What has the Angling Trust ever done for us?

Why should you join the Angling Trust? We could tell you about our fight for clean waters through our Anglers Against Pollution campaign or how our army of citizen science volunteers are providing invaluable information through water quality monitoring. We could also tell you about our clubs and fisheries support service, how we’ve trained over a thousand people to report fisheries and environmental crime, beaten plans for poultry farm expansion on protected sites, and protected rivers from demands for unrestricted paddler access. We could also tell you about our new competitions taking our annual programme beyond 200 events, or our improved coaching pathways and how we have taken fishing into schools. Or how we have given recreational sea anglers a voice in the sustainability of many species, led the fight to protect endangered salmon, and opposed ideological angling bans. But instead we thought we would let someone who understands what it actually does tell you. In this guest blog, John Aston, of Kirkby, Fleetham & District Angling Club (KFDAC) explains why he believes every angler should consider becoming an individual member — and why the future of angling may depend on it.

What has the Angling Trust ever done for us? That’s a question I’m often asked by non-members, so I’d like to explain why our club is a member of the Angling Trust — and why I think every angler should also consider joining individually.

First, let’s look at a few numbers.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has around 1.2 million members, each paying about £60 a year.

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) has around 150,000 members, each paying £98 annually, and about 480,000 people hold shotgun licences.

By comparison, the Angling Trust has about 20,000 individual members, paying £36 a year, and around 2,000 clubs are also affiliated on a sliding scale depending on membership size. Meanwhile, roughly 900,000 people buy an Environment Agency fishing licence every year.

The Wild Trout Trust has around 3,000 members, each paying roughly £50 annually.

Looking at those numbers more closely: nearly 2% of the entire UK population belongs to the RSPB, and around 30% of shotgun owners belong to BASC. Yet only about 2% of anglers belong to the Angling Trust as individual members.

I should declare an interest. I’ve been an individual member of the Angling Trust since its formation, and before that I belonged to its predecessor, the Anglers’ Co‑Operative Association, since the 1970s. Since retiring, I’ve also been involved with the Trust in various capacities — chairing a Regional Fisheries Forum and drafting advice notes among them.

I care a great deal about angling and will support any organisation that promotes and safeguards the sport. My club is a corporate member, but if you haven’t joined already I’d urge you to think about becoming an individual member as well.

Here’s why.

1. It represents anglers nationally

The Angling Trust is essentially the only national body representing the whole angling community. No other organisation speaks for anglers collectively in government, policy and regulatory discussions.

2. Angling needs a stronger voice

Anglers can be very good at complaining — about water pollution, invasive species and declining fish stocks — but less good at organising ourselves to address those problems.

The Angling Trust already punches above its weight, but 20,000 members is simply not enough if angling’s voice is to be heard in the places where decisions are made.

For comparison, Paddle UK (formerly British Canoeing) has about 75,000 members, and the campaign group Surfers Against Sewage has around 8,000 members and more than 100,000 volunteers.

Unless angling becomes better organised, we risk being weakened by our own apathy.

3. It defends anglers’ interests

The Angling Trust — along with its legal arm, Fish Legal — fights for anglers’ interests in a number of ways.

Sometimes that means taking polluters to court. At other times it means lobbying government — as it did successfully to allow fishing to resume during the COVID-19 pandemic — or simply promoting and defending the sport publicly.

4. It is gathering the evidence to protect rivers

The Trust has also launched citizen science projects, including the Water Quality Monitoring Network, which my club participates in.

This kind of work arguably should have been carried out for decades by the Environment Agency and its predecessors. Too often, however, it wasn’t. Now anglers themselves are helping to gather the data needed to challenge polluters — not just complain about it in the pub.

The wider fight for cleaner rivers

Water quality has been in the news for several years, thanks in part to campaigns for cleaner rivers highlighted by newspapers such as The Times. Sewage discharges and highly paid water-company executives are now regular front-page stories.

The Angling Trust has been active on this front, and public figures such as Paul Whitehouse and Feargal Sharkey have been powerful ambassadors for river protection.

But anglers are not the only people campaigning. Organisations such as Surfers Against Sewage, Friends of the Earth, wild-swimming groups and local campaigns like Save Our Swale have also received significant media attention.

That’s positive — but anglers’ voices need to be heard more loudly, and that can only happen if more of us support the Angling Trust. At present, only about 2% of anglers have done so.

The common excuses

I speak to many anglers, and I’ve heard plenty of reasons — or excuses — for not joining. Here are a few of the most common.

“The Angling Trust focuses too much on competition/game/carp fishing.”
Fishing is a broad church. Whatever species we pursue, we are all anglers — and united we stand.

“My club is already a member, so that covers me.”
Not directly. Club membership helps, but an individual membership strengthens angling’s national voice — and £36 a year is not much to support the sport we enjoy.

“I don’t know what the Trust does.”
In fact, it does a great deal — from political lobbying and legal action to conservation and environmental monitoring.

“It isn’t independent because it receives Environment Agency funding.”
Many organisations involved in recreation receive grants. For example, the Canal & River Trust receives about £40 million a year, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds receives funding from multiple sources including The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Natural England and the Landfill Communities Fund.

Receiving grants does not compromise independence — something the Environment Agency discovered when the Angling Trust won a Court of Appeal judgment over the failure to restore Costa Beck.

The role of the Wild Trout Trust

It’s also worth mentioning the Wild Trout Trust. Founded in 1997, it is a conservation charity dedicated to protecting wild brown trout. However, its work extends far beyond a single species. The organisation focuses primarily on habitat restoration and river improvement, helping to restore streams and rivers across the country.

In many cases the Trust has revitalised waters that were once neglected or struggling. Despite the name, its advice and support have often benefited waters where wild trout are rare — or even absent — because the focus is on healthy habitats.

I’ve worked with the Wild Trout Trust for many years and have seen first-hand the value of its surveys and advice on two local waters.

A small investment in the future of angling

Both the Angling Trust and the Wild Trout Trust are working to protect the waters and fish stocks that our sport depends on.

So please consider joining the Angling Trust. And if the conservation work of the Wild Trout Trust appeals to you, membership costs little more than £1 a week.

When you join the Angling Trust, not only will you be supporting our work to protect fish, fishing and the environment, you’ll also receive fantastic discounts on tackle, bait and loads more. Click here to find out more.