Feargal Sharkey

[The bad one]

Feargal Sharkey. Did anybody catch him on James O’Brian on LBC talking about the EA/DEFRA lifting the treatment of sewage because the Water Companies haven’t got the chemicals or drivers to deliver them to sewage treatment plants.

He pulled no punches over it at all. You want to listen to it; it went out today around 10 53 on James’s show. Log on to LBC and have a listen. He made Bailey’s efforts about the Wye sound perthitic.

 

[markcw]

He was on the last series of Mortimer and Whitehouse.
Very passionate about fishing and fish welfare and the environment.

 

[Bluenose]

I follow him on twitter, he calls the EA out and/or more or less every all the private water companies on a daily basis.

 

[The bad one]

I don't do much on Twitter Ed. Not enough characters to write what I want to say being an old windbag.

 

[The bad one]

I’m sorry guys,
but this “temporary” lifting of regulations will bring about the death of most of our rivers back to the bad old days when I was a kid in the 1950s. There is no doubt in my mind they will become open sewers again! 5 years or more ago I predicted that once we left Europe the regulations would be diluted down. I was told No that will never happen we are too far down the environment road.

Well it’s happening now, and if you think it will only be a Temporary measure then dream on that is here
to stay.

 

[bullet]

I can't see this making much difference to the already appalling situation.
It's a chemical used before final discharge of treated sewage....
As soon as we get a bit of rain, they just discharge with no treatment whatsoever.

 

[steve2]

In the Thames area not much sewage is. treated any way. Give them any excuse and untreated sewage is released at the moment.

 

[mikench]

And where do our rivers flow? Into our coastal waters already polluted and over fished and which we were so anxious to reclaim for our fishermen. There will be a slow, inexorable and deadly decline in all the good that EU membership brought. It was far from perfect but clean water, clean beaches, the restoration of fishing stocks, animal welfare and workers rights were worth having.

 

[no-one in particular]

I have seen him on TV a few times and he knows a lot about this stuff. Trouble is apart from anglers how much do the general public take notice, I bet they have forgotten what he said 5 mins later. Its all whistling in the wind anyway, the only people who have a chance of of doing anything about pollution are the green party albeit a slim one but, none of you would vote for them as you think they are all nutters or are going to ruin the economy.

 

[bullet]

I don't think it's to do with being Nutters or ruining the economy, more the " voluntary sessation of Angling through a public education program " that you mentioned before.

 

[steve2]

Driver shortage is now the new Covid, an excuse for poor service and all the countries problems.
Once again most anglers wont worry about this because they only fish holes in the ground.

 

[theartist]

Feargal Sharkey shines like a diamond in a sea of detritus, good on him, he speaks so well too, are other celebs from the world of wildlife and nature so vociferous in their passion for the welfare of rivers? Maybe it's an angler thing, we do care and we have to rise above the blase attitude that it's not going to make a difference or we got our commies so it don't matter, it does and there's no harm showing it.

We can do our bit too, since watching the Rivercide documentary I haven't eaten chicken and now get my eggs from a small charity farm that helps out people with downs syndrome. That's a win win if ever there was one.

I know my efforts are little but it can all snowball if more people are aware of these issues.

 

[no-one in particular]

I don't think it's to do with being Nutters or ruining the economy, more the " voluntary sessation of Angling through a public education program " that you mentioned before.

It is voluntary, not forced, I have been on this forum for 13 years and seen hundreds of threads about pollution, in all that time not much has been done. I think the water companies have just been given more license to pollute, that's how far we have come in all that time. This despite the formation of the AT, Fish legal and many pleas to petition, lobby etc. from celebrities, famous anglers like John Bailey and many more. It doesn't work or we wouldn't still be having these threads about pollution and nor do I think it will work in another 13 years. Unless, "maybe"; if we actually vote for what we want, I cant see it otherwise. It's a big risk certainly what their stance on angling will become but we could fight that because we are going to have to fight that anyway one day probably. As to the economy and the nutters, well, they are not actually going to change much of that, its more of a change of thinking, than a change of direction, and nutters, you could argue could it be worse than now!
I am new to all this myself and not sure of it at all but after 13 years, this is where I am going.

