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Why bother buying a EA rod licence?

Speak to any fisheries officer of the EA and they are dead against Hydro schemes on our rivers.

They are legally gagged against making any negative comments about any hydro project.

During the closed season I was on the phone to the EA about poachers and there response was very admirable with affective action and return phone calls to keep me informed from the EA and local officers.

The EA are there for the greater good of the environment and not to keep the rivers stocked with an un-natural amount of fish for our sport

I do think canoeists should pay a licence to use the river
 
If a rod licence entitles me to fish legally then possessing one is a no brainer.

The cost for all of us to remain within the law is the same but real value to us as anglers depends how often you fish - I reckon in value for money terms it costs me less than a bag of crisps for every day I fish during the season. Do the EA use that money wisely? - given the many views that is obviously debatable - do I want the alternative, the "Trust" so eloquently portrayed by Paul - no thank you.

If my licence fee makes even a tiny bit of difference and likewise with the angling bodies I belong to then yes its worth it.
 
It's just another Tax on the ordinary working man..Same as the tax on beer, fags, petrol. etc,etc And the powers that be know that the majority being law abiding citizens will keep on coughing up the cash year, after year, after year.Simple!!!
 
Craig Wood said:
Anglers need to re-think as to why they should pay for a rod licence and more importantly does the revenue raised actually benefit angling?..In one way i think that by paying rod licence fees ive actually contributed to many rivers downfall when the clever people at the EA used rod licence money to reintroduce the otter.
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I've has a look at the EA's accounts for 2009-2010. The EA's income from Fisheries is 27.1m of which 25.8m is from licences. Their spending on Fisheries is 38.6m. The shortfall is funded by central government as Grant-in-Aid.

The introduction of the Otter would be Conservation expenditure not Fisheries expenditure. So the licence fee didn't fund the otters.

In addition to direct spending on fisheries, angler's also benefit from EA spending outside their Fisheries remit and not funded by licences.. For example, cracking down on illegal pulluters (see quote below) and improving water quality are not funded by fishing licence — but are of great benefit to those who fish the rivers. I note that last year the EA installed 50 eel passes: given the disturbing decline of poor old Anguilla Anguilla, I'd have hoped all anglers would applaud anything that improves their chances, but I think the funding came from Conservation not Fisheries.

Quote:
"In 2005, we established a target to reduce ‘big, bad and nasty’ illegal waste dumping incidents and have seen a steady decrease in these incidents since then. During 2009-2010, the number of ‘nasty’ incidents where drums of hazardous waste have been dumped continued to fall. However, this year there has been an increase in the number of ‘big’ incidents where more than a tipper load of waste has been dumped.
We stopped illegal waste operations at 955 sites in 2009-2010. We also reduced the number of higher-risk waste sites during the course of the year, from 227 to 166. We are making greater use of injunctions to tackle illegal waste sites. In 2009-2010, we issued three injunctions against the operators of illegal waste sites in Thames and North West Regions.
We continue to act decisively against those who damage the environment. In 2009-2010, we prosecuted in 33 out of the 34 cases relating to the most serious (category one) pollution incidents. In one case, the incident was an accidental spillage so prosecution was not in the public interest. In December 2009, we served the first 'liability notice' under the Environmental Damage Regulations 2009, on a water company following a discharge of sewage effluent which caused the death of over 6,000 fish."
 
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Andy,
At last someone with a fact or two rather than empty moans.
The EA may not be perfect, far from it, but its all we have. All licence money is ringfenced for fisheries, always has been.

Oh by the way, All fishery surveys are public register documents so any undertaken on the Thames are not secret.

Lots or rubbish spouted on this thread methinks.
 
Really helpful Andy. Thanks for that mate. Good to see some hard facts and figures rather than simply conjecture.
 
