Sounds good but

It was announced yesterday that the River Wensum has been designated a World Conservation Site which means that it's enviroment and well being will be protected. Now that sounds good but I'm worried that restrictions will be placed on the fishing. For example will we now be barred from cutting back nettles and such like (always necessary especially on the first day of the season) thus hindering our access to the water or, because the purpose is to protect not only the river itself but it's wildlife, will fishing actually be banned.
I'm trying to contact the secretaries of some of the clubs that have stretches where I fish to see if they have any idea of what the situation is likely to be but at this point I suspect that they probably know no more than I do.

Frank It shouldn?t!
Studies have shown where anglers have made swims in such place it encourages and allows herbage diversity during the period when anglers are not on the bank E.g., during the spring and close season. This period is the most critical period for insects, insect larvae (butterflies and moths), which either feed on that herbage or lay eggs in it.
Without herbage diversity many species can and are lost because of ranking (one plant species becomes the dominant one). The life cycle of many insects are solely reliant on one or two certain plants and/or native herbs, and in the main that isn?t the ones that cause ranks.

One further but related point I?d make on herbage growth and ranking up is this - The EA and EN are encouraging farmer to fence off the Riparian zone on rivers, thereby stopping stock from grazing it to foster plant growth and species diversity. Fine in principle! However, to exclude them permanently will cause ranking and scrub growth. What they failed to add to their encouragement of this practice was to inform the farmers that to sustain the species diversity it needs managing and the best manager and cheapest are domestic livestock.

Numbskulls!

Stock needs to be let in to graze it ever third year to maintain that diversity they so desire to be there.

I agree with the first part of your post Phil and was fully aware of the benefits of cutting back ranking bankside vegetation to encourage a more diverse enviroment but it's the attitude of the EA and EN as you rightly point out that worries me because I can see them now that directive to anglers.
If they do then it will be impossible for me to fish most of my favourite swims as on some of these the distance from the path to the water's edge can be as much as 15 yards and at the start of the season it is a solid mass of nettles. The controlling clubs usually cut a few access paths to the more popular spots but for anglers like myself who like to roam and stalk fish it mean we hve to clear our own paths.
The most worrying thing though is will the EA and EN eventually decide that angling should be banned to protect the wildlife which of course includes fish.

Frank I don't think the EA would be the problem here. The problems will come from EN and the dipsticks the employ as ecologists. Bluntly put, ?they?re crap!?

Boy do I love taking them on, they're easy meat!

Never lost a battle against them yet where the retention of angling on a water is concerned, and I've had a few over the years.

What I can say with some certainty is, if they ever attempted to ban angling on a river anywhere in the country for ?wildlife protection per se? they have to take on the SAA and the substantial expertise it can call on.

Frank I can assure you there is no scientific evidence whatsoever to suggest that angling on rivers is anything but benign to that environment. I, as part of my remit as Conservation Officer SAA troll through many scientific journals looking for that evidence and it really is there.
Therefore any suggest on their part would be quite untenable to say the least.
The only argument they could put forward in support of that would relate to stillwaters, left litter and angling litter, line etc. On rivers that is far less of problem, other than in the popular town spots.

I also have no doubts in my mind that NACA are watching this like hawks, and the first suggestions of any ban, and they?ll be on it like a ton of bricks.

Frank just to illustrate to you how crap they are, on the Cheshire meres (SSSI) they cite benthic feeding fish, and bream in particular as being a problem to those SSSI meres. What they failed to realise because they are crap, is bream are truly indigenous to those meres and have been since fish colonised them 10,000 years ago.

That just about confirms what I've heard in the past about English Nature. I seem to remember some celebrity naturalist or MP saying something like "It would be of great advantage if those running English Nature were to know something about English nature."
I'll be keeping a close watch on what happens with the Wensum and just hope that my fears are unfounded but knowing how the anti's seem to have the ear of conservation and wildlife protection groups such as the RSPB I'm sure us anglers will come under some pressure.
I'm still waiting to hear from the club secretaries and will advise further after I've done so.