Thursday, November 16, 2006

No Freshwater Legislation

Come on Tony, you have had ten Queen's Speaches now and still no mention of a new Fisheries Bill.

We all worked very hard responding to the consultation from the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Review Group, chaired by Prof. Linda Warren. You even accepted most of her recommendations. Yet we still have no timetable for a Bill, no Bill has been drafted and, outside of Defra, no one in Government seems worried.

Well, the anglers of England are worried, worried about "fish theft", worried about illegal fishing, worried about fish diseases, worried about illegal imports, worried that you keep reducing funding for vital fisheries work within the Environment Agency, worried that you promised so much and delivered so little for four million anglers.