Issue 1 – June 2010
Welcome to the first Thames Anglers’ Conservancy newsletter! We would like to take this opportunity to offer a warm welcome to you all. As you may know, the TAC was founded by James Page and officially inaugurated at Les Webber’s Angling Projects establishment on the 28th of February 2010. Since then we have got off to a good start with all your help and we hope you will continue to support the TAC in the future. The Thames is a wonderful river which we all enjoy, but it is faced with many challenges. With your support we can make a positive difference to the river and protect and improve The Thames for the future.
Why a new Angling Consultative for the Thames?
Many conservation groups work on the River Thames at present, so why the need for a new organisation? The answer is simple: Until the formation of the TAC there were no conservation organisations run by Thames Anglers for Thames Anglers. Between us we have an unparalleled knowledge of fish stocks in the River and the habitats they frequent, something no other group or organisation has. At a time when demands on the natural environment are ever increasing, by putting our knowledge and experiences to good use the voice of Thames Anglers can be heard.
At present, the TAC is in the process of joining the newly formed Angling Trust Thames Regional Forum (ATTRF) as a Consultative. Freshwater Regional Forums, consisting of clubs and organisations such as the TAC, will link anglers with decision makers at regional and national levels.
So what does the TAC wish to achieve?
We have five main objectives:
1. Promote Angling and a greater understanding of the Thames ecosystem
2. Campaign for cleaner Thames waters
3. Engage with the Angling Trust Thames Regional Forum
4. Raise awareness of Thames environmental issues
5. Collaborate with Thames conservation organisations
Over and above every concern there is one central message, which is to ensure that anglers are recognised as genuine stakeholders within the Metropolitan Area of the Thames region. It is our river as well, so let’s make sure that we are still able to fish a river worth fishing for generations to come.
Thames Anglers’ Conservancy, P.O. Box 863, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 9BR e-mail: admin@rivertac.org web: www.rivertac.org forum: www.t-a-c.actionboard.net
What have we done so far?
Since the formation of the TAC we have strived to engage with as many river users and organisations as possible. We have formed relationships with Fishery Officers from the Environment Agency for the Lower Thames region; the Thames Landscape Strategy; the Tidal Thames Conservation Project at the Zoological Society of London; the River Thames Society; Thames21 and the Swan Sanctuary. We have also attended the River Users Group 8 meeting and have met with local boaters, businesses, Councils and more. We have also responded to Government consultations, such as ‘Waterways for Everyone’ and ‘English Hydropower’, which will affect every river user regardless of whether you are aware of the potential impact or not!
We have attended meetings detailing Thames Water’s major new project – the construction of the Thames Tideway Super Sewer – as well as their expansion to all existing sewage treatment works. These enhancements, which are now fully underway, will hopefully make a significant difference to water quality in the Lower and Tideway Thames region. We have also had a guided tour around the Mogden sewage plant in West London to see how it operates, which many TAC members were present at.
The TAC will, however, continue to voice our concerns about the regular discharge of sewage into the Thames and the impact this has on the river.
TAC Website and forum
If you have internet access and have recently visited the TAC website (www.rivertac.org) or forum (www.t-a-c.actionboard.net) you will have noticed a few of the things we have been up to. On the TAC website you will find an ‘Events’ page which details a summary of what we have done so far (also included in this newsletter). On the TAC forum the ‘News and Forthcoming Events’ section provides members with further information as to what we have been participating in during the last few months. If you haven’t done so already please sign up to the forum and get involved. All that we ask is that you use your Real Name when signing up.
On the forum there are many ongoing discussions about the Thames and Thames angling issues which will hopefully be of interest – your input is greatly needed – so get logged on! We now have a Catch Results section on the forum where you can admire some of the wonderful fish caught from the river and even post your own pictures. Our website is currently undergoing a revamp and will go live soon, so please keep an eye on both.
