Mission Statement

The aim of the Campaign is to seek the proper and adequate protection of all Welsh fisheries, be they situated in the seas around our coast, in the rivers and streams that flow into that sea or landlocked lakes and ponds. These fisheries are our inheritance and we are duty bound to see that they are passed on from generation to generation with abundant, healthy and well protected stock.

Aims and objectives:

1. Express the collective views of the angling community after having established those views through active consultation with the wider angling community as practically as is possible. The Campaign is and must remain for anglers, by anglers: free of financial or political obligation or allegiance to any third party.

2. To exert such influence on the political system as is necessary to persuade those in a position so to do, to properly and adequately fund those charged with legal duty of monitoring and protecting our fisheries.

3. Ensure that the value of our fisheries to the economy of the nation and to the well being of recreational anglers is maintained in the thoughts of politicians and such others empowered with responsibility for those fisheries.

4. To make clear to the Welsh Assembly Government and the Local Authority’s of Wales the potentially disastrous effect of this lack of fisheries protection on the rural economy of Wales.

5. To increase awareness of the criminality of the illegal taking of fish by means other than rod and line; the rape of many of our sea fisheries and coastal fish nurseries by unrestricted trawls and by the taking for human consumption of many of our freshwater species not intended for such consumption but for the enjoyment of anglers.

6. To publicise and encourage awareness of what constitutes illegal fishing activity to report the same to the Environment Agency Wales hot line 0800 80 70 60, the police and the campaign organisers to enable them to maintain an independent overview of the apparent illegal effort.

7. To be honest, open, objective and true to the aims of the Campaign in all matters relating thereto.

8. On the successful completion of the campaign, the organisation will cease activity save to continue to monitor the situation

9. On successful completion of the campaign, the organisation and its members may, by common consent and agreement redirect its efforts to such areas as may further benefit angling and or fish stocks generally.

Revision 2: 17th January 2009 – following constructive comments from the angling community.

Your views and comments are always welcomed

THE ORIGINAL ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE PROTECTION OF WELSH FISHERIES

Dated 29th June 2007

This is a formal announcement of the launch of the Campaign for the Protection of Welsh Fisheries, the Mission Statement for which will follow shortly.

As the statement will make clear this is a one issue campaign: to persuade the Environment Agency Wales to employ a meaningful level of fully qualified Water Bailiffs, sufficient to adequately protect fish stocks of the waters of Wales.

Whist the campaign is founded on a single issue, it is not designed to detract from or diminish the many other areas of activity currently supported and pursued by the Environmental Agency and the Welsh Assembly Government. These activities include the opening up of access to new spawning grounds, river cleaning and protection, preventing bank side erosion etc. The list goes on and all these operations are indeed worthy. However they will serve only to improve the aesthetic appearance of fishless rivers if the current unsustainable illegal exploitation of our fish stocks is permitted to continue unabated.

Following the publication of the Mission Statement you are asked to present the Aims and Objectives to your clubs and societies and seek there approval to support, and endorse The Campaign. This request is made to give The Campaign a legitimacy the Environment Agency and the Welsh Assembly Government will have to acknowledge and will counter any claim that we are but a nuisance minority group.

Please add your names to The Campaign by sending an email confirming your support: as an individual, club or organisations representative, so that these can added to any future press releases or communications with The Welsh Assembly Government, The Environment Agency, Local Authority’ s  and so on.

Those of you who disagree with aims and objectives are encouraged to voice your opinions so that we may consider any counter arguments. This is an opportunity the Environment Agency Wales does not seem to offer. If the Environment Agency can not or will not defend the interests of the angling community, which apart from the many social benefits it offers, is worth £1.3 billion to the English and Welsh economy’s (EA figure, not ours), then we must campaign to encourage them and the  powers that be to do so.

We believe this is the first angling campaign to unit representatives of the Sea, Course and Game Angling Communities. All are encouraged to add their support.

Signed by, in alphabetical order:

P.Addecott: Hon Secretary Glamorgan Anglers Club Ltd (Representation of Coarse and Game Angling South East Wales Area)

Adrian Corrigan:: Asst Secretary, Glamorgan Anglers Club Ltd

A. Cuthbert:: Research Officer Federation of Clwyd Angling Club

Brian Dickman: Head Bailiff, Glamorgan Anglers Club Ltd

S. Evans: Welsh Co-ordinator for the Sea Anglers Conservation Network.

W. Griffiths: Honorary Secretary of the Ogmore Angling Association

John Taylor: Chairman, Glamorgan Anglers Club Ltd.