The waters we fish are in crisis. Pollution is the main cause with every water body in England assessed against the Water Framework standard failing. And things are becoming worse, not better.
Anglers are passionate about the places they fish and have long been working on the preservation and restoration of freshwater habitats. Whether it’s club work parties, volunteering on River’s Trust projects, undertaking riverfly monitoring, litter picks or bailiffing, anglers are a potent force for good and often unsung heroes. The Water Quality Monitoring Network (WQMN) aims to harness the power of angling clubs and anglers to understand the quality of water across England and Wales and to establish a solid foundation of data. This solid foundation of data will be used to better understand the factors affecting water quality, aid in the development of effective solutions to improve water quality, and will provide the Angling Trust with evidence to support its campaigning. The Angling Trust will hold the government to account, ensuring it lives up to its rhetoric on improving our environment and meeting its own legal responsibilities.
Last year Orvis raised over £10,000 for the Anglers Against Pollution Campaign and that money has been used to support the development of the WQMN pilot on the Severn catchment and to help fund monitoring kits for angling clubs that need assistance. Orvis’s continuing support will now enable the national roll out of the WQMN later this summer.
Joining the Water Quality Monitoring Network (WQMN)
The WQMN is being launched initially in the Severn catchment and the WQMN is planned to roll out nationally later this year.
If you are an angling club in the Severn catchment and want to join the pilot or if you are interested in joining the WQMN when it is rolled out nationally, please contact kristian.kent@anglingtrust.net
Supported by Orvis UK, The Grayling Society, Flambeau, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.