Closed season fishing on the Broads

It is blatantly obvious that the still water fisheries within the broads area which are being forced to close because of this redundant byelaw with out any consultation is a gross failure of the EA to live up to its remit of promoting fisheries and encouraging the growth of angling. None of us object to the closing of rivers and the broads as this is not the issue we all object however to the way this whole issue has been handled and to the closing of still water fisheries that fall within the broads area. The still waters and commercial fisheries should remain open it is grossly unfair that a Stillwater fishery outside of the broads boundary should be allowed to carry on it while those falling within will have to close resulting in a major loss of income for those affected. This whole issue now being challenged by those clubs affected only goes to highlight the failure of the EA to deal with this issue.

This letter and many like it have been sent to Barbara Young expressing there deep dissatisfaction with the issue. 1000s of anglers in the Anglian region will be affected by this and we have yet to receive a satisfactory answer. As Keith Arthur put in on fisherman’s blues last week, “it looks like a nailed on case for civil disobedience” Earsham Angling club Bungay Cherry Tree AC Marsh Trail Lakes Aldeby pits and many more are all set to challenge this redundant byelaw. Please tell me what is the point in us promoting the EA at a go fishing event and gaining 33 new and keen junior anglers to our club only to have this slapped on us and close down the only Stillwater we have to fish in the close season?

M.Casto Secretary Bungay Cherry Tree AC www.bctac.co.uk

Barbara Young’s

The Chief Executive

Environment Agency,

Rio House,

Waterside Drive, Aztec West,

Almondsbury,

BRISTOL BS32 4UD :

Dear Ms Youngs,

Unfair and Outrageous Closed Season Imposition – Customer dissatisfaction

I am appalled at your unilateral decision without consultation or politeness to impose a close down on our Club Water at Earsham Gravel Pit, Bath Hills, and indeed others that I fish to in the Area which are very clearly nothing to do with the “Broads” tidal water system whatsoever. This is breaking down something we have been doing in disused Gravel Pits for many years now and further depriving some young people of a vital leisure facility in times of rising crime.

My licence fee continues to increases but I regret to say this does not include my Customer satisfaction and I wish this to be included as an Official complaint in the records that you keep. This is on the basis that the Organisation which you head up is not being run in a manner conducive to the criteria under which you are employed to administer its being or with due consideration to your Customer base.

Please supply me with the name of the person who has been responsible for initially instituting this new procedure in order that I may if I so desire, handle my grievance and the repercussions as I see it, in a proper and legally formulated way.

I understand that you are obligated to reply within a time scale laid down for a response and whilst this may well be just one of some 1000 letters on their way to you from concerned anglers, together they represent a considerable portion of unhappy people who are your customers.

Yours sincerely,

If it,s to protect the spawning, then I agree with the closure.<blockquote class=quoteheader>Fishwish wrote (see)</blockquote><blockquote class=quote>

Please supply me with the name of the person who has been responsible for initially instituting this new procedure in order that I may if I so desire, handle my grievance and the repercussions as I see it, in a proper and legally formulated way.

</blockquote>

Also this part,you may find that its protected by the Data Base Protection Act

Teh irony of all this is that many of teh waters in question (bungay earsham etc) are nowhere near the broads. not onlyl that,they are entirely self contained still waters. There are no navigational issues, and no good reason i can see for them being treated in any way differently from stillwaters in other parts of the country. The EA appear to have recognised this in previous years and been content to allow fishing in the closed season. Suddenly some jobsworth has decided to enforce the letter of the law.

Jimmy, by your rationale all stillwaters should obseve the close season. There is an argument to be made that this is right, but what is absurd is for different rules to apply to different areas for no good reason.

I’m afraid you’re missing the point here; this issue is not about the closing of the rivers and broads which we do not object to. Itis about the forced closure of Stillwater fisheries. As you know most coarse fisheries have the right to manage there waters as they see fit and enforce there own closing times such as Barford Lakes in Norwich for instance. It isclearly wrong for Marsh Trail lakes coarse fishery for example to be forced to close and yet Barford can remain open for business. Marsh trail lakes has got nothing to do with the broads or the rivers apart from the fact that it sits inside a yellow line, if it was the other side of the road it could stay open is that fair? The byelaw has to be changed it is clearly unfair and out of date and as I said before contradicts the Environment Agencies remit to support and encourage the growth of fisheries how can you support the growth of fisherys by closing them down for goodness sake!

Our club has got over 12 miles of river and 3 stillwaters2 of which close along with the rivers during the close season we secured 1 to fish and manage during the close season and now we must close it! So where will our juniors go fishing? I will tell you, they will head over to those commercial fisherys that can remain open outside of the yellow line and we will lose our juniors members again.What was the point in us supporting and promoting the EA with our go fishing event for youngsters last yearand gaining 33 new members only to have to inform them that we can not let them go fishing now?They cant afford to pay 7.00 quid for a days fishing and we can no longer take them fishing on our only water so how is this going to help the youngsters, how is this going to make it worth this club investing its time and efforts to gain junior members? how does the EA justify this action without consultation or fair hearing?The last part is for you to send to the EA to show your support and is from our life vice president.

Jimmy, by your rationale all stillwaters should obseve the close season. There is an argument to be made that this is right, but what is absurd is for different rules to apply to different areas for no good reason.

That is my point in a nutshell./forum/smilies/wink_smiley.gif

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<blockquote class=quoteheader><blockquote class=quoteheader>blankety blank wrote (see) <blockquote class=quoteheader>Fishwish wrote (see)</blockquote><blockquote class=quote>

Jimmy, by your rationale all stillwaters should obseve the close season. There is an argument to be made that this is right, but what is absurd is for different rules to apply to different areas for no good reason.</blockquote>
</blockquote><blockquote class=quote>

Jimmy, by your rationale all stillwaters should obseve the close season. There is an argument to be made that this is right, but what is absurd is for different rules to apply to different areas for no good reason.</blockquote>


Yes I do agree that all waters should be closed for the fish spawning, to give the fish and there fry a better chance of life.</blockquote>

Do all stillwater coarse fisheries in Scotland have a close season Jimmy???

