Admin
AtrMPs met with Mark Lloyd and Martin Salter of the Angling Trust in the House of Commons this week to re-establish the All Party Parliamentary Group on Angling in the new Parliament which was elected at the General Election on May 7th. The Conservative MP for Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, Charles Walker, was elected Chairman for the second time.
The group was first set up by Martin Salter in 2005 and he was followed as Chairman by Charles Walker MP when Mr Salter retired from politics in 2010. For the last three years the post was filled by George Hollingbery MP who has been promoted to the government whips office and, as a result, is no longer eligible to stand. The angling MPs come together to receive regular briefings from the Angling Trust and others and raise issues of concern on the floor of the Commons and directly with ministers. In the last Parliament they were particularly active in pressing ministers to take action to conserve bass stocks.
Among the issues raised with the politicians at the meeting were the plans for a new bass minimum landing size, the need to reform inshore netting regulations, the impact of tidal lagoons on fish passage, the poor state of salmon stocks and the need to ensure that the Environment Agency has sufficient resources to look after our rivers.
At the end of the meeting Charles Walker was presented with honorary membership of Reading & District Angling Association (RDAA) by Martin Salter in thanks for all he has done to support and promote angling in his time in Parliament. As well as being National Campaigns Coordinator for the Angling Trust Mr Salter is president of RDAA.
Charles Walker said :
“It’s important that the Nation’s most popular outdoor pastime has advocates in Parliament, particularly when anglers are in the forefront of campaigns for a healthier environment and cleaner rivers. I’m delighted to be back in the chair and following in the footsteps of my friends and predecessors Martin Salter and George Hollingbery. Although I’m better known as a fly fisherman I love my trips down to the Kennet and Avon and I’m looking forward to joining up with the guys from Reading & District for some more winter piking on their fabulous waters.”
Angling Trust CEO Mark Lloyd added:
“We are very grateful to all the MPs who are involved in the Parliamentary Group for Angling. Their support for the many issues affecting fish stocks and fishing is invaluable to the Angling Trust as we have seen over the past year on bass in particular and other issues which we have raised on behalf of our membership. Charles Walker is a highly energetic and committed Chairman of the group and we welcome the fact that all the major parties are represented. This level of input to the parliamentary process is yet another benefit of having a single unified representative organisation for all anglers.”
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Rod Licence money to fund more Fishery Improvements

Posted on 09/06/2015 by Admin
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Court of Appeal rules against Thames Water and upholds £250K fine

Posted on 05/06/2015 by Admin
The Court of Appeal has ruled against Thames Water Utilities Limited and upheld the £250,000 fine for polluting a nature reserve.
Thames Water
The sentencing decision took into account the profit made by the company to ensure the fine is proportionate.
Thames Water had allowed untreated sewage to enter a 143 acre nature reserve owned by the National Trust within an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a site of important nature conservation, popular with walkers, schools and naturalists. Despite repeated alarms in Thames Water’s control centre showing a total pump failure at a sewage pumping station it was 5 days until the company attended the site. The pollution was brought to the attention of the Environment Agency and Thames Water by a member of the public. For 5 days raw sewage flowed into the reserve polluting a rare alder carr woodland and a specially developed newt pond, killing invertebrates in watercourses for up to 600 metres, and closing the reserve to visitors.
Regarding repeat offending, the Court of Appeal said:
To bring the message home to the directors and shareholders of organisations which have offended negligently more than once before, a substantial increase in the level of fines, sufficient to have a material impact on the finances of the company as a whole, will ordinarily be appropriate. This may therefore result in fines measured in millions of pounds.
Anne Brosnan, Deputy Director (Chief Prosecutor) of Legal Services at the Environment Agency said:
We welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to uphold this significant prosecution result, which demonstrates that businesses need to prevent pollution or their profits could take a hit.
Under the new environmental sentencing guideline very large companies who risk causing serious environmental damage could now face very large fines.
In this instance the company did not act swiftly enough to stop sewage damaging the nature reserve and a significant clean-up operation was needed. This sentence should act as a deterrent. In fact, the Court said that it would have upheld a very substantially higher fine in this case.
Pollution incidents can impact on local communities, spoil ecosystems and reduce water quality in rivers or bathing beaches. Any member of the public who notices pollution can call the Environment Agency’s 24/7 pollution hotline: 0800 80 70 60.
In July 2014 the new Definitive Guideline for Environmental Offences was issued, the guidance which was referred to in this case. This is the first judgement of the Court of Appeal to consider the new 2014 Sentencing Council Guideline for Environmental Offences and it confirms the intention that fines will be fixed taking into account the means of a particular company offender, not just to reduce the level of a fine in a particular case, but to increase it where the company is of greater means.
In discussing the new environmental sentencing guideline the Court noted that in the worst cases, which cause the highest category of harm and culpability,
the objectives of punishment, deterrence and the removal of gain (for example the decision of management not to expend sufficient resources in modernisation and improvement) must be achieved by the level of penalty imposed. This may well result in a fine equal to a substantial percentage, up to 100% of the company’s pre-tax net profit for the year in question….even if this results in fines in excess of £100 million.
More information:
In September 2014 Thames Water was fined £250,000 and ordered to pay £6,887 in costs. Details are available here
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Anglers get new voice in Brussels to tackle Invasives

