When I was sent a copy of the ruling by a friend I read the statement from the Welsh Government but only had a quick look at the planning inspectors report as it was quite a tome.
I've just had a quick look through it and what comes across is that without specialist legal advice a lot of the objectors have been made to look foolish. I know several of the objectors , not well , but enough to know they are decent , honest people.
It would appear they have given their evidence or objection and then been asked questions like have you read through the report on such and such dated 2005 , which I would imagine hardly any of us have , the inspector then appears to put it that they are refusing to accept the scientific advice given by NRW.
Objections have even been termed as cynicism , all in all it looks like a lot of the objectors have been portrayed as unknowledgable and are giving purely anecdotal evidence without any scientific information.
I would sadly say they completely wasted their time and the barristers employed to cross examine them were there to do just that , I was told the cost of NRW's barristers was £360k
I give thanks to the people who objected , but on reading the report I am even more disillusioned with the way things are done in this country , stitch up is the only way I could put it.
Whilst I am a reluctant internet forum poster I would like to add my thoughts. I attended the Byelaws Inquiry for 9 of the 13 days, representing both major angling clubs and the majority of riparian owners on the Afon Mawddach & Afon Wnion and clocking up in excess of 1200 miles in the process. In the meantime NRW and their legal team (up to 5 solicitors on any one day + their barrister and a junior member of his chambers) were provided with hotel accommodation and expenses as well as collecting their normal salaries for "doing their job" courtesy of our generosity in purchasing a fishing licence. This is of course normal process in such situations but I cannot help but be cynical when the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs uses one organisation which she is responsible for (Planning Inspectorate) to conduct independent scrutiny of another (NRW).
The actual cost of the Inquiry (excluding VAT) was £350,827.48 which included External solicitors costs of £196,972.61, Counsels fees of £63,005.65, Travel and accommodation £8,225.28, Venue hire £19,212.64 and Printing and copying £19,107.52. Counsel for NRW criticised us for not having legal representation ourselves as this had made things more difficult. His reasoning was that we had managed to raise £1,500 to fund independent scrutiny of the stock assessment methodology used by NRW/EA/CEFAS instead of using it for legal representation (about 1 day at his rate + expenses!). The Inspector concurs with this view in his report!
It was the view of everyone who gave evidence in opposition to NRW's proposals (including Mark Lloyd of the Angling Trust) that the experience was more akin to defending oneself on a murder charge in a crown court than giving evidence at an Inquiry. Observers who attended to show solidarity and support were genuinely shocked by what they witnessed (a big thank you if you were one of those supporters - it meant a lot to all of us that you took the time and trouble to attend). One of my colleagues was cross examined by the barrister for 3½ hours without a comfort break after counsel had successfully manoeuvred events to ensure that they could have the whole evening in the hotel to examine his evidence whilst my colleague spent 4 hours+ in the car travelling to and from the venue.
What we sought was a voluntary solution on a river by river basis. The picture across Wales is not one of universal decline. 8 of the Principal Salmon Rivers in Wales show a year on year improvement in the 3 years 2015 - 2017. 4 of those rivers have exceeded their Conservation Limit in each of the last 3 years with 3 rivers achieving more than 200% of their CL in 2017.
Despite returning the vast majority of my fish (and all of my salmon) on Welsh rivers these days I find it very difficult to make out much of a case for playing and returning a fish that is unable to replenish the resources that it has used to resist my actions until it re-enters saltwater the following year. However having "the option", although rarely exercising it, has enabled me to continue participating in something which I have loved since childhood. I do however resent being talked down to by those who are happy to make a significant contribution to global warming as they travel to far flung corners of our planet and then in some self-righteous way preach to the rest of us of their conservation credentials having returned all of their fish. Please, enjoy what you do but leave it at that……….
I first attended the Gwynedd LFAG on behalf of my own club in November 2010 and since then have only missed one meeting. During that time my whole approach has been based on working in a meaningful partnership with firstly Environment Agency Wales and latterly NRW. At the outset this was successful and led to a good working relationship with both "on the ground staff" and more senior staff in the Bangor Office which delivered a number of successful projects within the Mawddach Catchment.
All of that changed with the creation of the single body on 1st April 2013 when those in charge of fisheries, aided and abetted by more senior staff, flexed their muscles and set about achieving their personal vision of what angling in Wales would look like in the future. We were immediately drawn into a fight over the closure of hatcheries which despite countless emails, letters, meetings etc was unsuccessful. Along with others I witnessed the NRW Board deliver the last rites on October 2nd 2014 following the Principal Fisheries Advisor's explanation of "emerging evidence of harm".
Before we had finished licking our wounds we found ourselves at the July 2015 Board Meeting when the Principal Fisheries Advisor made clear his intentions regarding the All Wales Byelaws. The rest is of course history but the meetings, emails etc of the hatchery/stocking debacle pale into insignificance compared with the space occupied on my hard drive by the more recent 4 years arm wrestle.
Forgive my somewhat jaundiced view but I am sadly disillusioned with most things connected with angling and am struggling to summon up much enthusiasm to pick up a fishing rod at the moment.
For what it is worth I sent the email below to Ruth Jenkins (line manager for the NRW Fisheries Team) earlier in the week. It won't achieve a damn thing but at least I've got it off my chest.
This morning I walked the dog along the forest roads on either side of the Upper Mawddach from Tyddyn Gwladys to Rhaeadr Mawddach in a moment of quiet reflection following yesterdays' publication of the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs' 'Written Statement: Outcome of the Local Inquiry on Natural Resources Wales' proposed 'All Wales Salmon and Sea Trout Byelaws'.
It will not surprise you that my mood was somewhat bleak as I reflected on the future of game angling on rivers that I have known for more than 50 years and the opportunity for a voluntary solution that has been dismissed out of hand in the relentless pursuit of a legislative solution.
That the Byelaws are underpinned by such unreliable data generated by those who have rarely or never visited the catchment only serves to exacerbate my frustrations
The NRW Tyddyn Gwladys car park was occupied by half a dozen gold panners' vehicles who ignore the 'no overnight parking' sign, safe in the knowledge that they'll never be challenged before beginning their daily panning activities uninterrupted. I have diligently logged detailed intelligence on the 'Report Line' as requested at our LFAG's but will leave it to the kayakers, white water tubers and wild water swimmers in future given their ever increasing numbers following the publication of the Memorandum of Understanding.
Ever since I have attended the Gwynedd LFAG on behalf of my club I have attempted to work in a meaningful partnership with NRW and their predecessors, Environment Agency Wales, and genuinely believe that in some small way it has led to generally positive outcomes on both the Afon Mawddach & Afon Wnion. Clearly partnership working, co-operation, empowerment and education, which have seen the voluntary return rate on the Mawddach & Wnion rise to an unprecedented 86.5% in 2017 (with a negligible contribution from the compulsory period), count for little in NRW's eyes
What makes the bitter pill even more difficult to swallow is that it follows on from a really positive Mawddach Alternative Mitigation meeting held in the NRW Offices in Dolgellau last Friday, followed by a site visit to the Afon Wen, which could have delivered further positive outcomes for the catchment. Sadly all of my optimism has now been extinguished by yesterday's announcement and I have little appetite to carry on, particularly as potential volunteers have now been alienated.
I will have a full and frank dialogue with my club's committee before finalising my position but at the moment my emotions are more than a little raw and I see little point in attending future LFAG's or other meetings with NRW. I am only sorry that my actions may will impact on those NRW Staff who I have worked alongside over the past few years and who are not responsible for the current sorry state of affairs. Nevertheless I feel that I have little choice other than to stand by my principles.
