Progressive angling club joins the Water Quality Monitoring Network

Managing the Water Quality Monitoring Network involves a lot of time in the office answering queries, registering clubs and volunteers, updating spreadsheets, ordering equipment, making up kits and despatching them to new clubs. So, it was great to get an invite to visit one of the clubs that has signed up to the WQMN and to get out of the office.

Ramsbottom Angling Association’s roots have been growing through Bury in Lancashire for over 100 years. They have a great selection of still waters plus beats on the Roche and Irwell rivers, and are a progressive club that has an amazing junior programme with junior members competing at the highest levels.

They are also passionate about improving their waters and the environment around them, are members of the Anglers Against Litter campaign and have used Angling Improvement Fund awards to enhance the club’s facilities and waters.

The club is held in high regard by its members, too. Here is what they say …

“An excellent club with a great bunch of coaches and support team who work tirelessly to provide the best fishing experience in the area.”

“The junior set up is amazing, providing everything you need tackle wise and lots of competitions that even the most inexperienced can take part in.”

It was great to hear that they also wanted to join the Water Quality Monitoring Network.

Colin Bradshaw, of Ramsbottom AA said:

“This year we suffered a catastrophic fish loss at the Clarence Lido and have had people reporting possible pollution problems on the river Irwell and other of our waters. We were at a loss as to why we had the fish deaths although we were already monitoring our waters with regards to dissolved oxygen levels and temperature but had no real data on possible pollution problems.

“We were occasionally using an aquatic kit to test for nitrates, phosphates, pH and ammonia but we were not doing it regular and were not creating enough data to get a better picture of our waters. It was more a firefighting approach.

“When we came across the WQMN it seemed the ideal opportunity to join a network that was monitoring water quality and would give us a platform to record data on our waters as well as giving us an opportunity to see what was happening in other waters throughout the country. A record of the results will allow us to pursue any problems we have with water quality with the responsible body which we didn’t have before.

“We would recommend all fishing clubs to join the WQMN as this gives us another way of protecting our waters, the fish and wildlife within them for the anglers yet to come.”

Kris Kent, Angling Trust’s WQMN national lead, said:

“Progressive clubs like Ramsbottom Angling Association are helping to make a real difference by growing the next generation of anglers, enhancing fishing and the environment, and now helping to address the scourge of pollution. Without clubs like Ramsbottom AA joining the WQMN we are not able to highlight the pollution issues facing our waters. The amalgamated voices of all the WQMN clubs and volunteers gives a clear and strong voice to challenge the polluters and to hold the government to account for its promises.”

The WQMN was launched in May as part of the Angling Trust’s Anglers Against Pollution campaign. Test findings will help the Angling Trust hold the government to account, ensuring it lives up to its rhetoric on improving our environment and meeting its own legal responsibilities, and support local initiatives to improve our rivers.

The WQMN initiative is supported financially by Orvis UK and APTUS tackle and the “Big Yellow Boxes” are supplied by Flambeau Outdoors. If your club would like to get involved, please contact [email protected]

More information about the Water Quality Monitoring Network