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Welcome to the new web site for
River Wye Gillies Association
River Wye Gillies Association
'protecting and preserving salmon on the river Wye'
Recent Wye Information & Articles
(for larger library of articles see list on right....)
(for larger library of articles see list on right....)
Archived Wye Information & Articles
Alton-Towers-on-Usk fears over easing of river access
(Sep 1 2009 by Our Correspondent, Western Mail)
LANDOWNERS are warning of a possible free-for-all on Welsh rivers as AMs examine the possibility of open access. The Country Land and Business Association in Wales says there are real fears for fish stocks, wildlife, capital and income values of fisheries and the well-being of inland waters in general if the public at large - including water-sports enthusiasts - are given freedom of access and use.
Former Powys High Sheriff David Jones Powell of Fennifach, Brecon, who ran an agreement between the United Usk Fisherman’s Association and canoeists for 23 years said: “Alton Towers on Usk is for the few and would, as usual, drive out quieter pastimes and forms of life.”
The debate has become a live issue following the National Assembly’s sustainability committee launch of an inquiry into the current position over access to inland water in Wales at the Royal Welsh Show.
One of two Assembly standing committees with the power to promote legislation, the committee is taking evidence this autumn on whether to recommend open access on the lines of the 2003 Scotland Land Reform Act, which established statutory rights of access to most land and waterways.
The move follows a petition organised by the Welsh Canoeing Association, signed by more than 9,000 people, calling for legislation “to provide and permit access for the public” over inland waters.
Mr Powell’s intervention sums up the alarm of landowners, farmers, angling clubs and others who previously allowed conditional access by canoes and kayaks.
The call for open access highlights a conflict of interests centring on concepts of land ownership and rights that date back to medieval times.
Mr Powell, who is a leading member of CLA Wales, has been involved in these issues since canoeing and kayaking became popular with the development of robust fibreglass and plastics in the past 30 years.
He was born and now lives next to the banks of his family’s 2.5km stretch of the river Usk above Brecon and takes a close interest in the well-being of the river, letting the fishing by day-tickets through the Wye and Usk foundation booking office scheme at £20 per day.
“We get people from everywhere including Europe and receive many compliments on the beauty and peacefulness of the stretch,” he said. “The income is not large but it’s not insignificant either.”
He used to run the Upper Usk agreement between Sennybridge and Brecon under which canoeists negotiated access with riparian owners for 23 years until the paddlers opted to end the agreement in 2006.
Mr Powell said he never refused a request and has the records to prove it.
“This agreement worked as well as could be expected by conditionally allowing canoeing/kayaking mostly in the winter high- water and fishing close season and without payment,” he said.
“But in 2006 the then Welsh Canoeing Association refused to renew it, probably because they sensed a green light for public access from Cardiff Bay.
“Above all I am concerned with respect for the river, its life, and the life of its many human neighbours and visitors, the majority of whom are content with, or even actively seek passive enjoyment of it. Careful, unobtrusive and committed daily local management pays many and various dividends.”
Mr Powell said a “referee” was needed to hold the ring between competing and contradictory interests.
“Who better or more effective than individual riparian owners through properly negotiated, face- to-face, local agreements?” he said.
“As a lawyer I was no great fan of the old Usk agreement but it did its job very satisfactorily and with the absolute minimum of fuss or expense. What more should any practical person want?
“I believe that we are trustees of all our environment for the following generations and that dedicating our inland waters to public access in the same way as a public highway is an important, and almost certainly a retrograde and irrevocable step.
“It would also call into question the point of downgrading the nascent Welsh fishing industry into which so much public money has so recently been poured and which has slowly started to open up great lengths of river, at least on the Wye and the Usk, to a wider and discriminating public seeking relief from their city lives.
“Morale, and consequently interest, has been heightened amongst riparian owners with the marketing of Welsh fishing but this will inevitably decline if pride in the river is taken away by the dilution of rights and necessary management handed over - to whom? Is this not a fairly obvious slippery slope?
“Coincidentally with the start of the Wye and Usk Foundation booking scheme I began an annual late-winter litter-pick of non-biodegradable rubbish to be found on my stretch of river to prepare it for the fishermen arriving in early March.
“Last year I collected 18 black plastic sacks full of various categories of rubbish but then found, as in previous years, that it was classified as “commercial waste” and that I could not dispose of it without payment.
“With goodwill the council was eventually persuaded to take it without payment but not without time, trouble and much telephoning. Who will do this if the river becomes a public place? Not me.”
Canoe Wales spokesman Ashley Charlwood said the National Assembly inquiry was a unique process for Wales and a positive step.
He said: “To date, the issue has focused solely on paddlesport - canoeing, kayaking and rafting - access to inland water and its perceived conflicts. Water is of value to anyone who wants to get wet, be by it or look at it, whether young or old. It is estimated by the Environment Agency that this is half of the UK population.
