Soapbox
On July 4, the country decides. But decides what? asks Angling Trust chief Jamie Cook
THAT “WHAT” COVERS MANY things: the economy, health, defence and security, education. Past elections haven’t included the environment, and never the state of our rivers and waters. This election seems to be different. All the main political parties have made comments about cleaning up our rivers.
They had to. Thanks to the work of the Angling Trust's Anglers Against Pollution Campaign, and the remarkable army of nearly 800 anglers regularly checking water quality in more than 200 rivers, alongside many other environmental groups, pollution and what to do about it has become a political hot potato. Fish Legal’s recent successful Costa Beck case has shown that anglers are not to be ignored.
Add to that the IUCN listed Atlantic salmon as endangered in the UK at the end of 2023, and across Europe we have seen a 75% reduction in migratory fish populations since 1970. It is not hyperbole to say, our fish are in crisis. So, what to do?
The big challenge the next government must address, whoever wins, is the broken water system, how it is governed, regulated, and managed. We need a complete rethink. We need regulators who are fit for purpose and not starved of resources. We need them on our side, and not on the side of business and vested interests. Their job is to hold these guys to account. Our rivers and seas are not dumping grounds for the waste products of business. Too often they have failed in that fundamental duty.
The issue of sewage dumping has rightfully drawn a lot of attention. But that is only part of the problem. We must ensure agriculture, the biggest source of pollution in our rivers, is incentivised to look after our rivers, and penalised when they don’t. Farmers get a lot of our taxpayers’ money. We know they, and we, want to use it to do good. The next government must ensure they do.
We need to keep water in our rivers, and not suck it out for the public supply. With climate change having a devastating impact, we must build resilience. That means more water storage; yes, more reservoirs. It also means improvements to our habitats to shade rivers; allow them to function naturally, reconnect them to floodplains, remove barriers. The fish we love, salmon, trout and grayling, need access to cold, clea
