U-turn made as Trust joins calls for otter action

THE Angling Trust has finally made its stance on otters clear by joining many of the anglers it represents in demanding a sensible approach to controlling numbers of the fish killing predator.

Trust Chairman, Mike Heylin, has written to the Environment Agency, Natural England and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to tell them just how serious a problem otter predation of fish stocks currently is and that regulations must be introduced to allow proper management of the species.

He told the Angling Times this week that the environment needs strict management not “loose regulation and poor legislation backed up by woolly-headed thinking,” and that Government regulations must make provision for the control of otters.

The Angling Trust launched a campaign strategy yesterday to highlight the concerns of anglers in this country in the run-up to the general election and it put otters firmly on the agenda. It has pledged to:

*Lobby Natural England to publicise the fact that it advises against the reintroduction of otters now that natural regeneration has been successful.

*Campaign for the protection and restoration of damaged river systems so that they can support healthier fish populations.

*Lobby the Environment Agency for more funds to be released to support the cost of fencing and other deterrents at still water fisheries to keep out otters.

Other points raised include pollution, overfishing, greater control of cormorants and more accountability of how rod licence money is spent.

A group of MPs chaired by Martin Salter (Lab) has also come together to act as Parliamentary Supporters of the Angling Trust. It will act as a link between the Angling Trust and Parliament to ensure that anglers' concerns on a variety of issues are heard by all the political parties before the election.

It has long been argued that with around three million anglers in this country, we are a body who cannot be ignored and whose views and votes really matter to politicians. For a long time however, this simply hasn't felt like the case.

But with six MPs in Parliament who share a vested interest in the sport and a governing body that seems finally to be firing on all cylinders, angling may just be starting to punch at its full fighting weight. It just remains to be seen whether it can land a blow that will knock the otter problem out for good.

See posts below for background to this story.