Dreamstore is alarmed at the sharp increase in the cost of concessionary rod licences* and the relentless increase in the cost of a day licence. The Environment Agency is constantly telling us how many people want to go angling, and that where to go, what to buy and how to start are the key issues. Yet a family of four (two kids between 12-17) looking for a day out at an average fishery will fork out around £40** before they start fishing. The cost of angling is therefore far greater than a local passport to leisure which offers a summer of activities for all the family.
Dreamstore’s support to schools through its Education Action Zone has more than demonstrated the lack of adequate facilities for the development of young people’s interest in angling, other than what can be provided by a school at considerable cost. A parent or responsible adult taking a child fishing would also need to have a licence at full cost. Unless there is an angler in the family with significant knowledge of a wide range of angling locations, the likelihood of a family day out is a matter of sheer chance – if there is a disabled child then the day out becomes nearly impossible.
The Environment Agency is directed to address angling participation. An increase in rod licence fees is not justified without a concrete implementation plan to expand access to angling that were expressed as aspirations in the EA paper “2015 – Fishing for the future†There has been time to move past evaluation. This increase in rod licence costs will raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for the EA. It is time to allocate specific monies to improving access for all. Any increase in rod licences must be capable of justification in this context.
* Public notice was published in the Daily Telegraph on Wednesday 25th July.
** Cost calculated on £3.50 per day licence and entry to the fishery of £7.50 for adults, £5.00 for a young person = £39.00.
