More fishing license money to improve fisheries

First published on the Angling Trust website: https://www.anglingtrust.net

Another £100,000 of fishing licence income is being made available to angling clubs and fisheries based in England through the next round of funding from the Angling Improvement Fund.

The money will be focused on funding measures to protect fish stocks from predation.

The Angling Trust, which administers the fund in partnership with the Environment Agency, is seeking applications by 4th July 2019. It is the only guaranteed funding round this year, although some additional funding may soon be made available for coaching bursaries.

This latest round will help fund a minimum of 20 projects for work such as installation of otter-proof fencing and measures to combat over-predation of fish stocks by fish-eating birds. Awards not exceeding £5,000 will be considered where the applicant is able to commit a comparable amount of match-funding.

Further information on how to apply, including key deadlines, eligibility and judging criteria for each theme will be available on the Angling Trust website HERE from midday on Thursday, 25th April. All applications must be completed using the Angling Trust’s online application grant management tool and must be submitted by midday on Thursday, 4th July 2019.

It is hoped that offers of funding to successful applicants will be made by the end of August and approved projects must be completed by 31st March 2020.

Since the Angling Improvement Fund was launched in February 2015, fishing licence income has helped fund more than 450 angling projects worth an estimated £5 million, creating or safeguarding tens of thousands of angling opportunities in England.

Dr Kevin Austin, Deputy Director of Fisheries at the Environment Agency, said: “The Angling Improvement Fund is an important aspect of our partnership work with the Angling Trust. This reinvestment of £100,000 raised from fishing licence sales will directly benefit anglers and fisheries throughout England.”

Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of the Angling Trust and Fish Legal, said: “The Angling Improvement Fund has been a huge success since its launch four years ago and has benefitted hundreds of clubs, fisheries and other angling organisations. Predation is a serious issue affecting angling so I’m pleased that this latest round of funding will help relieve the problem at a number of fisheries and support other predation management work being carried out by the Angling Trust and the Environment Agency.”

Notes:

• Administered by the Angling Trust in partnership with the Environment Agency, the Angling Improvement Fund (AIF) reinvests part of the proceeds from fishing licence sales into urgently-needed freshwater angling projects, benefiting anglers the length and breadth of England. Since its launch in 2015, over £2 million of fishing licence money has been distributed to projects, benefitting around 400 clubs and fisheries and thousands of visiting anglers.
• Funding to improve local fish stocks and angling opportunities is also available through the Fisheries Improvement Programme run by the Environment Agency. £400,000 has already been allocated this year and further funds may be released if licence sales improve.