Avon Valley Cormorants – Biodiversity in Danger

Cormorants – Biodiversity in Danger Petition Handover

We are delighted and extremely proud to be able to announce that on 22nd February 2012 we will be handing our 17,000+ signature petition to Richard Benyon MP outside Defra offices in London.

While we are disappointed in the response to our on-line petition, the day was somewhat saved by the number of people taking part in the paper version we sent out to every fishing tackle shop in the country.

Confirmed attendees on the day are us two representing the Avon Roach Project and the original band behind the petition, plus other members of the original band Jim Wreglesworth, Pete Orchard and Hugh Miles, who is hoping to film it all. In addition to us, Mark Owen and Martin Salter, former Reading West MP who has been instrumental in getting the handover to happen and who has shown fantastic support, will be representing the Angling Trust. And finally, Chris Tarrant who will be doing the official handover, hand shake and smiles for the press.

As many of you already know, we are calling for a change in the currently woefully inadequate law regarding the Cormorant licensing regime, and for it to be included on the ‘General Licence,’ enabling the legal control of cormorant numbers where they pose a threat to our fish populations and inland freshwater habitat and ecosystems.

The cormorants’ ability to decimate fish populations in our rivers, streams, ponds and lakes is unmatched in nature. They are currently not only the biggest threat to our inland fish populations, but pose a secondary and unimaginable threat to our kingfishers, grebes, bitterns and more.

Nobody would argue that we shouldn’t have the right to protect our environment, but the current law does not allow this.

The Cormorant problem is NOT Avon specific, but is country wide as has been unequivocally confirmed on our petition sheets and on-line comments.

If you haven’t yet signed the petition and would like to just click on the link below.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/cormorants-biodiversity-in-danger.html
And to those of you that have, we’d like to thank you very much.

We can take pride and comfort in the knowledge that nobody has done more than we have, and that we have done as much as is possible for us to do in trying to bring about a change in the law. Let’s hope that the minister shows strength, resolve and foresight and makes the changes the future health and diversity of our inland freshwater habitat and ecosystem so desperately needs.

Fingers crossed, and watch this space.

Avon Valley Cormorants – Biodiversity in Danger

In a bid to improve the odds of returning a self-sustaining population of roach to the middle reaches of the Hampshire Avon, we are co-fronting a progressive drive, to address the contentious issue of cormorants, a major factor in their decline.

Much has and will continue to be written and debated about this subject; some of which only serves to further muddy the already cloudy view and scale of the problem, some loaded with political point scoring as the aim, some riddled with defeatism, and some simply based upon inaccurate information and belief.

So, in order to forge a united front and gather as much support as possible, something angling is not readily known for; we have produced a factual document for mass circulation, which we hope will clarify the whole situation. The document, which you will find below, outlines the current situation with the woefully inadequate cormorant licensing laws, and ‘what is needed.’ to make that change.

We have also set up an on-line petition to accompany this document, with which we will lobby Richard Benyon MP, Minister for Natural Environment and Fisheries.

As you will see, it is not simply a document of personal opinions, but of absolute facts. It will enable us all to sing from the same song sheet in a united drive to have the law changed in the forthcoming review of the cormorant licensing system, announced by DEFRA in January 2011.

We must all collectively strive to have the cormorant included on the ‘general license,’ allowing the legal control of numbers where they pose a threat to fish populations, which we all accept as being a vital link in the food chain and a fundamental element in the underpinning of the remarkable biodiversity of our rivers and lakes. We welcome, with open arms, indigenous piscivorous species such as the Great Crested Grebe and our beloved Kingfisher, both of which WILL suffer terribly as a direct result of us allowing the cormorant to continue to over-fish our rivers.

So we call upon you to lend your support and read and endorse our document and join us in our attempt at gaining the right to protect our environment from this non-native, invasive species.
Please take a few moments to sign our on-line petition. Just click on this link http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/cormorants-biodiversity-in-danger.html

Please forward this link to and inform as many people as you think would also be willing to offer support and a petition signature, and in this way, hopefully, together we can make the critical difference that is so desperately needed.

We are both constantly bowled over by your relentless, and amazing, support for our project, and we feel sure you will not let us down here either.

We are forever prepared to do our bit, as you all know, way above and beyond the call of duty some say, and we now call upon you guys to support us and do your bit.

Thank you.Budgie and Trevor