Fishing licence sales have helped to provide nearly £21 million in investments in fisheries across England. The Environment Agency has disclosed how money generated from over 900,000 licence sales has been reinvested into fishers across the country with the intention to maintain, improve and develop fisheries, carrying out surveys of fish stocks, improvements to habitats, and supplying and restocking more than 450,000 coarse fish.
One key investment is the funding of the Environment Agency's National Fisheries Laboratory which conducts vital work to identify, monitor and limit the current and future threats such as fish diseases and non-native specifies on fisheries and the environment. The work is crucial to the continual monitoring of the health of fish populations and informs fishery management, actions, advice and regulation.
The Fisheries Improvement Programme (FIP), which is directly funded by fisheries licence income, is another investment. It has helped to fund 198 projects which have improved and protected rivers, constructed fish passes and enhanced stillwater fisheries.
