News from RTFCA
and selected articles from Local and National Press
News & Notices
Report by Ian Blewett
RTFCA Secretary
River conservation was at the top of the agenda for the 40+ members and guests who attended the 2026 AGM on Friday 13 March.
Chairman Andy Gray highlighted the extensive work being undertaken across the River Taw catchment with a collaborative science based approach to tackle the many issues that impact on the health of the river. Agricultural pollution and sewage discharge has been identified as having the most detrimental impact. The Association has been and continues to work closely with the Environment Agency, West Country Rivers Trust and North Devon Biosphere in a catchment partnership. The collection of data is a vital part of forward planning and the association are working with Exeter University and West Country Rivers Trust to help gather this information for science lead solutions.
Guest speakers Daniel Skeats and Karen Saunders gave informative presentations regarding the Shad eDNA project and electro fishing results across the catchment. There were some positive results from the fry surveys in some areas that give a glimmer of hope for the future.
The Taw salmon rod catches were probably better than expected with around 90 fish recorded. Most of these were caught during a brief productive spell at the end of the season with most fish caught lower down the catchment despite good water levels.
It is apparent that anglers observations from the water’s edge are vital in revealing the full picture. Rod catches are an important indicator of fish populations. It is only through anglers that the presence of rare migratory shad have been highlighted in the Taw catchment. Anglers are often the first to spot pollution incidents and those that participate in River-fly Surveys provide vital data to monitor long term river health.
Sam Fenner (Environment Agency Fishery Enforcement Officer) and Harry Chance from the Environment Agency both gave updates on the sterling work they are doing across North Devon in both fishery enforcement and farm visits. Their efforts are to be welcomed and supported whole heartedly by all anglers. The Environment Agency is undoubtedly underfunded and this will only change as public opinion puts the environment higher onto the political agenda.
The Channel 4 program DIRTY BUSINESS a shocking real-life drama of victims, whistle-blowers and England’s water companies has stimulated much discussion regarding water companies and enforcement. These emotive productions are beneficial in stirring public opinion but anger seldom proves productive as the issues are complex. In a world driven by social media and polarised opinions solutions are not often easily found.
In my opinion the work being done in our rivers is vital to help salmon and sea trout survive. But addressing the destruction of salmon at sea via industrial fishing is where action needs to be coordinated to give any realistic hope for the long term future. As to climate change its effects can perhaps be combatted to a limited degree by careful river management with tree planting.
Ian Blewett
RTFCA Secretary
Download
The Agenda for the 2026 AGM
The Minutes from the 2025 AGM
The online auction is now closed
The RTFCA annual fundraiser has been available online throughout March. The auction closed at the Easter weekend.
All funds raised will be spent on in-river projects designed to improve water quality or deliver environmental improvements.
We are very grateful to everyone who has supported this fundraising auction.
The Environment Agency has released new bylaws in England for the following audiences: salmon and sea trout anglers, salmon and sea trout net fishers, salmon and sea trout angling associations, Non-Government Organisations, Government Agencies and Local Authorities.
In partnership with RTFCA and experts from University of Exeter, willing volunteers will be required to take a water sample 1-3 times between end of May and Autumn. These water samples will later be analysed to detect the presence/absence of fish such as shad and salmon. We will host a bank side training workshop to kit out volunteers with sampling bottles and sampling buckets, etc.
Sign up to volunteer!
As part of the project, we require people to sign up to be official WRT volunteers – this is just to ensure volunteers are covered under our insurance. We will be running a training session on Wednesday 28th May.
For further information and register your interest please contact Hannah or Daniel:
A coalition of the concerned are calling on everyone in the country angry at the state of water to join us to demand that our new government takes urgent action to address the UK’s alarming and dangerous water pollution crisis by marching through Central London on Saturday 26th October.
The March for Clean Water, which is timed to mark the end of the first 100 days of the new government, and days before the Chancellor’s first budget (October 30), when environmental campaigners will be watching closely for financial commitments to protect the environment, will involve scores of participating groups and well-known personalities, including river campaigner Feargal Sharkey.
