Sustainability Committee
Inquiry into access to inland water in Wales
Letter dated 21 July 2009 from Mick Bates, Chair, Sustainability Committee, WAG.Evidence given in reply to the questions asked in the annex attached to the letter
What is your interest in the issue of access to inland waterways?
Ownership of Dan-y-Parc Fishery, River Usk, Crickhowell.
Are you a member of an organisation related to your use of water?
Dan-y-Parc Fishery supports or subscribes to: The Salmon & Trout Association; The Atlantic Salmon Federation; The Wild Trout Trust; International Otter Survival Trust; The Sand Martin Trust; Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust; The RSPB; The World Wildlife Fund; The United Usk Fishermen's Association; The Wye & Usk Foundation; The Angling Trust; Fish Legal.
Which stretch/ es of water do you own/ use/ manage?
Ownership; use for game fishing purposes and management of Dan-y-Parc Fishery, River Usk, Crickhowell. (1.5 miles length of river with both banks)
Legal rights
Our legal rights at Dan-y-Parc Fishery, River Usk are clear and are well-defined by the conveyance deed and the survey plan of the fishery.
We are aware of legislation that applies to river access in England and Scotland
Voluntary agreements
From 1985 to 2000 Dan-y-Parc Fishery was bound by the agreement dated 29 March 1984 between the United Usk Fishermen's Association and The Welsh Canoe Association (now Canoe Wales). We found that this agreement worked very well for canoeists and fisherman alike.
Please can you briefly outline what you think are the key issues for recreational access to inland water in Wales and how you would like to see them addressed.
Consider equitable arrangements for recreational access. The most practical solution to shared access would be to encourage canoe access outside the salmon and trout fishing season (ie from 18 October to 2 March). This is the time when high water conditions for canoeing are generally considered to be at their best due.
No less important, the risk of damage caused by canoe users to fish, flora and fauna will be at its lowest outside the game fishing season.
Remove the confusion that has arisen over 'spate clauses' during the fishing season. A canoeist may start canoeing at the agreed minimum water level, but the water level may drop below the agreed level within a short period afterwards.
Recognise that angling makes an important contribution to the local economy.
The River Usk provides game angling of the highest quality available in Great Britain and attracts anglers from far afield. This season Dan-y-Parc Fishery includes annual members from Sandwich (Kent); Lymington (Hants); Richmond and Fulham (London); Banbury (Oxon); Norwich (Norfolk); Chelmsford (Essex); Bath (Somerset); Guildford (Surrey); Newmarket (Suffolk); Solihull (Warwicks); Malvern (Worcs); Shrewsbury (Salop); Wotton-u-Edge (Glos); and Bristol. Each member who does not live locally needs to find hotel or B&B accommodation to stay overnight for one or two days each week while fishing during the eight month fishing season and also to buy food and drink; clothing, fuel, tackle and other goods during their stay.
Dan-y-Parc Fishery employs a river keeper from Pontypool and annually employs local tradesmen and builders to maintain its property. Expenditure by our members and also by the fishery itself represents a significant annual contribution to local businesses. If the existing quality of game fishing is either threatened, or reduced, or disturbed in any way, our members will not return to fish the Usk and the local economy will no longer benefit from the income generated.
Ensure that the flora and fauna of the rivers are fully protected. Dan-y-Parc Fishery in common with other Usk fisheries is within the SSSI and the SAC. It is essential that provision of additional access does not further disturb the fish, flora and fauna of the river Usk. At Dan-y-Parc for example an otter holt has been established for about eight years; the otters and their young are frequently to be seen and the BBC has asked for consent to film them. At low water levels, salmon have been photographed spawning in the shallows upstream of our Rheld pool in October/ November and it is important to understand that spawning is not confined to Usk tributaries alone. Families of sand martins live in their thousands along the soft soil river banks along Dan-y-Parc from March to September each year.
Robert Melvin
