£154,000 granted to develop recreational sea angling infrastructure

Through the UK Seafood Scheme Infrastructure Fund – administered by Defra – £154,000 of government funding has been granted to develop better access and facilities to support recreational sea angling across the country. 

Since recreational sea angling has been formally recognised as a stakeholder in UK fisheries, the Angling Trust have lobbied the government hard to follow through with their commitments to promote and develop the sport.  

We are therefore thrilled to see this investment into sea angling by government and will continue to push Defra to recognise the socio-economic benefits sea angling brings to coastal communities and the value of investing in the sport.  

The details of the successful grantees and their projects are below:

•  Shoreham Port were awarded over £24,000 to fund the construction of an access path that will connect a car park to the Western Harbour Arm, a popular location for recreational fishing with the access path allowing better access for the public, providing disabled users a safe route to the harbour arms. It also hopes to promote the sport of recreational fishing by increasing the volume of people able to access the harbour arms. 
• Southport Boat Angling Club were also awarded just under £30,000 as part of a project to build their own club house and storage facility. The construction will provide tractor storage, a workshop area, a training room, a kitchenette toilet and changing facilities in order to promote the sport and offer benefits for the community by providing a purpose-built space that can host open events and facilitate training.  
• Wigtown Bay Coastal Rowing Club were awarded £100,000 to build a boatshed that will enable recreational anglers to maintain and repair their boats, as well as provide access to showers, toilets, and changing facilities. It’s hoped this project will contribute to boosting coastal tourism by providing a space for the community to engage with recreational angling and increase the number of participants of the sport through the construction of new facilities, including improved access for disabled users. 

Reg Phillips, a local angler from Shoreham and Angling Trust Marine Advisory Group member said  

“Sea anglers of my generation often find it difficult to walk up and down steep shingle beaches carrying lots of heavy fishing tackle, so they prefer to visit angling venues that are better suited to their needs. Shoreham Harbour outer arms are very popular venues for sea anglers as anglers get to fish into deeper water than they would from the local beaches.  

Access to Shoreham West Arm is via the carpark, then up a steep shingle slope and then down onto loose uneven shingle before reaching the concrete path onto the arm. It is a hinderance that can prevent anglers with disabilities from visiting the venue and impossible to navigate for wheelchair bound anglers. I thank Shoreham Port and especially the Harbour Master, Julian Seaman, for listening to anglers and for their commitment to provide safe access for the angling community. 

I hope this can encourage other sea angling clubs, harbour authorities, marinas and ports across the country to submit bids for this new government funding scheme. Thank you to Hannah Rudd and the Angling Trust for pushing government hard to provide this new funding for sea angling infrastructure.”   

The Angling Trust remain committed to fighting for fish, fishing and the environment. We are actively lobbying the UK government to recognise the value of sea angling to coastal communities and to invest in our sport through funding opportunities to improve access, sea angling infrastructure like jetties, toilets and fishing cleaning stations, and better clubhouse facilities.

The Angling Trust will update our membership on these opportunities as soon as possible – make sure you subscribe to our newsletter and join our Facebook group to be the first to know.