 

[steve2]

In 20 years time if fishing is still allowed and this forum is still running there will still be posts about pollution and the overstocking of carp.
The only thing to change will be the voices saying it.

 

[The bad one]

Sorry Mark you’re off the beam on this one with FS. He has far greater mass appeal than John Who? Bailey! FS is known more for his dogged campaigning on Chalk Streams, the rarest of habitats more or less unique to Britain, than pollution of all rivers per se. Because of who he is (a respected Musician) that appeal cuts across society to people who may only have a cursory interest in the river environments but because its coming from him, they listen, think and possibly take some sort of action.

There are very few Celebs, if that is what he is, can phone a national radio station and get a 5 minute slot, primetime 11 00 am to rip into the Government, EA, Water Arthurites but he can and did.

John who? Could only dream of having that sort of pull with most anglers, let alone the general public.

 

[mikench]

It's reading a thread like this and no doubt hundreds on a similar theme which have gone before , which makes you understand to a degree the action taken by Greenpeace, Extinction Rébellion and others. The reasoned and well thought out approach hasn't worked and is unlikely to. It is often ignored. The EA are a disgrace in truth and their ineffective existence lulls us all into thinking they are in our corner and fighting pollution tooth and nail.

 

[The bad one]

I gave up years ago thinking the EA were in our corner fighting pollution Mike. I've spent more time than I should sat in meeting listening to them make excuses for why they can't do something and/or excusing why Water companies wont be brought to book for this pollution, that pollution. They are very unfit for purpose but what the answer is to making them or another new body fit for purpose I really don't know. The concept of how they should work is the right one. A wholistic approach to land, water air. However, water yet again has become the poor ragged arse relation of the body. Deeply ironic that the giver of all life on earth, Water, is treated so disgracefully.

 

[theartist]

It would be good if Feargal Sharkey was asked by Thomas Turner/Fish and Fly or whoever runs this forum now to do an article which we could forward on and no doubt learn a lot from. I thought John Bailey's one about the Wye was good but was followed up with one about cramp of all things for whilst the Wye one was still running. What's more important?

 

[steve2]

May be when a turd comes out of tap people will sit up and take notice.

 

[no-one in particular]

Sorry Mark you’re off the beam on this one with FS. He has far greater mass appeal than John Who? Bailey! FS is known more for his dogged campaigning on Chalk Streams, the rarest of habitats more or less unique to Britain, than pollution of all rivers per se. Because of who he is (a respected Musician) that appeal cuts across society to people who may only have a cursory interest in the river environments but because its coming from him, they listen, think and possibly take some sort of action.

There are very few Celebs, if that is what he is, can phone a national radio station and get a 5 minute slot, primetime 11 00 am to rip into the Government, EA, Water Arthurites but he can and did.

John who? Could only dream of having that sort of pull with most anglers, let alone the general public.

Granted that, he was a well known musician and more people will sit up and listen to him than say John Bailey who to be honest is probably not greatly known outside angling circles. And I have listened to him before and he speaks well and passionately about the subject. However, I still doubt his impact on the public, no matter how good the celeb, how knowledgeable and passionate, it is going take something more profound, longer lasting that can be sustained over a good period of time to get the public activated. The green party putting aside the fact we are all going to disappear into an abyss, (propaganda put out by the other parties and their press) are in fact the only people who can do that in my limited opinion. They have the size, the funds and scope far more than individuals celeb or otherwise, and any angling organization or groups of anglers.
Its a shame about their stance on angling but they haven't said they intend to ban it however, they could actually activate the cleaning up of our rivers (and sea and everything else) whereas everyone else has failed.
I am prepared to take a punt on them, nothing else left really.
And apart from that they are hell of a lot of fun locally, organizing all sorts of thing, litter picks, nature walks, sea weed counts, I find it a hoot and way in front of the other parties, they are very progressive in the way they operate. Last time I went to a party thing it was a speech given by Jeremy Corbyn with his megaphone!