Very informative andy..but their is a but!!...Of course the EA do their best to tackle waste/polluters etc but thats more to do with pollution getting into the water supply rather than the fishes well being but of course they both go hand in hand..When the idea was being devoloped regarding otter reintroduction the main two partys involved were the EA and Natural england..The EA were asked to do a fish stock survey on many rivers which had been earmarked by natural england,the otter trust etc..The cost for such a survey very much came from licence money raised from anglers..The conservation funds which have been mentioned were used for rearing the otters along with contrubutions from natural england,the otter trust and various otter charities..The EA gave the thumbs up to start reintroduction and ,well the rest is history now on many rivers so enough said..As for eel passes being made ive no dought at all the EA think they are doing good BUT they also still allocate eel trapping licences to various eel trappers so that dont make sense to me..Many rivers down here in the south have weed cutting bans imposed on them(hamps avon,stour) the EA claim it will encourage fish stocks??..The real truth is that masses of water is being pumped out of the river by the water authorities and farmers and if the weed was cut the river would simply drop by several feet at least..The EA CANT DO A THING ABOUT IT and would rather make excuses than actually tell the truth..This situation is causing pollution levels to increase and the EA ignore this and still state that our rivers have never been cleaner...WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH...So again i ask how on earth does giving them millions in licence money improve angling?:mad:
 
We identify and protect otter habitats.

We improve water quality.

We improve fisheries.

We have introduced byelaws so that eel nets are fitted with otter guards and crayfish traps are narrowed to prevent accidental drowning of otters.

We help prevent otters being killed on roads by digging tunnels at roadkill blackspots and installing fencing to guide otters to safe passage points.

We are the lead partner for otters with UK Wildlife Trusts.

We fund Water for Wildlife projects which safeguard otter habitats.

We chair the National Otter Steering Group which oversees the implementation for the Species Action Plan for otters.

This is a statement from the EA official website if your still in any dought that funds raised from anglers licences dont fund otters..
 
Draft for a new word to be listed in the next edition of the Oxford English Dictionary:

otterphobia: a blind or totally blinkered fear and loathing of otters (Lutra lutra) and every thing, organization, living non-scaled creature and person that has had contact with an otter (includes photographic images) or so much as used the word "otter" (in any situation, at any time, ever). Virulent condition, untreatable.
 
Craig, all that says is that the EA fund otters. We know that, we are not disputing that. They have a budget of £1.2 billion, they fund all kinds of projects, including otters, pollution, flood defences, etc. But I don't see anything in those quotes to suggest that funding for otters is coming from the £25m from licences. The licence fees are only 2% of their annual income. Of course improvements to fisheries may indirectly benefit otters, anything that is good for fishing is good for otters, but that is not the same thing as using licences to fund otters.
 
Craig, I can see where you are coming from. It is not as black & white as it seems - probably best write a letter with your concerns to the EA HQ at Bristol. They have a statutory duty to reply. If you are not happy with the response, there are further avenues you can take in due course.

For info - flood defence chews up the lions share of the EAs budget. It has always been a contentious issue to make another governmental body undertaking solely flood defence that would completely independent of the EA.
 
If you want something from the EA, you must be prepared to pressure them into action. Moaning on here achieves nothing!
 
Now, if I could be a'ed, I'd be writing to and talking to people at the EA, not about here today - gone tomorrow otters, but about these - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00tf1jv#synopsis - and what will happen when the critters move inexorably south (or are introduced - Wales has plans) and begin felling 6-inch trees and shifting several tons of spoil to build a lodge...
 
Dont forget water voles Craig, they eat our reeds, EA did loads for them.

Its donkeys years since any new eel nets were licensed. Those that still have one would need compensating if it were taken away.

Some moan due to too much weed cutting for flood defence reasons, some moan for not enough.
 