Chairman stands down
The Thames Anglers’ Conservancy regrettably inform the membership that the Founder of the TAC, James Page, has requested to stand down from his position as Chairman within the Conservancy, citing a lack of time as the reason for his decision. As detailed within the constitution, the Secretary of the Conservancy (Richard Crimp) will temporarily assume the Chairman’s duties until an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) can be organised for the membership to elect a new Officer for the position. Please accept this as formal notice for nominations to be received for the vacant position, which will be accepted by the Committee from this date forward until such time that the EGM is announced. Thereafter, prospective nominations for the position of Chairman will officially close 24 hours prior to the EGM taking place. This only leaves us to thank Jim for all his time and effort that ensured the Thames Anglers’ Conservancy became a reality, for without all his hard work the TAC simply would not exist.
Thames Anglers’ Conservancy, P.O. Box 863, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 9BR e-mail: admin@rivertac.org web: www.rivertac.org forum: www.t-a-c.actionboard.net
The Patrons
We would like to offer our sincere thanks to the Patrons of the TAC; we are indebted to you for all your support. They are as follows: Nigel Botherway; Duncan Charman; Terry Hearn; John Hepworth; Ruth Lockwood; Martin Salter; Les Webber MBE & Mike Wilson.
As well as those listed above, our Honorary President, Keith Arthur, has given us much encouragement and it is invaluable to have one of the country’s most respected anglers keeping a watching brief over the direction of the Conservancy.
There are also many others that have assisted with the initial formation of the TAC, and whilst the list would be far too long, you know who you are and we would like to express our sincere thanks for all your help. Thank you!
What is planned for the future?
In the future we plan to hold numerous participation events that all members are very welcome to get involved in. We will be organising Thames matches for TAC members and coaching sessions for local communities and schools. We will also hold collaborative clean-up events with other organisations, such as the Swan Sanctuary, in order to tidy areas of the river where fishing litter is a re-occuring problem. However, all this takes time and planning and your help will be invaluable, so once again please get involved.
As a voluntary organisation the TAC is funded solely by monetary donations from TAC members. Unfortunately the cost of producing a printed newsletter is both prohibitive and environmentally unfriendly. While we aim to send out newsletters bi-annually, in future they will have to be sent electronically by email; they will also be posted on the TAC forum. In each newsletter we will include a brief list of all the confirmed future events for your diary, although regrettably, many events are agreed at fairly short notice. Please try and keep an eye on the forum as this is where all announcements will initially be made.
We are always on the look out for funds to help the TAC and we welcome any fundraising initiatives. If you have any ideas (or spare change for that matter!) then please feel free to get in touch.
Membership Cards
With this newsletter you should find your Thames Anglers’ Conservancy membership card. All initial membership cards are dated June 2010. In due course we would like to be able to tie in with local businesses to provide the membership with a reduction on various products.
We wish you all the best for the 2010/11 season on the Ol’ Father, and we hope that you will continue to support the TAC in the future. We are only as strong as our membership, so please encourage your friends, family and fellow Thames fishers to join us and get involved.
Tight lines!
James Page, Richard Crimp, Cassian Edwards, David Harvey and Chris Daphne Thames Anglers’ Conservancy
Thames Anglers’ Conservancy,
P.O. Box 863, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 9BR e-mail: admin@rivertac.org web: www.rivertac.org forum: www.t-a-c.actionboard.net
Past TAC events:
19th May – TAC committee member attends a Thames Water sewer inspection trip. This was a rare opportunity to see what happens down below! Full details on the forum.
11th May – TAC committee attend the Angling Trust Thames Regional Forum (formerly Thames Fisheries Consultative Council) meeting.
8th May 2010 – TAC Members helped the Canbury and Riverside Association with a litter pick along the banks at Kingston.
25th April 2010 – Upstream cruise with illegally moored boaters near Teddington. The TAC spent the afternoon aboard a launch belonging to one of the boaters, in an effort to understand their perspective on river life.
20th April 2010 – Members of the TAC collected an office chair, a sash window clamp, 50 vodka bottles and copious amounts of timber/laminate from next to Hampton Court Bridge. 20 large black bags were also filled with rubbish. A local company offered the use of their skip for disposal of the large heavy items while Elmbridge Council collected the twenty bin bags.
