Angling Trust and WWF welcome new controls on damaging abstractions from rivers in En

[FishingMagic]

The Angling Trust and WWF have cautiously welcomed Government proposals to regulate previously unlicensed water abstractions under the banner of ‘New Authorisations’ – something that the Angling Trust has pressed for over several years.

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[theartist]

Without wishing to sound like the Crow this seems like a token gesture and one too that is influenced by the effects on great game rivers like the Usk and Wye.

I got my hopes up regarding the draining of rivers elsewhere by water companies which have no Salmon, but that's two reasons I suppose why it's easier to target farmers.

 

[thecrow]

Without wishing to sound like the Crow this seems like a token gesture and one too that is influenced by the effects on great game rivers like the Usk and Wye.

I got my hopes up regarding the draining of rivers elsewhere by water companies which have no Salmon, but that's two reasons I suppose why it's easier to target farmers.

The crow doesn't get taken in by meaningless PR releases that mean nowt and that's why I say what I do.

 

[nottskev]

Looking to the regulators is one thing; another is the performance of the Water Companies. Without wanting to re-run the offshoring etc debate, it is relevant that Privatisation of water in 1989 has led to huge profits for foreign investors and a precious resource offshored through elaborate tax-avoiding structures, with massive dividends and little corporation tax. There is no real market here; you can't go elsewhere if you don’t like what your local water company does or offers. Bills for ordinary households have risen dramatically, supposedly for investment, but the infrastructure remains leaky and wasteful. Public ownership of water could hardly do worse.

 

[no-one in particular]

Couldn't see any mention of an understanding that farmers do have to water their crops sometimes or they lose them. its our food as well, they are trying to feed us albeit for a profit.. So are farmers going to have to pay for these licenses. The AT are already double whamming them for pollution incidences and now want to impose licenses on them as well.
I have always found farmers very concerned about the water that runs through their land and very amenable to anglers in general and open to suggestions that might help them to manage their land so I am not always happy with this approach.
An auditorium set up by the AT or to be part of that includes farmers and farming organizations where these problems were studied, solutions found and with agreement might achieve better results than always just using the big stick.