Im at the conclusion that everyones got a good valid point...Its heartbreaking to see a once glorious river slowly diminish and im starting to believe that on certain rivers in as little as 10 years time hardly anyone will bother to fish these once glorious venues due to a magnatude of problems...But im at the opinion the EA are absulutely powerless or toothless to do anything..I only say this because of the stupidity of letting a few ill-informed groups completely ruin some rivers by reintroducing otters and lets be honest the EA actually helped them do it..Mr boote is indeed quite right about their plans to reintroduce beavers to our rivers which i also agree with him that it will finish some rivers off..I no longer have any faith at all with the EA and dont buy in to their propaganda that they improve fisheries for anglers..Ive never not brought a rod licence since i began fishing but im no longer prepared to fund their stupidity..As for eel trapping i can assure you it goes on every year just above the parlour pool at the royalty on hamps avon with the EA blessing...Unfortunately most anglers will wake up when its all too late and our rivers are finished..Perhaps most think im talking rubbish which is their respected opinion of which i will respect..:cool:
 
Craig Wood said:
Im at the conclusion that everyones got a good valid point...Its heartbreaking to see a once glorious river slowly diminish and im starting to believe that on certain rivers in as little as 10 years time hardly anyone will bother to fish these once glorious venues due to a magnatude of problems...But im at the opinion the EA are absulutely powerless or toothless to do anything..I only say this because of the stupidity of letting a few ill-informed groups completely ruin some rivers by reintroducing otters and lets be honest the EA actually helped them do it..Mr boote is indeed quite right about their plans to reintroduce beavers to our rivers which i also agree with him that it will finish some rivers off..I no longer have any faith at all with the EA and dont buy in to their propaganda that they improve fisheries for anglers..Ive never not brought a rod licence since i began fishing but im no longer prepared to fund their stupidity..As for eel trapping i can assure you it goes on every year just above the parlour pool at the royalty on hamps avon with the EA blessing...Unfortunately most anglers will wake up when its all too late and our rivers are finished..Perhaps most think im talking rubbish which is their respected opinion of which i will respect..:cool:
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Trust me Craig, if you were to fish Oxfordshire's rivers the scene you describe has already come about.
Cherwell, Thames and lower Windrush for varying reasons are all shadows of their former selves but what alternative to the EA is there??

DEFRA hand over fishery responsibilities to Natural England, yeah that'll be a real popular move won't it???:rolleyes:

I must admit its a bitter pill to swallow, the agency that is in place to promote environmental improvement also regulates legalised pollution and over abstraction.:eek::(
 
Coarse fishing Licence in Australia.

Hi All.

After moving to Sydney some 8 years ago now , I have joined a Coarse fishing club here.We all buy a Licence , its about $30 for the year or $80 for years I have not once been asked for it. The coarse fishing in no where near as diverse here, Carp being our main target , some roach and Tench down in Melbourne.I come home to the UK roughly every two years for 5 weeks and still have to pay for a licence.

The fishing available to me when I come home is so vast I cant fit it all in ! But would not be comfortable in any swim if I did not have the Licence in my pocket.

The point I am making is you don't know how lucky you are until its gone and you can step back and see that the price we pay to fish where we like is very small.
 
Just to add to Craig's and others input, read this link first. There are many others also.
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/news/57865.aspx?month=4&year=2008

