Wednesday 21 November 2012

In my mail today


Historic Legal Victory

Fish Legal and Angling Trust Logos

Fish Legal has won one of the biggest cases in its 64 year history by securing an injunction to stop a hydropower development on the River Trent at Sawley Weir. We hope that this case will send a clear signal to hydropower developers that they cannot plan or build hydropower turbines without getting permission from anglers first.
The ruling by the Judge shows that the Environment Agency failed to give proper consideration to angling when it granted the developer an impoundment licence which is now subject to a court injunction. We hope that in future the regulator will pay greater attention to the rights of anglers before giving licences to companies seeking to profit from taxpayer subsidies.

What's more, the Canal and River Trust (previously British Waterways) - the new waterways charity established to promote recreational use of our nation's waterways - was an investor in this development, and tried to defend the damaging scheme at court.

Fish Legal was acting for its member club the Pride of Derby & Derbyshire Angling Association, which was involved in the first ever major case taken by Fish Legal (then known as the Anglers' Co-operative Association) against British Celanese Ltd in 1952. The club would never have been able to defend itself in court without the expertise and financial backing of Fish Legal, which has covered all the costs and risks of this very complex and expensive case. This in turn is only possible because of the subscriptions and donations of the generous members of Fish Legal and the Angling Trust. Many thanks for your support, which enables us to fight to protect fish, and fishing. Read more about this story HERE.

Politicians speak out in The Angle
Your membership magazine, The Angle, will be landing on your doormat in the next week. Keep an eye out for exclusive political interviews in the magazine with the new Secretary State for the Environment Owen Paterson as well as the Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon and his opposition counterpart Tom Harris. They express their clear and forthright views about hydropower and also about cormorants, universal canoe access and bass minimum landing sizes, among other issues. Read quotes from their interviews HERE.

IMPORTANT: If you aren't a member of the Angling Trust and Fish Legal, please join today. It only takes a few minutes to join online at www.anglingtrust.net or over the phone and costs less than 50p a week - please call 01568 620447 during office hours.

If you are a member and know someone who hasn't joined the Angling Trust and Fish Legal yet, please forward them this e-mail by clicking here and urge them to join today.

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