The bad one
Well-known member
I found out today that Manchester City Council is looking to form a partnership with the RSPB to manage Cholton Water Park in south Manchester.
Some background on CWP and angling on it
CWP and its lake in particular is about 10 acres of mature sand and gravel workings its fish population until most recent years was of a really good mixed species quality. And therefore likely to throw up some surprises of big fish to those who worked out its secrets.
Of late, and for several reasons it’s become dominated by big fish.
1. Constant and sustained predation by cormorants over the last 10 years or so of taking out prime breeding stock of roach, perch, small bream and to a lesser extent tench.
2. Lack of an active fishery management plan by Manchester City Council and the Mersey Valley Warden Service. In sort the CP left it to its own devices. But took the money for fishing it, without invest it back into the fish stocks or management of the fisheries asset.
Whilst leaving the stocks to their own device under normal circumstance may have sufficed, but because of 1, the circumstances were far from normal and active intervention was needed.
The lake since its creation into a Country Park circa 1970s has always had angling on it and many generations of Manchester Anglers and beyond have fished it over its being. However, over the last 10 + years I have noticed what I call an “Action of Stealth” going on, which has curtailed angling. The planting of withies narrowing pegs and casting places as they matured. The imposition of what they called wildlife areas and the ubiquitous no fishing in this area. Roping off areas for Health and Safety. All in all a drip, drip, drip erosion on angling on this lake. Now don’t get me wrong here, all life has a place on the waters we fish and when necessary angling may have to make room in certain areas for it to thrive. But what irks me is when I see Actions of Stealth happening, to at, some point in the future stopping angling altogether.
RSPB and it Partnership with MCC
The RSPB doesn’t have a good track record in maintaining Angling and the right to fish on waters it’s involved with. And my sincere fear is that they will put pressure on MCC to stop angling on the lake completely using ever dirty trick in the book and some that aren’t. Some will remember the sale of Burton Mere on the Wirral and their first actions, which was to stop angling on the lakes and have the fish stocks removed. This can’t happen on CWP lake, and we have to lay down the marker so it doesn’t happen. How I’ll come to at the end of this piece.
Now what many don’t realise I suspect, is that Parks are at the bottom of the Local Authorities food chain in these austere time of cut and more cuts. (And take it form me with over 20 years of experience of being involved at community Friends Group level.) So much so, that all Councils are looking at ways of cutting costs in their management and if that means getting into partnerships with NGOs then that’s what they will do. So what is happening in Manchester is more than like to be looked at and implemented by other Councils nationally. Manchester City Council has a boast that “ where Manchester CC leads, other follow!” True or not on its party, and it starts b and ends in x, Your council will be looking at such ways of working of that I have no doubts particularly if it has a lake of high wildlife value.
So how do we put the marker down regarding CWP and the continuance of angling into the long-term? Well politicos are susceptible to pressure from citizens and one of the best ways to build such pressure is to voice you concerns to the right politico. In this case the right person is
Rosa Battle,
Executive Member of the Council for Community and Cultural Services
E-mail cllr.r.battle@manchester.gov.uk
Please keep the e-mail clean from profanities as we will be trying to win her over onto our side.
Some background on CWP and angling on it
CWP and its lake in particular is about 10 acres of mature sand and gravel workings its fish population until most recent years was of a really good mixed species quality. And therefore likely to throw up some surprises of big fish to those who worked out its secrets.
Of late, and for several reasons it’s become dominated by big fish.
1. Constant and sustained predation by cormorants over the last 10 years or so of taking out prime breeding stock of roach, perch, small bream and to a lesser extent tench.
2. Lack of an active fishery management plan by Manchester City Council and the Mersey Valley Warden Service. In sort the CP left it to its own devices. But took the money for fishing it, without invest it back into the fish stocks or management of the fisheries asset.
Whilst leaving the stocks to their own device under normal circumstance may have sufficed, but because of 1, the circumstances were far from normal and active intervention was needed.
The lake since its creation into a Country Park circa 1970s has always had angling on it and many generations of Manchester Anglers and beyond have fished it over its being. However, over the last 10 + years I have noticed what I call an “Action of Stealth” going on, which has curtailed angling. The planting of withies narrowing pegs and casting places as they matured. The imposition of what they called wildlife areas and the ubiquitous no fishing in this area. Roping off areas for Health and Safety. All in all a drip, drip, drip erosion on angling on this lake. Now don’t get me wrong here, all life has a place on the waters we fish and when necessary angling may have to make room in certain areas for it to thrive. But what irks me is when I see Actions of Stealth happening, to at, some point in the future stopping angling altogether.
RSPB and it Partnership with MCC
The RSPB doesn’t have a good track record in maintaining Angling and the right to fish on waters it’s involved with. And my sincere fear is that they will put pressure on MCC to stop angling on the lake completely using ever dirty trick in the book and some that aren’t. Some will remember the sale of Burton Mere on the Wirral and their first actions, which was to stop angling on the lakes and have the fish stocks removed. This can’t happen on CWP lake, and we have to lay down the marker so it doesn’t happen. How I’ll come to at the end of this piece.
Now what many don’t realise I suspect, is that Parks are at the bottom of the Local Authorities food chain in these austere time of cut and more cuts. (And take it form me with over 20 years of experience of being involved at community Friends Group level.) So much so, that all Councils are looking at ways of cutting costs in their management and if that means getting into partnerships with NGOs then that’s what they will do. So what is happening in Manchester is more than like to be looked at and implemented by other Councils nationally. Manchester City Council has a boast that “ where Manchester CC leads, other follow!” True or not on its party, and it starts b and ends in x, Your council will be looking at such ways of working of that I have no doubts particularly if it has a lake of high wildlife value.
So how do we put the marker down regarding CWP and the continuance of angling into the long-term? Well politicos are susceptible to pressure from citizens and one of the best ways to build such pressure is to voice you concerns to the right politico. In this case the right person is
Rosa Battle,
Executive Member of the Council for Community and Cultural Services
E-mail cllr.r.battle@manchester.gov.uk
Please keep the e-mail clean from profanities as we will be trying to win her over onto our side.