The Colne Valley Fisheries Action Plan

This is being developed under the auspices of the Environment Agency and the Colne Valley Angling Consultative (CVAC). The CVAC is a co-operative of thirty one local angling clubs, riparian owners and other parties interested in the ecology and health of local fisheries; river, stillwater and canal.

Issues raised in the first Colne FAP include; sluices and weirs, abstraction, invasive species, fish populations and recruitment, river fly life, riverside mammals, climate change, angling club management and fisheries managementThe Colne FAP seeks to raise issues of concern on local fisheries, suggest solutions and find funding partners to achieve results, which will benefit fish, birds and mammals dependent on those waters.

The Colne Valley is particularly rich in good quality fisheries but the pressures of housing and population growth mean there will always be challenges for interested parties to resolve.

The Colne FAP will be published on a website and is projected to have a three year life span with reviews and revisions applied on an ongoing basis. CVAC wants the FAP to become a live document drawing comment and participation from a wide range of conservation interests to ensure that all of society can benefit from a structured approach to managing this important environment.

Author: Mike Heylin