Helping to improve the sport of angling

FISHERIES CONSULTATIVE ASSOCIATIONS

1. In the 1920's throughout England, Fishery Boards were set up and like their predecessor Boards of Conservators they attempted to protect fisheries against illegal fishing methods and water pollution etc. mainly through public pressure and then under the powers of the 1923 Salmon & Freshwater Fisheries Act.

2. Under the 1923 Act they had powers to carry out fisheries improvement work but the resources of these boards in terms of finance, manpower and scientific expertise was minimal, so they were able to achieve very little in terms of positive protection or improvement of the fisheries in their areas. Therefore much of the fisheries management work was carried out by angling organisations.

3. Fishery Boards existed throughout England sometimes taking their name from the county in which their fisheries responsibilities lay, for example Cumberland Fisheries Board and others were based on catchments running through several counties e.g. the Great Ouse Fishery Board.

4. Following the 1948 River Boards Act the formation of the river boards in 1951 brought together the land drainage (now called flood defence), pollution control and fisheries functions. However, whereas on the former fishery boards there had in many cases been more than eighty board members, many of them fisheries orientated, on the river boards there were only a maximum of four fisheries members permitted, and in the case of the Lee and Thames Conservancy Boards, which had retained their (Conservancy) titles, no fisheries representative at all.

5. To ameliorate the considerable opposition from angling and fishery interests which occurred because of the reduction in their representation, the then Chief Inspector of Salmon & Freshwater Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries & Food, Mr F T K Pentelow had suggested prior to the passing of the 1948 Act, the formation of fisheries consultative associations.

6. These fisheries associations or consultatives would be representative of the fishery and angling interests within the area to which they related. The main functions of these bodies were firstly to advise the Minister as to appointments of fisheries representatives to the relevant river boards and secondly to act as a consultative body for matters of fisheries policy and protection and finance proposed by the boards.

7. The first of these consultatives was the Great Ouse Fishery Consultative Association (GOFCA) founded in 1948 by the late Maurice Kausman, OBE of Huntingdon who, when he had lived in London in the 1920's been involved in the drafting of the 1923 Act. This Association advised the Great Ouse River Board on its fisheries responsibility and advised the Minister on appropriate persons with fisheries expertise and invariably, influence with fishery interests, to serve on the Board. GOFCA had, within its extensive membership base, all of the angling and fisheries organisations with water holdings in the Great Ouse catchment.
Some of the larger angling associations such as the Birmingham AA (BAA) and London AA, (LAA) both with extensive fishery holdings found it necessary to support consultatives in several river board areas.


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8. Many of those early consultative organisations are still thriving, others have been established in more recent years and there are currently about forty-five consultatives or fishery associations as they are sometimes called operating throughout England.


9. ANGLING AND FISHERIES ORGANISATIONS IN THE NORTH WEST REGION

There are eight, mainly catchment based fisheries consultative organisations in the North West Region, all co-operating with and working closely with their appropriate Environment Agency fisheries teams. EA fisheries staff attend the meetings of most but not all of the organisations. The wider interest in the water environment of other bodies has resulted in consultatives now also liaising with bodies such as the water utilities, English Nature, the Countryside Agency and Defra etc.

The eight consultatives are:-
River Eden & District Fisheries Association (REDFA)
South & West Cumberland Fisheries Association (SWCFA)
Furness & South Cumbria Fisheries Consultative Association (FSCFCA)
Lune & Wyre Fisheries Association (LWFA)
Hodder Fisheries Consultative (HFC)
Ribble Fisheries Consultative Association (RFCA)
Lancashire Fisheries Consultative Association (LFCA)
Mersey & Weaver Fisheries’ Consultative Association (MWFCA)
All are very active in their respective areas and they are all members of the National Association of Fisheries and Angling Consultatives (NAFAC) which is recognised as the national representative governing body for consultative and fisheries organisations.
These consultatives also make recommendations to the Environment Agency (EA) and nominate persons suitable to represent catchment fisheries interests on the EA Regional Fisheries, Ecology & Recreation Advisory Committee (RFERAC).

With the exception of REDFA they are also all members of the North West Fisheries Consultative Council (NWFCC) which was established in 1999 to share information, consult on common issues, including EA RFERAC matters, to work with each other where appropriate and to elect two representatives to serve the fisheries interests of the North West Region on the National Council of NAFAC. NWFCC meets quarterly at The Grapes Inn, Goosnargh, near Preston.

10. The National Federation of Anglers’ (NFA) is the governing body for coarse angling and it has a regional structure throughout the country generally based upon Sport England regions. The NFA North West Region is very active, meets quarterly at Bolton and is represented on the NWFCC..



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11. The Salmon & Trout Association (S &TA) is the national governing body for game angling and it has regional representation on its management council/board and a county or sub-county branch structure throughout the country. In the north west the branches are.
Merseyside Branch
Cheshire & Greater Manchester Branch
Lancashire Branch
South Cumbria and North Lancashire Branch
North & West Cumbria Branch
The North West Region of S &TA is represented on the NWFCC

12. The North West Association of Sea Angling Clubs is representative of many of the sea angling organisations in the region and they are members of NWFCC.

13. The British Disabled Angling Association (BDAA) is the national representative body for disabled anglers of all the coarse, sea and game angling disciplines and their North West Regional Representative attends meetings on NWFCC.

14. Senior Fisheries Officers of the North West Region of the Environment Agency and members of the EA RFERAC with fisheries interests who are not directly involved with the consultative association network are also invited to attend NWFCC meetings.

Current officers of NWFCC are:-

Chairman, Fred French MBE, FIFM
Sweden How, Sweden Bridge Lane, Ambleside Cumbria, LA22 9EX
Tel: 015394 32463 Email: [email protected]

Vice Chairman, Keith Spencer
36 Heap Street, Burnley, Lancs. BB10 1RL
Tel: 01282 412988

Secretary/Treasurer, Steve Griffiths
18 Manor Road, Lymm, Cheshire WA13 0AY
Tel: 01925 752763 Email: [email protected]