Agency reveals where £22m of fishing licence fees went

The body that collects fishing licence revenue from UK anglers has revealed how nearly £22m of the income has been spent in the last year.

The Environment Agency (EA) said in its annual report that it sold almost 935,000 licences and worked with 1,000 partners, including the industry representative industry body, the Angling Trade Association (ATA), to improve stocks and habitats, provide new facilities for anglers and make fisheries more accessible.

EA Fisheries Manager Heidi Stone said: “The Agency has carried out some fantastic projects that will improve our fisheries and benefit anglers around the country. We inject income from fees directly back into fisheries – and I want to thank anglers for continuing to play their part and allowing us to invest in projects to help our environment flourish.”

In 2022, more than 50 projects were completed through the Angling Improvement Fund (AIF) – funded by EA rod income – with many of these funding bio-security measures to protect fisheries from predators such as otters and cormorants.

Meanwhile, the EA enforcement teams continue to make sure anglers comply with the regulations to protect fish stocks. In 2021 to 2022 it checked over 41,000 licences and successfully prosecuted nearly 730 anglers for fishing without a licence.