This article makes interesting reading. We at RTFCA had the team from SAMrARCH at our AGM a while ago. This article represents a distillation of progress made so far and illustrates some interesting genetic and geographical links between ST stocks and races. It also reveals that ST travel much further than traditional thinking would have you believe.
A company that polluted nearly 5km of the River Mole, the principal tributary of the River Taw, in Devon has paid £18,000 in damages to local angling clubs and fishery owners following a legal claim.
WildFish has published a new report on Sewage Pollution which explains the problem and what it is doing to prevent it. WildFish continues to challenge water companies and regulators to clean up their act.
Visit the Wild Fish website to read the article and view the report
On 18 November 2021, the Environment Agency (EA) and Ofwat announced separate major investigations into possible unauthorised discharges at thousands of wastewater treatment works.
As well as receiving Laurence Couldrick's recent missive, the BBC have just reported on the fact that the River Taw is now at one of the lowest recorded river levels in the whole country. Serious concerns exist concerning flow regimes, dissolved oxygen levels and concentrated pollution and the possibility of serious incidents and fish kills.
In the event of an RTFCA member, or member of the public, witnessing distressed, dying or dead fish, they should immediately report the fact to the EA Hotline on 0800 80 70 60.
Posted: 20 May 2022
Shad are being caught on the system and are a fully protected endangered species, these fish cannot be targeted by anglers. Do not remove from the water.
Our Good Practice Guide has been updated to include Shad.
Articles & Features
from the National Press
& NFP organisations
Working to realise the ecological benefits of beaver activities while protecting and preserving migratory fish populations.
Our freshwater fish populations play a vital role in maintaining ecosystem health, but they exist in a perilous state with over one third of species facing extinction.
Wild Atlantic salmon, a keystone species, are in crisis, having declined by 70% in the last 25 years. The population in Great Britain is now classified as endangered due to to the latest species reassessment by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, announced at COP28 in December 2023.
Fish face a multitude of existential threats, from polluted waterways, overfishing and habitat destruction, to over-abstraction of water for irrigation and over 23,000 man-made barriers in waterways in Britain blocking migratory passage.
The reintroduction of beavers - a keystone species - has a potentially trans formative impact on these ecosystems. Their engineering can create a diversity of habitats, improved areas for rearing and overwintering, refuge from predation, strong currents, and temperature increases, as well as increased insect production.
However, concern remains on the ability of beaver dams to impede movement of migratory species to and from their spawning grounds at critical times of year. While the impacts are highly dependent on the specific site and species, and will change over time it is perceived to be a further threat to migratory populations.
Potential Interactions between Beavers and Salmonids.
Infographic kindly supplied by the Beaver Trust
Published in The Guardian on 16 May 2022 written by Graeme Green.
More than 200 barriers were taken down last year, helping to restore fish migration routes and boost biodiversity and climate resilience.
At least 239 barriers, including dams and weirs, were removed across 17 countries in Europe in 2021, in a record-breaking year for dam removals across the continent.
Spain led the way, with 108 structures taken out of the country’s rivers. “Our efforts to expand dam removals across Europe are gathering speed,” said Pao Fernández Garrido, project manager for the World Fish Migration Foundation, who helped produce Dam Removal Europe’s annual report.
Read full article...
England’s Environment Agency has downgraded 93% of prosecutions for serious pollution over four years, despite recommendations from front-line staff for the perpetrators to face the highest sanction, a leaked report seen by the Guardian reveals.
Between April 2016 and December 2020, investigators within the agency gathered evidence and prepared case files on 495 serious incidents, involving the worst type of pollution of rivers and coastal waters as well as serious waste crimes, according to the internal document.
Published in the Angling Trust on 27 September 2021.
Years of under investment and a failing sewerage system are having disastrous impacts on our environment.
The Angling Trust and Salmon & Trout Conservation (S&TC) have today delivered a major report – ‘Time to Fix The Broken Water Sector’ – to Government on the management and regulation of the failing water and sewerage sector. It takes the form of a ‘shadow’ strategic policy statement (SPS) to set priorities for the industry and the regulator OFWAT which Ministers are obliged to publish ahead of each five-year investment round.
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