Fish Legal, based at

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster is t ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

, is a

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organisation An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived fr ...

of dedicated lawyers who use the law on behalf of anglers to fight polluters and others who damage or threaten the water environment. It was founded in 1948 by Patrick Shumack, Esq. as the Anglers Cooperative Association (ACA), but changed its name in 1994 to Anglers Conservation Association.

Current activities

Fish Legal fights cases on behalf of its members against perpetrators of the following: all types of water

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

, including sewage pollution (as in the case of

Llyn Padarn Llyn Padarn is a glacially formed lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd, north Wales, and is an example of a moraine dammed lake. The lake is approximately long (about 240 acres) and at its deepest point is deep, and is one of the largest natural lakes ...

involving pollution by

Welsh Water Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

),agricultural pollution
an
chemical pollution
over-abstraction,

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set ag ...

, unlawful

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

, barriers to fish, such as weirs and hydropower schemes designed with inappropriate concern of anglers or fish welfare as in the case referenced here, where Fish legal were acting on behalf of the Pride of Derby & Derbyshire Angling Association to preserve fishing rights of the local weir from impoundment by developers. Fish Legal has developed freedom of information law to allow its members and the wider public to find out what water companies in England and Wales are discharging into rivers and coastal waters. In
Fish Legal and Emily Shirley v Information Commissioner, United Utilities plc, Yorkshire Water Services Ltd, Southern Water Services Ltd and the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2015
/nowiki> UKUT 0052 9AAC0]'' the Upper Tribunal decided that water companies were public authorities for the purposes of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and, as such, should disclose environmental information that they hold on request. Questions in the case were referred to the

Court of Justice of the European Union The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) (french: Cour de justice de l'Union européenne or "''CJUE''"; Latin: Curia) is the judicial branch of the European Union (EU). Seated in the Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembou ...

(CJEU), in order to determine the correct implementation of th
Environmental Information Directive
The Information Commissioner publishe
new guidance on the regulations
as a result of the case. In 2015, Fish Legal joined with the Angling Trust and WWF UK in a judicial review of Defra and the Environment Agency for their lack of use o
Water Protection Zones to protect fisheries from agricultural pollution
In Scotland, Fish Legal has worked with Scottish charity the Sustainable Inshore Fisheries Trust (SIFT) to develop an �
Aquaculture Toolkit
�� to help communities to better police salmon farms to make sure they do not cause damage to local wild salmon and sea trout populations.

Formation of the Angling Trust

After two years of discussion in 2009, six angling organisations merged to create the

Angling Trust The Angling Trust, based at Leominster, Herefordshire, is an organisation formed from the merger of six angling authorities to form a single and more powerful non-profit organisation for the benefit of anglers. The body oversees the developmen ...

. These were the Anglers Conservation Association (now Fish Legal), Fisheries and Angling Conservation Trust (FACT), National Association of Fisheries and Angling Consultatives (NAFAC), National Federation of Anglers (NFA), National Federation of Sea Anglers (NFSA), and the Specialist Anglers' Alliance (SAA). The Salmon & Trout Association (S&TA) pulled out of the merger consultations because they wished to keep their charitable status and charities are not allowed to merge under the Laws of England and Wales.

References

External links

Fish LegalAngling TrustDEFRA
{{angling topics 1948 establishments in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1948 Recreational fishing in England Clubs and societies in Herefordshire

Current activities

Formation of the Angling Trust

See also

References

External links