A year of firsts, for the ACA

2006 has been a record year for the ACA. Its most important achievement as been to recover ?141,238 in damages for its member clubs, fishery and river owners in 18 separate legal cases. We also provided free expert advice on angling law to more than 100 angling clubs. This is the best performance for at least the last 13 years, apart from 1999 when the ACA settled a huge case on the River Eden. The organisation has also expanded its legal and marketing teams this year, but at the same time balanced its books: a huge success after a decade of eating into its reserves.

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We started the year by celebrating the marketing suspension of cypermethrin sheep dip. This was in no small part a result of legal pressure from the ACA. We continue to campaign on this issue, and we will seek damages for past and future damage to our members? fisheries if cypermethrin dips are ever re-licensed. Our lawyers have battled long and hard with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate and have lodged several complaints with the Information Commissioner which are being investigated.



In May, the ACA forced a rainbow trout farmer to pay ?10,000 for allowing fish to escape into a wild brown trout river. A Court Order was also secured to ensure that any future escapes could be promptly dealt with and charged to the farmer (which they duly were). Shortly afterwards, the ACA agreed a ?50,000 settlement with the Environment Agency as compensation for a flood defence weir on the River Eden which had damaged our member?s salmon fishing.



In June, the ACA forced South East Water to pay damages of ?8,500 for pollution of Brick Farm Lake in East Sussex after a burst water main washed sediment and road washings into the lake?s feeder stream and caused a significant fish kill.



In August, the ACA put up a ?1,000 reward for information concerning pollution on the River Ribble from repeated dumping of waste oil. This was quickly matched 6 times over by angling clubs throughout the Ribble catchment, which caught the imagination of the angling press and BBC Radio Lancashire. Various leads are now being followed up, and the polluter has not returned. Our legal team then won ?2,000 damages for the Guisborough Angling Club for sewage pollution caused by Northumbrian Water, killing 6,000 fish. The Environment Agency had been unable to prosecute, but thankfully the ACA was able to take legal action under common law to get some compensation for the club.



Then we won ?2,500 for Whittlesey Angling Club, which hosts the ACA British Pike Championship Final each November, after 2 million litres of raw sewage from Whittlesey Sewage Treatment Works caused a huge plume to kill at least 1,000 fish, most of which were roach and bream.



Still in August, we then won ?15,000 damages for the Potteries Angling Society, for pollution of the River Churnet and the Cauldon Canal with farm slurry which had killed thousands of adult fish and fry, including dace, roach, perch, bream, pike, carp, gudgeon and bullheads.



In September, we won the first fish disease case in the ACA?s 58 year history, scoring ?13,000 in damages for the Towcester and District Angling Association after diseased fish were supplied and stocked into their waters by Framlingham Fisheries.



In November, the ACA launched the Blueprint for Water, (www.blueprintforwater.org.uk) with 9 other environmental organisations, at a parliamentary reception attended by 50 MPs. The launch saw the ACA on BBC Breakfast, the lunchtime news and BBC Radio 4?s Today programme. We are asking anglers to write to their local MP asking them to sign Early Day Motion 306 supporting the plan. 10,000 ACA members will soon receive a copy of the Blueprint.

In December, the ACA won damages of ?5,600 for its member club the York and District Amalgamation of Anglers following the pollution of Pocklington Beck with several tonnes of raw sewage. Yorkshire Water finally agreed to settle the claim following years of intransigence in failing to admit the extent of the fish kill.



We wrote earlier this week to David Miliband, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, demanding immediate action to ease the passage of migratory fish through the Tees Barrage and the construction of a new fish pass, 11 years after the current fish pass was built and after countless studies confirmed what everyone knew all along: that the fish pass is not fit for purpose and is hindering the recovery on the Tees.



In 2007, the work will continue in earnest: we expect proceedings in Court in the first few weeks of 2007 on cases on the Rivers Brue, Usk, Thame, Inver, Glaze and possible judicial review proceedings in at least 2 other matters. We continue to be involved in investigating this summer?s KHV outbreak and will fight to defend the rights of our member clubs who have been affected.