“We believe the public’s interest in inland water can be examined and represented by the committee with the evidence being examined in an impartial way.
“We are confident that the scrutiny of this complex, and at times highly emotive issue will include the opportunity for all parties to represent their views equally.”
Mr Charlwood said Canoe Wales recognised that all water users have a duty to exercise responsibilities when using the waters of Wales.
“We are hopeful that this issue can be addressed in a modern, common-sense manner which is understood by all those who seek to enjoy the beautiful natural resource of Wales’ inland water.”
(Sep 1 2009 by Our Correspondent, Western Mail)
LANDOWNERS are warning of a possible free-for-all on Welsh rivers as AMs examine the possibility of open access. The Country Land and Business Association in Wales says there are real fears for fish stocks, wildlife, capital and income values of fisheries and the well-being of inland waters in general if the public at large - including water-sports enthusiasts - are given freedom of access and use.
Former Powys High Sheriff David Jones Powell of Fennifach, Brecon, who ran an agreement between the United Usk Fisherman’s Association and canoeists for 23 years said: “Alton Towers on Usk is for the few and would, as usual, drive out quieter pastimes and forms of life.”
The debate has become a live issue following the National Assembly’s sustainability committee launch of an inquiry into the current position over access to inland water in Wales at the Royal Welsh Show.
One of two Assembly standing committees with the power to promote legislation, the committee is taking evidence this autumn on whether to recommend open access on the lines of the 2003 Scotland Land Reform Act, which established statutory rights of access to most land and waterways.
The move follows a petition organised by the Welsh Canoeing Association, signed by more than 9,000 people, calling for legislation “to provide and permit access for the public” over inland waters.
Mr Powell’s intervention sums up the alarm of landowners, farmers, angling clubs and others who previously allowed conditional access by canoes and kayaks.
The call for open access highlights a conflict of interests centring on concepts of land ownership and rights that date back to medieval times.
Mr Powell, who is a leading member of CLA Wales, has been involved in these issues since canoeing and kayaking became popular with the development of robust fibreglass and plastics in the past 30 years.
He was born and now lives next to the banks of his family’s 2.5km stretch of the river Usk above Brecon and takes a close interest in the well-being of the river, letting the fishing by day-tickets through the Wye and Usk foundation booking office scheme at £20 per day.
“We get people from everywhere including Europe and receive many compliments on the beauty and peacefulness of the stretch,” he said. “The income is not large but it’s not insignificant either.”
He used to run the Upper Usk agreement between Sennybridge and Brecon under which canoeists negotiated access with riparian owners for 23 years until the paddlers opted to end the agreement in 2006.
Mr Powell said he never refused a request and has the records to prove it.
“This agreement worked as well as could be expected by conditionally allowing canoeing/kayaking mostly in the winter high- water and fishing close season and without payment,” he said.
“But in 2006 the then Welsh Canoeing Association refused to renew it, probably because they sensed a green light for public access from Cardiff Bay.
“Above all I am concerned with respect for the river, its life, and the life of its many human neighbours and visitors, the majority of whom are content with, or even actively seek passive enjoyment of it. Careful, unobtrusive and committed daily local management pays many and various dividends.”
Mr Powell said a “referee” was needed to hold the ring between competing and contradictory interests.
“Who better or more effective than individual riparian owners through properly negotiated, face- to-face, local agreements?” he said.
“As a lawyer I was no great fan of the old Usk agreement but it did its job very satisfactorily and with the absolute minimum of fuss or expense. What more should any practical person want?
“I believe that we are trustees of all our environment for the following generations and that dedicating our inland waters to public access in the same way as a public highway is an important, and almost certainly a retrograde and irrevocable step.
“It would also call into question the point of downgrading the nascent Welsh fishing industry into which so much public money has so recently been poured and which has slowly started to open up great lengths of river, at least on the Wye and the Usk, to a wider and discriminating public seeking relief from their city lives.
“Morale, and consequently interest, has been heightened amongst riparian owners with the marketing of Welsh fishing but this will inevitably decline if pride in the river is taken away by the dilution of rights and necessary management handed over - to whom? Is this not a fairly obvious slippery slope?
“Coincidentally with the start of the Wye and Usk Foundation booking scheme I began an annual late-winter litter-pick of non-biodegradable rubbish to be found on my stretch of river to prepare it for the fishermen arriving in early March.
“Last year I collected 18 black plastic sacks full of various categories of rubbish but then found, as in previous years, that it was classified as “commercial waste” and that I could not dispose of it without payment.
“With goodwill the council was eventually persuaded to take it without payment but not without time, trouble and much telephoning. Who will do this if the river becomes a public place? Not me.”
Canoe Wales spokesman Ashley Charlwood said the National Assembly inquiry was a unique process for Wales and a positive step.
