National Assembly for Wales

Environment and Sustainability Committee

NRW 2015 – 21

Natural Resources Wales - Annual Scrutiny 2015

Response from Jonathan Jones

To be totally frank, i think the nrw is failing the aquatic enviroment badly. I fish numerous rivers and waters through out wales and the effects of having the polluter and gamekeeper under one roof is tbh a shambles,
A, upland forestry is a major contributer to the effects of acidification and silting of spawning beds of game fish on most welsh upland rivers, who controls and monitors this?
B, since the bailiff force has been cut to below the bare minimum, its plain that poaching on many levels is becoming an issue.
Whether it be one for the pot or illegal in river or off shore netting, the nrw doesnt have the recources or are equiped to cope with the problem. We see many net marked fish in the neath and the ogmore, both rivers dont have legal netting stations, yet these sewin, salmon,mullet and bass with scales ripped clean off their sides can number in their hundreds each year! So how many dont make it through?
C, with the increase in invasive species now becoming prevelant, what is the nrw doing to curb them. Feb's etc.
D, after a fungal outbrake amongst the sewin and salmon population on the ogmore two seasons ago, the nrw couldnt provide manpower to:-
1, collect/sample/net the affected fish.
2, did not have a facility in wales to deal with the situation or the experts to find out what the problem is/was!
D, with declining runs of migratories in most welsh rivers, what are nrw doing about lowering coracle/seine net quotas as opposed to just asking anglers to practice catch and release?
E, with more impending budget cuts, the nrw is already performing to around 20% of what it should be in fisheries, how is this going to effect future stocks of fish? The enviroment?
D, the cost of the rod licence is being questioned by many as just another stealth tax, it seems we as anglers are getting a rough deal in terms of vfm for what the nrw actualy does. Joke and shambles are being mooted. Bailiffs canot go out on their own after dark to attend a poaching incident and must draw another in from a different district to acompany them, this takes hours if at all, the illegals know this and carry on, laughing at us in some instances, knowing they are going to get away with it.

Please please please sort out your mess, the aquatic enviroment and us anglers have suffered long enough.
Jonathan jones.