Agency makes £500,000 rod cash splash

The Environment Agency (EA) claims to have fulfilled its pledge to plough half a million pounds of extra rod licence cash into coarse and trout fisheries.

The money, generated by the 2002 season’s increased licence sales, was invested in 47 projects across England and Wales the EA has announced.

Dr Dave Clarke, the Agency’s head of fisheries, said: "We promised anglers this extra money would be put to good use and we’ve kept that promise. The Agency has been able to create many more angling opportunities, some in places where there were none before. We’ve also provided disabled anglers with improved access to fishing for the first time on many waters and have enhanced fish stocks through increased spawning habitat and general habitat improvement across a variety of venues."

He added: "Licence income has also helped us restore several neglected fisheries to their former glory."

Projects to have benefited from the EA cash include: the restoration of Dixon Gurney Lakes in Lymington, Hampshires; improvement of angler access to the lower Dee, North Wales; and the stocking of five urban fisheries in the North East of England as part of an overall promotion of angling opportunities.

Income from sales of coarse and non-migratory trout licences last season (2002/2003) was up by 7 per cent on the previous year. If the trend continues over the coming years, the EA reckons that the increased revenue will fund 'hundreds' of similar projects.

Dr Clarke declared: "There is no better demonstration of how vital rod licence fees are to the future of both the sport and the environment. None of this would have been possible without the impressive support of anglers."

The project results coincide with the start of the new season on rivers and a concerted EA advertising campaign that both encourages new anglers to take up the sport but warns any licence dodgers that it's out to get them.