Environment Agency
The Environment Agency has today revealed how the money generated from over 900,000 licence sales has been reinvested into fisheries across the country.
The Annual Fisheries Report sets out how 20,900,000 in income from fishing licences, further boosted by 1,400,000 of government funding, has been reinvested to maintain, improve, and develop fisheries, carrying out surveys of fish stocks, improvements to habitats, and supplying and restocking more than 450,000 coarse fish.
One of the key projects largely funded through fishing licence income is the Environment Agencys National Fisheries Laboratory, based in Cambridgeshire. The laboratory carries out vital work to identify, monitor and limit the current and future threats such as fish diseases and non-native species on fisheries and the environment.
The work undertaken by the lab is pivotal to the ongoing monitoring of the health of fish populations and informs fishery management actions, advice, and regulation. In 2022/23, 562,000 was invested into the laboratory, this allowed for the assessment of 112 fish mortality events relating to potential fish disease, 40 health checks were carried out to enable safe stocking of over half a million fish and over 1,500 queries were responded to in support of national incidents, fishery management advice and guidance.
Throughout the year, the EA has worked with over 1,000 partners including The Angling Trust, The Wild Trout Trust and the Freshwater Biological Association, delivering projects such as the Get Fishing campaign and the Anglers Riverfly Monitoring Initiative, welcoming new anglers to the sport and helping to increase the involvement in citizen science.
Heidi Stone, Environment Agency Fisheries Manager said:
Funding from fishing licence money feeds into every aspect of an anglers experience, improving fish stocks, providing new facilities, and helping to protect our environment. Our fisheries staff also use their expertise to support wider environmental work with specialist advice and guidance.
It is great to see the work that we have been able to carry out with our partners, using the money made to invest directly back into our fisheries and angling services.
Funded directly by fisheries licence income, the Fisheries Improvement Programme (FIP) has funded 198 projects that have helped to improve and protect rivers, construct fish passes and enhance stillwater fisheries. In particular, Nutsey Lake in the Test Valley, was suffering from banksides being in bad condition and low fish stocks. Through FIP, the project has received funds to remove sediment, improve bankside habitats and install a solar aerator to improve water quality and boost fish stocks.
During 2022/23, fisheries licence income also funded:
- 1,200 fish stock surveys
- 39,159 fishing licence checks were carried out by Environment Agency enforcement teams with the support of the Angling Trust Voluntary Bailiff Service (VBS). 1,949 offence reports were issued, and 265 anglers were prosecuted for fishing without a licence
- EA response to 407 incidents involving dead or dying fish, including reports of pollution and fish disease
- Improvements to fish habitats on 347km of rivers in England
- Supply and stocking of almost 455,439 coarse fish including barbel, roach, bream, tench and grayling
- Initiatives to provides facilities to anglers, encourage more people into the sport and make fishing more accessible for all
- More than 50 projects through the Angling Improvement Fund (AIF) managed by the Angling Trust to protect fisheries from predators, such as cormorants and otters
- Improvements to over 52 hectares of still water fisheries
- Monitoring, research, and development work to deliver sustainable fisheries management
Anglers must have a valid fishing licence to fish in England and Wales, they can be purchased online or by phone and received by an email, text or letter.