Posted on 03/06/2015 by Admin
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Tidefest second Annual Match Announced

Posted on 25/05/2015 by Admin
The Angling Trust, Thames Anglers Conservancy and Thames Water are pleased to announce the second annual angling competition to take place as part of the TideFest event on the tidal Thames in London on Sunday September 20th.
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The match has attracted increased sponsorship and has been doubled from 30 to 60 pegs. It is being held on the north bank of the river on the gravel foreshore downstream of Kew Bridge, an area that has thrown up some big bags of bream, roach and dace in club competitions. A second section has been added this year on the south bank at Barnes from the railway bridge down to the Leg of Mutton nature reserve. The Barnes stretch is known for quality catches of silver fish on the stick float with bream present in some pegs.

The match, which is sponsored by Thames Tideway Tunnels, has a £1,000 prize pot which together with the pools will guarantee bumper payouts the like of which London anglers will not have seen for many years. It is expected that the match will attract some of the top river anglers in the South and first to book a ticket has been Sky TV’s Tight Lines presenter and Thames enthusiast Keith Arthur.

Last year’s winner was Farnborough matchman Clive Westwood with a fine catch of 34lbs 8ozs of bream followed by James Thornhill with 21.05 and Keith Clark with 16.15 for third place.

As well as providing an exciting contest the match will also be helpful in assessing the health of the tidal Thames now that the once problematic sewage works upstream at Mogden has had a multi-million pound upgrade. TideFest is a celebration of the recreational importance of London’s River and will involve a range of other activities designed to get people out and enjoying what the Thames Tideway has to offer. TideFest is a partner of Totally Thames – formerly the Mayor’s Thames Festival.

Sky TV presenter and Thames specialist Keith Arthur backed the event saying:
“I’ve fished the tidal Thames for over fifty years, through thick and thin…mostly thick! The river has changed from being virtually all dace for the match angler to a fine mixed fishery. TideFest could be won with 150lb of bream on the feeder or 15lb of dace on the float. There’s also a chance of virtually every coarse and game fish in British waters putting in an appearance, as well as mullet, bass and flounder from the estuary. I’ll certainly be expecting more than a few bites.”

Andy Mitchell, chief executive of Thames Tideway Tunnel, said:
“We are proud to be sponsoring TideFest for its second year. This great event is all about celebrating what an amazing recreational resource we have in the heart of London. The Thames Tideway Tunnel will remove the last major source of pollution from the river, improving the water quality immeasurably and giving Londoners their river back.”

Will Barnard,Thames Water Angling Development Manager said:
“We’re once again delighted to be supporting Tidefest and the popular tideway fishing match. The recent upgrades at Mogden and our major sewage works along the Thames are really helping to improve the quality of the tidal river – evidenced by the good returns in last year’s match. With the future completion of the Thames Tideway Tunnel, which will add far greater capacity to the Victorian sewer network, we can expect much more of the same, with a strong return to match and pleasure fishing along these once prolific stretches.”

Angling Trust Campaign Chief Martin Salter added:
“Following the success of last year’s TideFest match the Angling Trust is delighted to have helped secure increased sponsorship enabling us to put on a bigger event with  bumper payouts for the lucky winners. We are also keen to attract match anglers back to river fishing whilst at the same time highlighting the importance of cleaning up London’s river. Through their ticket monies, the competitors will be raising funds to support the fantastic work of Get Hooked on Fishing, a charity that does so much to help youngsters get into our sport.”

Match Details:
60 peg Thames Tideway Angling Competition with £1000 in prizes plus pools and a trophy.

Date and Time: Sunday September 20th  9am – 2pm

Draw: 7.30am Strand on the Green, Kew Bridge London W4 3RE
Tides: High Tide – 7.15am.  Low Tide –  2.45pm

Tickets: £5 , cheques made payable to the Angling Trust, with proceeds to the young persons angling charity Get Hooked on Fishing

Contact: Ron’s Tackle, 465 Upper Richmond Rd West, London SW14 7PU
020 8876 4897.

Or email sandra.drew@anglingtrust.net or call Sandra Drew 0115 9061 301
The return of TideFest for a second year has been warmly welcomed and the match is expected to quickly sell out when tickets go on sale next week.

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Angling Trust urges Anglers to Speak up for our Waters

Posted on 30/03/2015 by Admin
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