Quite interestingly, I have been told that the EA cannot refuse to issue a license to an Eel Trapper at this moment in time! Secondly, I was told a while ago that the EA (at their offices) are barred/locked out of BFW, so they cannot view this forum at work.
It also appears that the Hampshire Avon Royalty Fishery Fyke Net Eel Trapper is now ‘exempt’ from any EA eel protection byelaws which they have put in place, as they have recruited him into their Scientific Research/Study programme to where he provides the EA eel heads for ageing, etc.
There are no restrictions on how many of the protected and crucial remaining eels in the river he can trap and sell on commercially. This includes Silver and Yellow eels and also small young eels under 30cm, which may include elvers, and is only required to supply a minority of heads to the EA.
He has stated in a 2010 newspaper article that he used to catch 1.75 tonnes of eels a year but his catches have halved in recent years. He has also been given permission by the EA to fish on after September (new close season) when other riparian owners (who rack fish for eels) upstream on the river have been barred by the EA from doing so.
From what I have seen and witnessed, nothing trapped in the Fyke nets is measured or goes back alive. Everything is taken away in barrels. I have seen the eels stored in the river underwater in these barrels for up to 1-2 weeks when the Fyke Net catches are low and obviously not viable enough to take to market or restaurant etc.
The EA are also ‘paying a fee’ to the Eel trapper to trap and kill the eels and to forward the Eel heads.
The cost of an Eel Trapping Fyke Net License is £13 for 10 or £26 for 11-20 nets and onwards. There are no EA restrictions on how many nets he can obtain and there are no restrictions on what rivers they can be set in the EA SW region or quantity off eels trapped and killed and sold on for profit and gain!
Your rod license fee is £27, and if you kill or take away an eel today, you will be liable to prosecution by the EA if caught!
As mentioned before, EA Eel passes have been placed into the Royalty Gt. Weir with cameras to help the recovery programme and monitor their migrations. The Eel trapper has been licensed by the EA and with permission from the BWHWC to set his nets directly above the Eel pass for the next 300 yards to the Royalty Fishery upstream boundary. Each net is some 30-50 yards long and are situated in close proximity to others placed, which blocks the eels passage upstream and downstream on their migration to and from the Hampshire Avon.
Each female eel has the potential to produce 2-10million eggs/offspring ‘if’ they are allowed to return to the Sargasso Sea to where they breed and then die after laying the eggs.
The ‘otters’ preferred food source is the eel to which has been depleted by commercial trapping at sea and in rivers and other factors such as poaching, and otters are now turning to other food sources to survive, such as large barbel, carp, pike, perch, salmon and trout, plus mallard, coots, moorhens, grebes, swans, and other protected waders and wildfowl, together with their young and eggs.
The EA have known about the UK and worldwide Eel population decline for many years but only now have they been forced to take note. The recent research is yet again far too late and the remaining CITES endangered eels are being sacrificed to rectify/cover up the EA incompetence.
This year, although the Commercial Eel Trapper who sets the Fyke nets is legally licensed to do so by the EA, I have had to report him to the EA for failing to keep to the new bylaws (checking the nets every 30 hours and also placing them to close to the weir/eel pass.)
I have also had to report the setting of fyke nets by the same EA licensed Eel Trapper on others property without authorisation/permission from the relevant riparian owners and he was made to remove them. I also reported 'Out of Season' and 'unlicensed' Fyke nets back in March 2010 and these were found to have ID tags on them. The removal of the illegal nets was filmed and photographed and witnessed and by the BWHWC officials (who own the Royalty Fishery), the EA and myself and the nets contained dead barbel, roach and gudgeon.
Although I was told by the EA that I may have to make a statement if they took further action in the courts, I never was asked to so! After more questioning at a later date, I was told that the eel trapper was given a 'formal warning'. He has since been re-licensed to carry on
though December 2010 and has basically been given ‘carte blanche’ in killing the eels.
I have been told by the EA that they have a PHD student who is doing the research.
C1-OutofSeasonFykeNetsRemoval29thMarch2010.jpg

'Out of Season' Fyke nets being dragged out of the Hampshire Avon Royalty Fishery in March 2010
Fyke-1.jpg

EA Legal Fyke Netters in action on the Royalty Fishery depleting the remaining eel stocks further for commercial gain..
 
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This is utterly bisarre. I try desperately to rid my mind of evil thoughts about the EA, hoping against hope that the good they do outweighs the bad. Posts like that of Andy Millichamp have me sighing with deep relief, seeming to point to the fact that they are the good guys as I hoped. And then this from Ray :(

What the hell are we to believe? I know there is no alternative to the EA at this time, but they will have to do some pretty smart explaining before I can have any faith in them after this, should this turn out to be true. This HAS to be investigated, and the bucket of whitewash securely locked away :mad:

The cynical disregard for the desperate state of the European eel and its chances of survival is utterly depressing. I hope the individuals responsible for this are bought to book personally.

Gutted, Dave.
 
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