The Environment Agency last year invested over £955,000 in 232 projects to improve fishing in local communities across England through the Fisheries Improvement Programme (FIP).
The 2023-2024 FIP funding round improved 5.5km of river and 58 hectares of stillwater habitat and created 160 new angling facilities and held 104 community events. In total, the projects benefited over 100,000 rod licence holders across England.
At Goose Green in West Sussex, historic pollution and low dissolved oxygen levels in the summer were harming the lakes' fish stocks. But with the help of £2,800 of FIP funding, Pulborough Angling Society purchased six aeration units that have improved water quality and allowed the lakes to once again provide affordable angling, especially for local children.
Trinity Lakes Fly Fishing Club near Nottingham, meanwhile, received £8,000 of FIP funding to replace degraded angling platforms. Its 20 new platforms are safer, more accessible to those with mobility needs, and provide additional access to fish on the lakes.
Local community water Sutton Lawn Dam Pond had fallen into disrepair, but with the new owner, FIP funding enabled the purchase of water lilies that have provided much-needed fish habitats and shelter from predators, as well as aesthetic improvements.
And at Walrow Ponds in Somerset, £8,000 of FIP funding was provided to Highgate Angling Association to purchase aeration equipment to keep oxygen levels high and improve access for anglers around the nearly 150-year-old site.
EA Fisheries Manager Heidi Stone said:
The Fisheries Improvement Programme is vital to improving fisheries habitats, protecting the sustainable future of fish stocks and supporting angling clubs across England.
It's just one great example of how the Environment Agency is reinvesting rod licence income back into fisheries to support anglers and improve our fishing environment.
The Fisheries Management Programme reinvests money generated by rod licences to improve the habitats of a range of fish species, support angling clubs and fisheries to improve access to nature, and secure a sustainable future for English fisheries in our changing climate. This year, £955,543 of rod licence income was reinvested into the scheme, with a further £1 million secured through match funding from partners.
Since launching in 2015, the Fisheries Improvement Programme has invested over £20 million in more than 1,300 projects across England.
Those looking to fish in English waterways should remember they must have a valid rod fishing licence, which can be easily bought online.
