The Freshwater Fisheries Act, of 1878, was introduced to protect springtime’s gathering shoals of spawn-bound fish from those of us heartless enough to take advantage when they are at courting time and their most vulnerable. A sensitive and fragile period.
The coarse fishing close season is also a vital period allowing an undisturbed breeding environment for all wildlife (insects, birds, fish and mammals) found alongside our waterside habitats. As well as allowing time for bankside vegetation to recover from the wear and tear of the previous nine months and the impact of a season-long angling pressure. It’s a period essential to wildlife and the quality of our fisheries. Given the break, nature will be revitalised and in her finest livery for the ‘Glorious Sixteenth’.
Now, it seems, not satisfied with the abolition of the close season on our stillwaters, moves are afoot to abolish the close season on our rivers too. Needless to say the call has come from parties with either a financial interest (professional anglers, the tackle/fishery business, governing institutions), or from an ill-advised minority of anglers, unaware of the inherent detrimental consequences of such a move. Financial gain and ecological ignorance is no basis for such a retrospective step in the welfare of our rivers.
I ask you to consider, rivers are natural environments and should therefore be distinguished from gravel pit-originated stillwaters, etc, and canals, which are man-made. These artificial environments do not sustain historically indigenous, and hence ecologically important, wildlife populations.
It should be remembered, rivers as natural environments do provide these unique habitats. As such they are valuable sites of ecological importance , and the complex interaction of their wildlife communities are afforded the protection from disturbance during their regenerative/breeding season by a coarse fishing close season that should be maintained to safeguard these environments.
As commercially run stillwaters and canals have already had their close season abolished, ample sport is already available to the angler in spring. There is no need for the abolishment to be extended to rivers too, in order to provide the amenity. If the close season on rivers is scrapped as a result of either our own self-interest, or apathy, some of our more heavily fished venues will need more than divine intervention to keep from ecological trouble.
If you sympathize with retaining a fishing close season on rivers, and for common sense and reason to prevail, I would urge you to write individual letters today, to:
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
c/o Carol Billson
Room 308
Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London SW1P 3JR
Environment Agency
c/o Nigel Tomlinson
Fisheries Dept.
Goldhay Way
Orton Goldhay
Peterborough
PE2 5ZR
Your local angling clubs and associations Your local MP- The matter will go to government for decision that could mean year round fishing next year. The deadline for receipt of objections is 31st July 2000.
We owe it to the rivers we fish to protect their fragile environment. We MUST try to prevent this imminent tragedy and guard from the impatient desires of this short sighted and selfish world we live in.