He said: “To date, the issue has focused solely on paddlesport - canoeing, kayaking and rafting - access to inland water and its perceived conflicts. Water is of value to anyone who wants to get wet, be by it or look at it, whether young or old. It is estimated by the Environment Agency that this is half of the UK population.
“We believe the public’s interest in inland water can be examined and represented by the committee with the evidence being examined in an impartial way.
“We are confident that the scrutiny of this complex, and at times highly emotive issue will include the opportunity for all parties to represent their views equally.”
Mr Charlwood said Canoe Wales recognised that all water users have a duty to exercise responsibilities when using the waters of Wales.
“We are hopeful that this issue can be addressed in a modern, common-sense manner which is understood by all those who seek to enjoy the beautiful natural resource of Wales’ inland water.”
The way things were..................
The Independent News. 1966
Dwindling numbers of salmon on England's premier salmon river, the river Wye, has led to riparian owners raising more than pounds 100,000 to develop a hatchery and improve the water environment.
The Independent News. 1966
Dwindling numbers of salmon on England's premier salmon river, the river Wye, has led to riparian owners raising more than pounds 100,000 to develop a hatchery and improve the water environment.
The hundred mile long river, which for much of its length marks the border between England and Wales, has been in steady decline for the past 20 years. There are fears that without action the fish could become extinct in the river.
Now the fishery owners have formed the Wye Foundation. A former water pumping station at a secret location has been converted into a hatchery and there are plans to release 120,000 three-month-old salmon fry into the river and its tributaries next month.
If funds can be made available the aim is to continue releasing 400,000 fry each year until 2002. In addition, work is being carried out to improve the habitat of spawning and nursery areas along several hundred miles of bank.
There is also a survey to assess the economic impact of the collapse of the salmon stocks. This will identify reductions in the numbers of gillies employed, losses to hotels, pubs and tourism and to the retail trade in villages and towns.
Major General John Hopkinson, chairman of the Wye Salmon Fishery Owners and a prime mover behind the new foundation, said: "Many rivers across the country have suffered a similar fate, but here on the Wye we are determined to fight back. The fish population of the river is a barometer of its ecological health."
The Wye Foundation believes it is important that the value of the salmon is recognised both for its recreational appeal and its importance for the economy of the Wye Valley. To this end an awareness campaign is planned including a tour of schools.
Twenty years ago an average of 7,000 salmon a year, weighing an average 12lb, were caught by rod anglers. Now that number has fallen to 2,000, with the average weight down to 8lb. The decline has been particularly bad during spring.
Causes put forward include poaching, netting at sea, neglect of the river and water abstraction by industry and farmers. Whatever the cause, the return to a balanced river ecology will lead to a wealth of flora and fauna and underline the area's position as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Norman Owen, a gillie on the river, said: "I have fished here for 40 years and maybe in the past we took the salmon for granted and caught too many. Now we know there is not an endless supply and action has to be taken. Nobody wants to see the last of the salmon."
He said there was a view among some people that the salmon were just a rich man's sport, but they are an important part of the river environment enjoyed by all. There had also been a change in attitude amongst fishermen, with many now returning fish or donating them to the hatchery.
Now the fishery owners have formed the Wye Foundation. A former water pumping station at a secret location has been converted into a hatchery and there are plans to release 120,000 three-month-old salmon fry into the river and its tributaries next month.
If funds can be made available the aim is to continue releasing 400,000 fry each year until 2002. In addition, work is being carried out to improve the habitat of spawning and nursery areas along several hundred miles of bank.
There is also a survey to assess the economic impact of the collapse of the salmon stocks. This will identify reductions in the numbers of gillies employed, losses to hotels, pubs and tourism and to the retail trade in villages and towns.
Major General John Hopkinson, chairman of the Wye Salmon Fishery Owners and a prime mover behind the new foundation, said: "Many rivers across the country have suffered a similar fate, but here on the Wye we are determined to fight back. The fish population of the river is a barometer of its ecological health."
The Wye Foundation believes it is important that the value of the salmon is recognised both for its recreational appeal and its importance for the economy of the Wye Valley. To this end an awareness campaign is planned including a tour of schools.
Twenty years ago an average of 7,000 salmon a year, weighing an average 12lb, were caught by rod anglers. Now that number has fallen to 2,000, with the average weight down to 8lb. The decline has been particularly bad during spring.
Causes put forward include poaching, netting at sea, neglect of the river and water abstraction by industry and farmers. Whatever the cause, the return to a balanced river ecology will lead to a wealth of flora and fauna and underline the area's position as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Norman Owen, a gillie on the river, said: "I have fished here for 40 years and maybe in the past we took the salmon for granted and caught too many. Now we know there is not an endless supply and action has to be taken. Nobody wants to see the last of the salmon."
He said there was a view among some people that the salmon were just a rich man's sport, but they are an important part of the river environment enjoyed by all. There had also been a change in attitude amongst fishermen, with many now returning fish or donating them to the hatchery.