Why the Fish Welfare Fund?

The Fund was started because increasingly government is looking to angling organisations (the angling industry) to part fund regulation and research.  Defra, and other government departments, want to see the angling “industry” acting as a partner with others in the world of angling and fisheries in the development of policy, regulation and process.

The existing angling bodies do not have the resources for these important developments.  FACT wants to act as a partner in many agendas but lacks resource.  The individual partners in FACT have the same problem. A key part of FACT development is the commitment to working closely with all angling partners to maximise impact, avoid duplication, and promote unity within representation for angling.

The FWF is an opportunity for the angling and fisheries trades, in the widest sense, to support the early stages of the development of FACT, the future of the unification process, invest in the future of their businesses and to show government that the angling “industry” stands alongside angling representatives in their efforts to improve the performance of our sport and our fisheries.

The FWF will seek to fund a PR campaign aimed at the non-angling public to inform and encourage participation across age groups and gender, will stand alongside other partners in funding key research in fish diseases and their control, will fund the development of responses to government consultations and assist in building co-operation with other conservation and countryside groups.