Environment Agency report shows how £21 million of rod licence money helps angling
The 2nd annual fisheries report outlines how rod licence funds are spent.
An Environment Agency team carry out a fish survey
The Environment Agency has today released the annual fisheries report detailing how the £21 million in rod licence income was distributed by the agency and its partners to protect and enhance angling and fisheries between April 2015 and March 2016.
In 2015/16, the Environment Agency used rod licence money to restock England’s rivers with 452,220 coarse fish, such as chub and barbel, from its fish farm at Calverton, Nottinghamshire, and opened up 405 kilometres of river for fish with 57 fish passes at locks and weirs.
With partners including the Angling Trust, the Agency encouraged angling participation with over 35,000 people trying angling for the first time at events throughout the country.
Rod licence money was also spent cracking down on fisheries crime, in 2015 the Environment Agency’s patrols checked 62,076 rod licences and brought 2,043 successful prosecutions for fisheries crime, like poaching.
Sarah Chare, Head of Fisheries at the Environment Agency, said:
Our second annual report shows how £21 million of rod licence money benefits angling, from improving access to fisheries for anglers with disabilities, to rescuing fish in distress and enforcing the law against the criminals who harm fisheries.
The report is a record of how we’ve spent rod licence and other money, but it’s also important to recognise the benefits of angling go way beyond the activities described here. Angling is good for your family’s health and the sport contributes £1 billion to the national economy.
Read the report here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environment-agency-annual-fisheries-report