Anglers go to court to get cleaner UK rivers
Anglers have a special interest in the health of rivers – and they are pressing for more improvements
WITH the state of our rivers very much in the public eye since lockdown began and cuts to environmental watchdogs, Fish Legal, Angling Trust and its partner WWF have gone back to court claiming the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is dragging its feet in tackling agricultural pollution of England’s lakes and waterways.
The three organisations believe waters across England are affected by fertilisers, manure, pesticides and sediment that wash into rivers, causing nutrient levels to rise killing off aquatic species including fish.
The most vulnerable waters are those protected in law such as sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) and special areas of conservation (SACs). Phosphates and nitrates in the fertiliser, for instance, can get into these protected areas causing them to deteriorate because the species they support rely on clean and nutrient free water.
The Environment Agency (EA) is expected to produce Diffuse Water Pollution Plans (DWPPs) every six years to set out what actions they are going to take to reduce the pollution.
Fish Legal, the Angling Trust and WWF initially brought a case to court in 2015 claiming Defra had simply not been using the only effective “measure” to combat pollution: “water protection zones” or WPZs.
The conservation bodies said: “WPZs can limit what can or cannot be done by farmers to prevent pollution.” The case was then settled in 2015 on the basis of a promise that the EA would do the right investigations and produce the DWPP reports “as soon as reasonably practicable.”
However, six years later, only four of the 37 sites chosen by Defra and the EA have completed DWPPs. Delaying the publication of the DWPPs means that dealing with the pressures faced by these sites has also been postponed, the groups fighting for cleaner waterways claim.
They say many of the 37 sites at issue here are of importance directly to Fish Legal and its membership as they support fisheries which are vulnerable to agricultural diffuse pollution.
‘Data in 2020 showed no English rivers met chemical standards for water quality’ MARK OWEN, ANGLING TRUST
“For example, the River Wye and its tributaries are under severe pressure from agricultural pollution causing damage to water quality, weed growth and salmon and spawning. Salmon are a flagship species for our rivers, a quintessential fish, deeply rooted in our heritage and culture,” Fish Legal say. “Large salmon have declined by 54-88% since the 1970s.”
In Hampshire the Rivers Test and Itchen, two of the most famous chalkstream trout rivers in England, are hugely susceptible to pollution from agriculture including fish farms and watercress beds as well as excessive abstraction, exacerbating the effects of pollution.
The three claimants are taking Defra and the Environment Agency back to court because – the claimants say – they have failed to comply with the court order.
Justin Neal, Solicitor for Fish Legal, said: “In 2015, Defra and the Environment Agency promised to come up with plans to deal with diffuse water pollution from agriculture in sensitive sites.
“Some six year later they have only managed to produce a handful of plans and in the few we have seen, there is very little evidence of any positive action.
“They have the legislation in place to prevent pollution. But the Environment Agency has neither the will nor the resources to do anything. If they can’t take action to prevent deterioration of the most precious and protected areas, what hope is there for the rest of the rivers and lakes in England?”
Mark Owen, Head of Freshwater, The Angling Trust said: “Agricultural diffuse pollution is one of the biggest pollution problems we have in our rivers and lakes; the government has failed to confront this issue over the years and use the legislation they have in place to stop this.
“The fact that in a six-year period they only produced a small number of plans with no resultant action is shameful.”
Much of the decline is driven by the poor state of freshwater habitats in parts of the UK, with just 14.6% of rivers in England achieving Good Ecological Status in the latest assessment.
This is mostly due to agricultural pollution such as nitrates and phosphorous, physical modifications to waterbodies, such as dams, and, sewage. Furthermore, data released by the Environment Agency in 2020, showed no English rivers met ‘chemical standards’ for water quality.
Defra must now respond to the legal action and explain how they plan to meet what the claimants say are their obligations to the UK’s water courses and also to the fish in them.