17th April 2010 – Members of the TAC given a guided tour by Thames Water around the Mogden Sewage Treatment works to see exactly how it operates.
14th April 2010 – Litter pick completed around the Desborough Cut area of the Lower Thames.
10th April 2010 – Members of the TAC committee attend the River Users Group 8 meeting at Hampton Court. Formed in 1983 to co-ordinate river activity between Bell Weir and Teddington, RUG8 acts as a conduit for information between all the authorities working on or by the river between these two locks.
30th March 2010 – Members of the TAC committee met with Fishery Officers from the Environment Agency and the Estates Manager from the Thames Young Mariners to discuss a management plan and future enhancements for the lake, which is an important fish spawning site. The provision of future angling tuition events for young people was also discussed, as were the creation of fishing swims for disabled anglers.
28th March 2010 – Teddington to Kingston Clean-up. Six bin bags full of rubbish as well as a wooden pallet, half a bed base and a windsurf board and other discarded items were collected by several members and picked up by Kingston Council for disposal.
26th March 2010 – The TAC submit a completed “Waterways for Everyone” consultation to DEFRA.
18th March 2010 – A TAC committee member cleans up a large amount of rubbish alongside the towpath between Bell Weir and the M25 road bridge.
17th March 2010 – Teddington Bank side Clean-up. Members collected litter and performed a general tidy up of the undergrowth and shrubbery.
16th March 2010 – The TAC attend the London and South East water recreation project – Enjoying Water – a stakeholder event run by the Environment Agency to discuss best practise for utilisation of available recreational resources throughout the region.
Thames Anglers’ Conservancy, P.O. Box 863, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 9BR e-mail: admin@rivertac.org web: www.rivertac.org forum: www.t-a-c.actionboard.net
13th March 2010 – Radio interview with Richard Aylard, Director of Thames Water, on Keith Arthur’s Fisherman’s Blues radio show. Current enhancements to the many tideway sewage treatment works and the planned construction of the Thames Tideway Tunnel were discussed.
11th March 2010 – A TAC representative attends the inaugural meeting of the Friends of Ham Lands. Ham Lands is a local nature reserve which borders the River Thames.
2nd March 2010 – Thames21 Deep Clean Event. On the lowest tide in five years members of the TAC worked with Thames21 to help clean the foreshore at Fulham and the Isle of Dogs.
1st March 2010 – Teddington Lock Island Clean-up. Several members helped clean up all the litter on the island and prune the many species of blackberries for the forthcoming season.
28th February 2010 – The TAC Inaugural Meeting takes place at Les Webber’s Angling Projects site.
16th February 2010 – The proposed TAC committee attended a meeting with the Thames Fisheries Consultative Council to see how we could work together. The provisional outcome was the TAC taking on the remit of the free-fishing sections of the Thames, from the Staines Stone to the Dartford Crossing.
28th January 2010 – The proposed TAC committee attended a meeting with Thames Water at the Putney Rowers Club where the proposed updates to the tideway sewage works and the Thames Tideway Tunnel were discussed.
TAC Future events:
Sunday 6th June – T.A.C. Clean-Up Event. Meet at Hampton Court Station at 10am. There isn’t an awful lot left to do after the last litter pick here so this will allow us to have a meet and greet and a cup of tea before we start! Wear suitable old clothing and please bring some gloves.
Clean-Up event around Walton, Shepperton and Sunbury in collaboration with The Swan Sanctuary – date to be confirmed.
Proposed Fishing Matches – These events are very much in their infancy, as usual, more news will be posted on the forum.
Litter Pick with friends of Ham Lands – Club members have been invited to join the Friends of Ham Lands in mid-summer litter pick, date to be confirmed.
Thames Anglers’ Conservancy, P.O. Box 863, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 9BR e-mail: admin@rivertac.org web: www.rivertac.org forum: www.t-a-c.actionboard.net