Mark Lloyd, ACA Executive Director said: ?The concerted action we have taken for our member clubs, fishery and river owners this year should send a message loud and clear to polluters that if they damage our members? waters, the ACA will make them pay. We hope that our success in 2006 convinces more individual anglers, fishing clubs and fishery owners to put signing up for membership of the ACA at the top of their list of new year?s resolutions.?



Notes to Editors:



Background to the ACA

? The ACA was founded in 1948 with the purpose of using the law to fight to protect the aquatic environment and fisheries.

? Since that time, the ACA has won in excess of two thousand cases and recovered many millions of pounds in damages, which is returned to the members the ACA represents to plough back into angling and the protection of the aquatic environment.

? Throughout our history, we have lost only three cases at trial. At any one time, we typically have about fifty to sixty cases running and give clubs and anglers legal advice across the entire range of angling matters.

? Clubs or riparian owners wishing to join the ACA should phone 01568 620447 during office hours or download a subscription form from the web site: www.a-c-a.org

? The ACA?s Annual Report is available on request.

? Contact point: Mark Lloyd (Executive Director).
Telephone: 01568 620447
Mobile: 07973 468198,
e-mail: mark@a-c-a.org
James Carter
Marketing Officer
Anglers' Conservation Association
Eastwood House
6, Rainbow Street
Leominster
Herefordshire
HR6 8DQ
01568 620447
www.a-c-a.org

james@a-c-a.org

Fighting for pure waters and protecting the interests of anglers since 1948

And for goodness sake, if you are not a member of the ACA join now!!

Every single member of this website should be a member.

I'm not disagreeing with you Ron but could you explain to us the benefits of individual membership. As detailed in the extract below it appears to be clubs, fishery and river owners that have most to benefit from membership. Many of us are members of clubs thereby contributing.

"Its most important achievement as been to recover ?141,238 in damages for its member clubs, fishery and river owners in 18 separate legal cases. We also provided free expert advice on angling law to more than 100 angling clubs."

I have supported the ACA as an individual since 1962. Today I am a life member.

A large percentage of the funding of the ACA comes from individual membership and without it a great deal of the good work they do would have been impossible.

Matt,

Although most clubs support the ACA (and RADAC does) its one of those things were individuals need to chip in for the common good.

My own feeling is that the ACA is one of the few voices that speaks for angling with any authority and I bet you its the only one that the EA pays attention to!

M

It's not the ACA that takes the polluter to court, it's the victim of the pollution, whether that is the club or the individual. The ACA only helps in gathering evidence, finding the right barristers etc, covering the likely costs from their funds etc.

Any damages recovered go straight to the club, or the individual to go back into the water environment.

So why do clubs benefit and not individuals?

Because most actions are brought by clubs. As yet, individuals don't often relise that they too can take action against a polluter and being a member of the ACA, the ACA will help them and cover their costs in the right circumstances.

What tends to happen is that when someone is involved as an individual, he/she will then pass that involvement onto his/her club and they will take it from there, along with the ACA (if they're a member). Individuals often don't like to get involved personally because of the time it takes up and the personal appearances in court.

However, it is only right for individuals to be members as well as clubs. If as an individual you join the ACA and the club that you're a member of is also a member, you qualify for and association discount. It's only ?12 instead of the full ?20.

LESSON IS - Join and get your club to join also.

How much is it per club to join or does it depend on the size of the club and the ammount of waters they have.

A record year?
there is no mention of the dwindling membership numbers though.
It is very sad to hear that the ACA membership has dropped from just over 13,500 in 2004 to just over 8,500 now. A 5000 membership drop speaks volumes. Allen then Jane spent years building the ACA up, it seems such a shame that the membership has declined to this. Perhaps this should be a wake-up call.

So what would the advantages be to me by leaving the SAA and joining the ACA ??

Why should you leave one to join the other Cakey?
Two different approaches I would have thought.


Peter Knight,weren't you something to do with the old ACA?

Fred,
I was a just a member.