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Thames pollution

Nic Costar

Nic Costar

Senior Member
Hi all

I don't actually fish the Thames myself but i know alot of anglers on here do so, i just thought i would ask those anglers that do please support the below ;)

ps this isn't me that has written the post below but it's from another member on a site i post on ;)

This is his post ;)


Hi all,

No don't worry, not going to say that a load of fish have been killed, but they could easily be.

I am a founder member of TAC (THAMES ANGLERS CONSERVANCY)we are a group of like-minded anglers who fish the river Thames and share the concern of the seemingly uncaring, even cavalier attitude shown by the several different agencies, PLC’s and other authorities charged with the duty of maintaining and improving the environment of the river.

Our website goes live tomorrow evening 18/01/2010. If you fish the Thames at all, or walk your dog there, canoe, run or live by the river, you will be aware of the amount of RAW SEWAGE that THAMES WATER releases each year, This equates to approximately the equivalent of filling the O2 arena 15 times over, this is just raw sewage, they also release millinons of liters of treated.

We would like your support, all we ask is that you register, it's free and the only way we will get anything done is by people power. Please come and visit us and help the thames improve.




http://www.t-a-c.webege.com/
 
Nic,

They have my support and i hope they get as many responses as is necessary to make this a success.


Paul Hiom
 
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Very Good Move

The Thames is very high profile with many many fish kills in the past, including the tributaries, to where a good number of the Thames fish travel to spawn.
Pollution incidents and fish kills can also originate from the tributaries and cause serious damage to the main River Thames also, especially in your area.
When I lived in London, I have witnessed a fish kill from a Raw Sewage discharge in hot summer on the River Lea, at its lower end below Tottenham and Hackney Marshes, and it was devastating. Virtually everything was killed in its path and there is also the knock on effect to consider to wildlife, wildfowl and all in the river environment food chain.
By joining The Angling Trust/Fish Legal you have made a good move to try and protect your area and river, and you will no doubt receive support, nationwide publicity and legal advice to help your cause.
Angling Clubs and other groups/bodies in your area should affiliate to TAC especially if they 'own' or 'lease' parts of the river for their activities.
You have my own and others overwhelming support, and good luck in recruitment. I am sure you will go far..... Ray

Hackney Marshes Raw Sewage pollution back in the 90's.
Pockets of dead fish like this were scattered everywhere for miles downstream. No Barbel here, as the original water quality was designated a Class 2B-3 at the time and would not support them.
ODEKN-fishkilled.jpg
 
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Jason Bean said:
Will T A C be concerned with the tributaries as well ?
Click to expand...

Jason, I passed on your your question to the TAC and got this reply from Jim, who started it all.


Neil, tributaries are an interesting conundrum, we would like to be involved, but as we're only just of the ground we will review our remit in six months, however it is our intention to support both groups and individuals on any watercourse in the country, maybe another river group would like facilities within our website ?

WE'RE NOW OPEN, SO PLEASE SIGN UP AND HELP US HELP YOU

A MAHOOSIVE THANKYOU TO YOU ALL, FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND ESPECIALLY CEMEX ANGLING, WITHOUT WHOM THIS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE

2010 the year of TAC

TO REGISTER www.t-a-c.webege.com
 
Neil, They have my support also, I have just registered. I do occasionally fish the Thames but I would also like to support the request to include the tributaries of the Thames as soon as possible, if possible.
 
I hope that in time, the TAC can cover the Thames tributaries but it should be remembered that it was initially conceived as a means of combattting the dumping of huge amounts of human excrement in the lower Thames whenever London's ancient sewerage system cannot cope.

Remember that below Staines all Thames fishing is free public access so there is no Club that can claim for loss of ammenities and as far as I am aware this may mean that the Angling Trust cannot act as it can only bring court actions on behalf of a registered angling club (This may NOT be the case, so please don't quote me).

The good news is that other non-angling organisations seem to be coming on board as a unified front is clearly the best way forward.

The bad news is that we are battling against one of Britain's largest companies, Thames Water, and the fact that most people would rather have the excrement kill fish than flood back up their drains.
 
Hi everyone,

Covering the tributaries is an idea which obviously needs to be addressed when the TAC has its inaugral club meeting. Les Webber has offered his facilities at Wraysbury for the first meeting although the date is yet to be decided. The point that you make, Neil, about whether or not the AT can act on our behalf with respect to a large part of the river being free fishing also needs to be confirmed. I know Jim has been looking into this.

A unified front is certainly the way forward, especially if we form links with all the other Thames stakeholders. Now that the web site is up and the forum running we at least have an internet presence although the site does still need much work done to it.

Unfortunately the sewage problem is something that the river has had to contend with for far too long. But it is not all bad news. This year sees the start of the 3 year £150m project to upgrade the capacity of the Mogden Sewage works so that it can treat 50% more sewage than it does at present. Alas Mogden treats what I flush down my loo, and so I am in the camp of people who would rather it went in to the river than didn't venture past the U bend. Both scenarios are obviously horrible to consider, but at least the outfall of sewage at Isleworth will hopefully soon be a thing of the past. What we can do is be fully briefed in the project (TW have offered to show us how Modgen operates) and make sure that the timing for the project is completed as soon as possible and does not overrun the planned 2013 completion date.

I know the link has already been posted above, but if you are interested in joining the Thames Anglers Conservancy please go to:
http://www.t-a-c.webege.com/

And if you want to see the forum and be involved in it please visit:
http://t-a-c.actionboard.net/forum.htm

You will need to register on the web site to join the TAC using your Real Name before registering to join at the forum.

Cass

p.s. BFW mods - thank you in advance for allowing me to post the forum page! ;)
 
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