Fishing is a family thing
Fishing is always something I do with my dad. He taught me how to fish and now it's quality time we spend together. I was about 8 or 9 when he first took me fishing. I grew up on the …
School of fly fishing
I have been fly fishing for 55 years and teaching it for 28 years. Every day and with every person I teach, I see how fly fishing benefits both experienced and new anglers. I have all sorts of people come for …
Working together to tackle tough new standards for swimming
The bathing water quality of our beaches is hugely important. In Devon and Cornwall, where I work, we have 144 ‘designated’ bathing waters – sites determined by the numbers of people using the spot for swimming. The vast majority of …
Don’t catch a cold, catch a fish
The nutritional benefits of eating fish are well known – but it’s the health-boosting power of catching them that are arguably less well known. Angling is one of the UK’s most popular pastimes and it’s one of the healthiest too. In …
From a phone call to a fish rescue
When you are dealing with a water body the size of London’s Hyde Park, the presence of two or three dead fish may not seem significant, but it can be an important early warning that something is wrong. So when …
Bubbles, ammonia and sardines - taking care of your fishery
For fish all over the country, summer can be a stressful time of year. The hot, sunny weather we enjoy so much can lead to low flows in rivers, and stillwater fisheries (with ponds and lakes) start to warm …
How to Raise Millions of Babies
Here at the National Coarse Fish Rearing Unit near Nottingham, the new spawning season is in full swing where each year we spawn and rear 9 different species of fish. The process starts in March with dace and grayling. This …
Turning the tide on poor water quality
The Environment Agency is involved with the Turning Tides partnership, which brings together organisations, local councils and community groups to improve the quality of local bathing waters. Keep Britain Tidy’s Chief Executive, Rich McIlwain, sets out how this partnership is …
One small action in your home could help clean up beaches
Southend-on-Sea. The name says it all really. Tourists visiting the coast over the summer months to swim in the sea are vital for Southend’s economy and new European standards coming in this year mean that passing water quality tests will …
Exploring water quality
As we approach summer more people are thinking of visiting the beach. I work in the Data, Mapping, Modelling and Information team at the Environment Agency. Over the last few months I've been preparing our improved website that will present the results …