Artifishal audience at Walker Theatre, Shrewsbury (Credit – SRT) 
Severn Rivers Trust Stand at Walker Theatre (Credit – SRT)
I attended the Severn Rivers Trust showing of Artifishal by Patagonia held at the Walker Theatre in the heart of Shrewsbury on Thursday night. If you do anything this weekend you should watch this absolutely amazing movie. Prepare to be depressed at the end of the movie which catalogues the decline and near extinction of the iconic salmon following decades of human impact on their habitat and genetics. It is tinged with some hope if we can just muster the support to implement the habitat changes needed to give nature the chance to restore itself. Watch it then, like me be inspired to take action, we simply can’t sit back and wait for government(s) to do this at their usual slow pace and with token budgets.
At the end of the film there were a few short words from NRW, the EA and SRT. Of note were the following:
- The SRT have an auction to raise funds – please see the auction lots and bid. There are a good selection of options including cricket and ascot horse racing tickets.
- The EA have reviewed the salmon angling catch returns and numbers have fallen dramatically again in 2019. They are proposing emergency byelaws which will see the mandatory catch and release of all salmon for a further 10 years as well as a range of restrictions on method. These will be the subject of a public consultation starting in the coming weeks so please keep an eye out for it and respond.
- The Water Framework Directive (WFD) River Basin Management plans (RBMPs) need to be updated by the end of 2021. The Challenges and Choices Consultation started on 24 October 2019 and runs until 24 April 2020. This is a great opportunity to contribute to the next phase of the RBMPs covering your catchment. Have your say.
Tight Lines
Greg