Mike
Dunning - 17-Apr-2008 - Sluices, ditches
and weirs – No, not a firm of solicitors,
but some of the vital structures on one
of England’s best-loved rivers benefiting
from a multi-million pound makeover pioneered
by the Environment Agency with Natural England.
Now in its third year,
the Water Level Management Programme in
Wessex is helping to transform four Sites
of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI’s)
on the Hampshire Avon and the nearby Rivers
Nadder, Wylye and Bourne.
Improvements include
the restoration of hatches and weirs, re-opening
of silted ditches, fish pass improvements,
scrub clearance, weed cutting, installation
of gaugeboards, re-profiling of river channels
and the monitoring of breeding wading birds.
The work is part of
a pioneering £7.5 million programme
that started in 2006 and will continue until
December 2010. The DEFRA-funded initiative
is one of the largest Water Level Management
Projects ever undertaken in England and
Wales.
The aim is to ensure
some of the UK’s most important SSSI’s are
brought up to the latest Government and
European ecological standards. The work
is helping to safeguard the many species
that depend on the river and its floodplain
for their survival. These include rare and
endangered species such as otter, salmon
and lapwing.
The Avon is one of England’s
most famous chalk rivers and contains a
number of wetland habitats supporting a
wide range of aquatic life that is already
benefiting from the Water Level Management
Programme.
Much of the work has
only been possible through the help and
support of local landowners and fishing
associations. The Agency is also working
closely with the Government’s conservation
advisory body, Natural England and the STREAM
Project, a European-funded initiative encouraging
the responsible and improved operation of
sluices and hatches to control water levels.
One project scheduled
for this summer is the refurbishment of
a weir at Steeple Langford Lakes near Wilton
on the River Wylye that will involve temporarily
closing-off a section of the river while
the work is carried out. During refurbishment
flow will be maintained through a bypass
pipe that will carry water around the weir.
‘In the past there was
a drive to reduce water levels within the
Avon and other catchments. Over time this
has had a negative impact on the wetlands
and has resulted in a loss of biodiversity.
By working with landowners and organisations
like Natural England on a wide range of
projects we are helping to restore water
levels and re-create some of the habitats
that have been damaged,’ said Judith Crompton.
+ More
Environment Agency nets
even more rod licence cheats
Michelle Dolphin - 18-Apr-2008
- On Monday 14 April 2008, at Warwickshire
Magistrates Court, Nuneaton, fishing without
a valid rod licence cost six cheating anglers
a total of £390.
With water bailiffs
on the look out and prosecutions like this
on the increase, this case should send a
clear message to anglers that a day’s fishing
in the Midlands without an Environment Agency
rod licence could prove very expensive indeed.
The maximum possible fine for fishing without
a licence is £2,500.
Robin Barnett, age 41
years, of Craners Road, Coventry was fined
£60 and ordered to pay £75 in
costs. He was convicted of a charge of fishing
without a licence. The offence was committed
at British Waterways Makin Fishery, Wolvey,
on 15 September 2007.
Timothy Murphy, age
21 years, of Tamworth Road, Corley, Coventry,
was fined £50 and ordered to pay £75
in costs. He was convicted of a charge of
fishing without a licence. The offence was
committed at Weston Lawns, Bedworth, on
15 September 2007.
Philip Jones, age 24
years, of Ridgethorpe, Coventry, was fined
£50 and ordered to pay £75 in
costs. He was convicted of a charge of fishing
without a licence. The offence was committed
at Weston Lawns, Bedworth on 15 September
2007.
Lee Nightingale, age
20 years, of Poplar Avenue, Bedworth, was
fined £50 and ordered to pay £75
in costs. He was convicted of a charge of
fishing without a licence. The offence was
committed at Weston Lawns, Bedworth on 15
September 2007.
Peter Beech, age 30
years, of Hermes Crescent, Hewley Green,
Coventry, was fined £120 and ordered
to pay £75 in costs. He was convicted
of 2 charges of fishing without a licence
and failing to give his name and address
to a Water Bailiff. The offences were committed
at Parkers Pool, Bulkington, on 15 September
2007.
Paul Brown, age 37 years,
of Craners Road, Coventry, was fined £60
and ordered to pay £75 in costs. He
was convicted of a charge of fishing without
a licence. The offence was committed at
British Waterways Makin Fishery, Wolvey,
on 15 September 2007.
Speaking after the cases,
Midlands Strategic Specialist, Martin Cooper,
said: “Anglers who fish without a valid
rod licence need to be aware that our Water
Bailiffs are out and about checking rod
licenses. As today’s result demonstrates,
sooner or later they are going to get caught
and we won’t hesitate to prosecute.
“Not only does a prosecution
prove costly, with fines of up to £2,500,
it also marks an angler out as someone who
cheats his fellow anglers. When you buy
a rod licence, the money is used to help
fund our work managing fisheries and improving
the sport for everyone, work such as re-stocking
rivers after pollution incidents. So if
you don’t buy a rod licence, you reduce
the pleasure of the sport for everyone else.
“The message from
this court case is loud and clear – if you
haven’t got a valid rod licence, get one
today.”
