Today (7th March) the Environment Agency has announced the award of a new four-year contract to improve England's freshwater fisheries to the Angling Trust.
Building on nine years of partnership work, and following a competitive procurement process, the National Angling Strategic Services contract (NASS3) will see the Angling Trust deliver services to:
- Introduce more people to fishing to ensure the sport grows and flourishes and more people enjoy the health and well-being benefits that angling brings.
- Provide expert advice to grassroots clubs and fisheries on issues around predation, biosecurity and invasive species and administer a project fund to support the development of clubs right around the country.
- Build effective enforcement partnerships with the police, angling clubs and fishery owners through the Voluntary Bailiff Service and Building Bridges project.
The new contract will commence on 1 April 2024 and will run for four years, with £1.77 million of rod licence income being invested in the first year.
The EA's partnership with the Angling Trust has helped to introduce a wide range of initiatives such as the nationally recognised Get Fishing awards, the Voluntary Bailiff Service and the Angling Improvement Fund (AIF) which have helped to protect fisheries and promote the sport of angling throughout England.
The NASS3 contract has a participation target of engaging with 37,000 people in its first year and aims to increase the number of volunteer bailiffs to 1,400 after four years.
Heidi Stone, Fisheries Manager at the Environment Agency, said:
Our partnership with the Angling Trust is key to improving and supporting fisheries across England for the benefit of our existing customers and new anglers.
We are delighted to award this contract to the Trust so we can build on our previous successes, protect our fisheries and grow the sport of angling across the length and breadth of the country.
Jamie Cook, Chief Executive of the Angling Trust, said:
All anglers who buy a fishing rod licence deserve clarity on where that money is being spent, and the Angling Trust is focused upon re-investing licence money we receive through the NASS3 contract back into grassroots angling.
This contract will allow us to extend our partnership with hundreds of community clubs, coaches and fisheries, channelling resources to where they can have the greatest impact to get more people fishing more often and provide new resource for the incredible Reel Education programme which is taking angling into schools. It will also allow for the doubling of the national voluntary bailiff network to help clubs and fisheries protect their waters and provide more professional support and funding opportunities to help clubs and fisheries operate more effectively, deliver better fisheries management, and create real and lasting pathways into angling.
