21.09.05 - ENVIRONMENT AGENCY BOARD FOCUSES ON FISH

More chances for people to fish and a boost to the local economy, are just two of the benefits the Environment Agency plans to make by 2012, the Agency's Board will hear today [Wednesday]. Reporting to its Board today on how to improve fish stocks and provide a better environment for wildlife and people, the Environment Agency says that the proposals in Delivering Fisheries for our nations - a fisheries strategy provide an overview of how the Agency will deliver for fisheries over the next 6 years.

Fish are recognised as a good indicator of a clean environment and are part of the lifeblood of our natural environment. People view the very existence of healthy fish stocks in our rivers and anglers fishing on the banks as one of the best indicators of clean rivers, lakes and coastal waters. Fish stocks in England and Wales are encouraging, with numbers increasing in many of our rivers. There are, however, areas of concern and pressures and challenges facing fisheries in the future include;

Climate change - if temperatures, sea level rise and rainfall patterns change, life cycles and migration behaviour may be adversely affected which could be devastating for species which are already rare such as shad.
Siltation - Silted up stream gravels mean there are fewer spawning areas for those fish that prefer fast flowing waters, such as barbel and dace.
Loss of fly life - over the last 15 years there has been a fall in the number of river flies resulting in less food for fish, birds and mammals with detrimental effects for fisheries businesses as anglers depend on good numbers of these for their fishing.

Environment Agency Chief Executive Barbara Young said:
"Fish are a key indicator of the health of our rivers and more rivers now have healthy fish populations. The Water Framework Directive provides the necessary legislation to tackle problems and make the most of opportunities in water and wetland habitats. As we carry out the Water Framework Directive we will do even more to tackle the issues that have had a bad effect on our fisheries, such as diffuse pollution."

Salmon and freshwater fisheries make important contributions to local economies. The government’s recent review showed that it is the economic and social role of fisheries that distinguishes the Environment Agency’s fisheries duty from its more general duty to contribute to the conservation of other types of wildlife.

Barbara Young continued:
"Some 3.9 million people have fished in inland waters in the last two years and as many people again are interested in taking up the sport. Nearly four million anglers spend some £3 billion a year on the sport. This provides important economic and social benefits to rural and urban communities. Fishing appeals to all ages and does not discriminate against gender, race or athletic ability. We continually want to find better ways to work with others to be efficient and effective, to make the best use of resources available. We will regularly benchmark how we work and what we do to make sure we provide a service of the highest quality when compared to similar organisations in other countries."

The Board of the Environment Agency meets around six times a year in public at different locations around England and Wales. Board meetings are open to the public to observe. Each meeting begins with an open session where members of the public can put questions to Board members and directors. Details of all Environment Agency Board meetings can be found on the Agency’s website where the full agenda and papers for the 21 September meeting can also be found.

Source: The Environment Agency - September 2005
Contact: enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk

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