Ed I was waiting for this. Coarse fishing NO.

Game fishing YES, and the reason for this is, that they make more money out of game fishing than they do course fishing.

This is an interesting case, Mark (is it? I deduced this from your website).

I don't see how we can help except to sympathise as all stillwaters throughout Britain should be open to coarse fishing if the owners of the fishing and the rights wish to irrespective of where they are in relation to a river or suchlike.

However, please clarify some things if you will -

1. Have you fished any or all of these stillwaters during the close season in recent years?
2. What reason is given for closing stillwaters during the close season that lie inside this boundary you speak of?
3. What is the distance between the nearest river to any of your stillwaters?
4. What sort of a relationship do you have with your regional fisheries team from the EA?

Personally, I'm surprised and apalled by this action if only because it smacks of dictatorial megalomania.

And I did want to ask -

Is any of your sites deemed to be an SSSI?

and

Have you been in contact with NAFAC or anyone?

Hi Woody

In answer to your questions. Yes we have been fishing these water for many years in the past and Aldeby pits for example were told by the EA that it was ok right from the start.

There has been no reason given and no prober consultation other then the bye law is in place.A bye law that was for the best part of these years unnoticed and ignored due to its irrelavance to these still waters that are not connected to the broads tidal network.

The waters as I said are not connected to the tidal system of the Broads.

Our regional fisherys officer and our relationship with him is a good one but the issue is not with one man it is with the EA as a whole and there failure to administer this in a fair manner.

We have spoken to Paul Baggley of the NFA who agrees with us that this is a major contradiction from the EA who on the one hand support us and the next close us down.

Some sites are sssi and will also have to close ours is not.

I was on fishermans blues last week discussing this with Keith Arthur who said we had his full support.

It appears to be in complete contravention of the rules for the rest of the country --

Aren't there some stretches of canalised rivers where the close season doesn't take place ?

The EA are only enforcing the letter of the law, what else do you expect them to do? Natural England and the Broads Authority are more likey the villains here.You have to ask why the EA are suddenly tightening up on it. But anglers never got involved with the consultation for the byelaw in questionwhen they had the chancedid they?

If the Marine Bill goes through Parliament this year and the EA gets new powers to change existing byelaws, then this specific problem can probably be dealt with and hopefully changed to fall in line with the rest of the country. Until then, any angler who fishes a stillwater that falls inside the Broads Authority Area,as defined in the maps on their website, is liable to prosecution by the EA for illegal fishing.

I couldn't agree more that the law is obviously an ass in this situation. Writing to all the parties concerned to complain about the situation could well pay dividends when it comes to attempting to overturn it, which could beinitiated sometime next year if all goes well.

This is it exactly, it is clearly at odds with other still waters outside the boundary line and when these still waters have no connection with the Broads Tidal network or Broads them self’s then how on earth can these enforced closures be justified?Many of us who fish this area are supporters of the close season on the rivers for good reason and do not see this as a problem at all. But to allow commercial fisheries out side of the boundary lines to carry on and close those with in it, is a nonsense and urgently needs to be addressed to prevent these fishery managers losing there income, fishing and members.You can no longer have one rule for one Stillwater fishery and one for another, it isclearrestriction of trade and could result in legal action being take by those clubs affected.

For instance what guarantees do we have that if the boundaries are moved other clubs and still waters could have there waters closed under this byelaw?Lets face it the whole issue of the close season and its inforcment is a mess and needs to be addressed.

I long for the day when angling has one unified voice with the power to make changes.

I couldn't agree more that the law is obviously an ass in this situation. Writing to all the parties concerned to complain about the situation could well pay dividends when it comes to attempting to overturn it, which could beinitiated sometime next year if all goes well.

'There can be no exceptions to this rule and no compensation is payable to fishing clubs or fishery owners for the loss of fishing time,' he added.

Chris Window, Environmental Crime Team Leader for the Environment Agency.

<u>So who is going to be out of pocket here the EA or the fisherys they are supposed to be supporting?</u>

<u>Next year will be too late, income, fishing and members are being lost NOW!</u>

<u>Where are we supposed to take those 33 juniors now we have no waters to fish?</u>

And how can this statement from the Environment Agencys Publication "A better invironment healther fisherys" be justified when they are closing us all down?More chances for more people to fish

and fisheries performing better?????We want to see:

Angling widely available to all (so thats why we are all being closed down?)sectors of society, irrespectiveof gender, race, age andability/disability.We will know we are gettingresults when:• more people from different

backgrounds go angling (well they cant go angling on our waters now)• sales of rod licences increase• there is more good quality anglingon inland and coastalwaters that

people can easily reach (well there would be if we could stay open)• there is more information on

where to fish (apart from the ones we have just forced to close that is!)• there are more young peopleand women fishing.

<u>Well they wont be fishing on our waters now will they!</u>

<u>IF that isnt contradicting yourself then I dont know what is</u>

But anglers never got involved with the consultation for the byelaw in questionwhen they had the chancedid they?

When the Broads Angling Strategy Group was formed just after the Broads Bill came into being members of our club were involved and did indeed bring this issue up but to no avail this is why we would like to see copys of those minutes to varify our findings.

I never cease to be amazed how apathetic anglers are when defending there sport and we have every right to expect the EA and the BA to act on our behalf. This is all we are asking here that we are supported and not pushed into the back ground again and again.I pay my fishing license and as a customer of the EA I want good service as do all our club members.