Anger after Salmon anglers say they are being pushed out of town

Shropshire Star

Anglers have hit out at "draconian" measures depriving them of one of a town's best fishing spots. Salmon anglers have said the Environment Agency are shunting them 20m further down the river in Shrewsbury away from the weir, taking away a spot which has been fished for "at least 35 years". Angler Phil Plant explains the situation.

Transcript

00:00 OK Phil, so we're here at Shrewsbury Weir. You've been fishing here for 35 years. Just

00:05 explain what the problem is. I've been fishing here for 35 years for salmon. Recently the

00:11 Environment Agency are bringing in a bylaw which is already in place and has been for

00:16 long years. Fishing from the toe of the weir, 45 metres down, which takes about 30% of our

00:23 fishery off us. There is a white line here which has been in here for 35 years plus that

00:29 I know to and that's where we've been governed to fish to. Last year the EEA were down here

00:35 numerous times saying they've now taken a measurement from the centre of the weir on

00:41 the GPS coming 45 metres at 90 degrees to this concrete which takes off about 30% of

00:48 the fishery. There isn't enough room for the amount of anglers that fish here. We're all

00:54 feeling that we're bullied. We're getting bullied by the EEA at every chance. When we

00:59 ask the EEA why they're doing it they say because they can. Right. There's no actual

01:04 environmental reason that they're doing it. There's no environmental reason. Last year

01:08 there was less than 10 salmon caught off this particular part of the river at Shrewsbury

01:13 Weir and Chris Banger who is the fisheries manager admitted to us that there was more

01:18 fish run the river last year than in previous years. We can't understand why we're having

01:24 these draconian measures. We're getting beat up with them all the time basically. What

01:31 are you asking to happen? All we're saying is because all the salmon have to go back

01:35 which we haven't got a problem with that. We're just saying we want to fish to where

01:39 we've always fished to and why are they actually putting this new line in which reduces the

01:45 fishery and all it will do is it will end up driving away salmon fishermen. I personally

01:51 won't renew my licence here this year and I know a lot of others won't because if you

01:56 get half a dozen guys on here now to this new line they're proposing there's nowhere

02:02 to fish. Some guys come from the Midlands, up in Wales, they come quite a way here. They

02:08 could turn up with six guys here. Where am I going to fish?

02:12 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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