Swallowfield Fishing Club

Angling’s representative body the Angling Trust has welcomed the Environment Agency’s announcement that proposed charges for trapping American non-native crayfish are to be dropped.

The Angling Trust submitted a response to the recent consultation on this subject urging the Environment Agency not to introduce this very unpopular charge.  Trust staff are delighted that anglers’ views have been taken into account.  A rapidly growing number of waters have been infested with signal crayfish, which eat young fish and eggs, burrow into river banks, and can make angling impossible in some waters.  The non-native crayfish also carry a plague against which native English crayfish have no immunity.

Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of the Angling Trust said: “signal crayfish are a menace to fish and fishing and every effort must be taken to stop their spread and reduce their numbers. We are pleased that common sense has for once prevailed. To charge anglers and fishery managers for removing such a damaging critter from rivers and lakes would have been ridiculous.”

Licences will continue to be required to ensure that traps are properly designed and that trapping doesn’t cause damage through spread of disease.