The RSPB works to secure a healthy environment for birds and other wildlife and manages over 137,000 hectares of land at 207 nature reserves located throughout the UK. Angling takes place at 20 of the 53 sites where freshwater angling might be possible and it does not conflict with the conservation and visitor purposes for which the land is managed. These are hardly the actions of an anti-angling organisation!

Indeed, after detailed discussions between the IWFAA and the RSPB, facilitated by the Anglers’ Conservation Association (ACA) and initiated by myself with a meeting at the House of Commons, an agreement was reached to allow angling to continue on the River Yar at Brading.  Because of the positive working relationship developing between the parties, plans were developed for the angling club to work alongside the local RSPB staff to help clear litter, maintain fences and to prevent illegal fishing and shooting on the relevant stretch of the river.

John Millington, Match Secretary of the IWFAA, who deserves much credit for resisting the siren calls to arms from some of the lunatic fringe in the angling world said: “This was great news for the club, and an early Christmas present from the RSPB.  I can hardly wait to fish the river again and I am looking forward to a closer working relationship with the RSPB”.

My good friend and colleague Mark Lloyd, Executive Director of the Anglers’ Conservation Association hit the nail on the head when it comes to working with organisations like the RSPB with whom we often share a common agenda. Reacting to the new agreement on the Isle of Wight, Mark said: “The ACA has been working very closely with the RSPB on the Blueprint for Water over the past two years.  We are delighted that one of the benefits of this partnership at a national level is that we have been able to help develop greater local co-operation and understanding between anglers and birders. We have found the RSPB staff to be very understanding of the value of angling as a pastime which promotes conservation.  Any suggestion that the organisation is anti-angling is quite wrong and there are many more benefits that could be gained from us working even more closely together.”

I have long argued that the future of angling lies with us remaining at the centre of the conservation and environment movement. There will inevitably be tensions between different groups who use our rivers, canals and stillwaters but there is much more to be gained in making common cause wherever possible with organisations whose activities are dependent upon clean water and a healthy aquatic environment. With the exception of cormorants, what’s good for fish is normally pretty good for birds!