The exciting projects were delivered in collaboration with 12 different partners, including local angling clubs, rivers trusts and land owners.

The Fisheries Improvement Programme (known as FIP) was brought together by the Environment Agency through investing over £1.3 million of rod licence income in projects over the last 12 months. The funding has helped to enhance fisheries, boost fish stocks and make improvements for anglers, angling facilities and the environment.

Projects across Hampshire and Sussex include installing fish passes and the improvement of angling access and facilities to ensure everyone can take part in the sport and ensure it is as inclusive as possible. The programme covers rivers and still waters and benefits coarse fish, trout and eels.

Arnie Warsop, an Environment Agency local fisheries officer in Sussex, said:

Anglers often ask us about how we spend the money raised from the sale of fishing licences. The Fisheries Improvement Programme is a prime example of the wide range of activities this income pays for in order to protect and improve fish stocks and fisheries.

All of the projects we fund must demonstrate benefits for anglers. The Fisheries Improvement Programme allows us to identify and invest in work supporting a local, sustainable future for angling.

The programme is also a great demonstration of our partnership efforts, with many of the projects completed with the support of land owners, local businesses and fisheries clubs – it’s a real team effort! The more people who go fishing, the more we can invest.

Local FIP projects across Hampshire and Sussex in 2020/21 included:

Hassocks Angling Club (AC) swim creation

FIP funding was used to create disabled access swims at two of the club’s venues. This has improved lake access for all club members and provided wheelchair users with more swim options.

Portsmouth and District Angling Club lake improvements

Funding was invested in making significant improvements at two of their waters. At Tithe Barn, access from the car park to newly installed fishing swims was massively improved. The car park was regraded to create a user-friendly gradient. At Soake Pond, crucial repairs were made to an eroded causeway separating two different fishing lakes. The repairs now prevent bank erosion and eliminate the movement of fish and any potential disease transfer to and from the adjacent lake. Additional marginal vegetation was also planted in the reconstructed causeway; providing important habitat for fish and invertebrates.

River Rother habitat improvements

A collaborative project between the Environment Agency, Arun and Rother Rivers Trust (ARRT), Petworth and Bognor Angling Club, Barlavington Estate and tenant farmers to reduce bank erosion and cattle poaching. Volunteers from the angling club planted trees, fencing was erected and bankside brushwood bundles were installed, preventing further erosion and trapping sediment to help reinstate the bank.

Horsted Keynes crucian pond restoration

FIP funding was used to help Horsted Keynes Angling Club restore a pond by desilting and clearing it. Marginal and submerged vegetation, as well as fish refuges, were added. Once settled, it was stocked with tench and crucian carp from the Environment Agency’s fish farm in Calverton. Further improvements are planned for 2021/22.

Additional rod licence income for prolonged dry weather support was also made available to 10 local angling clubs and fisheries. The funding was used to purchase their own aeration and water quality monitoring equipment to help manage water quality issues.

New research reveals that 51% of people are spending more time than ever trying outdoor hobbies like fishing than they did before the pandemic in a desire to connect with nature.

As part of a new campaign, the Environment Agency has created a short documentary film. The Environment Agency hopes this will highlight some of the unique stories of how fishing can be a beneficial activity for coping with the stresses of the last year, socialising and improving mental health.

Fishing Stories: Women in Fishing

Looking forward, the Environment Agency wants to hear from more clubs and fisheries about the work and projects they would like to see undertaken.

Excellencies, friends, it is a pleasure to join you today and thank you to the Government of Chile for hosting these ministerials.

Around the world ambition is increasing on climate change.

When the UK took on the COP26 Presidency, less than 30 percent of global GDP was covered by net zero targets.

That figure is now 70 percent.

And every G7 country now has a short term emissions reduction target, or NDC, that puts them on a path to net zero.

That of course is fantastic news.

But there is much much more to be done, if we are to make those targets a reality, and keep the 1.5 degree goal within reach.

And so we need all governments to come forward with net zero targets, and nationally determined contributions, based on the science, to take them there.

And we need countries to commit to take action to make these targets a reality.

Including putting an end to coal power.

And phasing out the sale of polluting vehicles.

But as well as taking action individually, we need to work together.

Because if we collaborate, across borders and across society, we can make progress faster, by increasing incentives for investment, innovating faster, and creating economies of scale.

The recent International Energy Agency report on reaching net zero by 2050, underscores the benefits of collaboration.

It states unequivocally that without international cooperation and I quote, “the transition to net‐zero emissions would be delayed by decades”.

And so, as part of our efforts to put the world on a path to net zero, and keep 1.5 degrees alive, the UK COP26 Presidency is enhancing international collaboration in critical sectors like power, like transport and land use.

We have established the Energy Transition Council, to support just clean energy transitions in developing countries, and a Rapid Response Facility, to provide countries with immediate technical assistance.

And we have announced a Green Grids Initiative with India.

On clean transport, we have established the COP26 Zero Emissions Vehicle Transition Council, bringing together governments representing some of the world’s largest car markets to get the transition moving faster.

And we are co-hosting the Forest Agriculture and Commodity Trade Dialogue, with Indonesia, to protect forests and help farmers make a better living.

Globally, we must build on this approach and create strong forums for collaboration around each of the main emitting sectors.

Working together to innovate and create demand, and bring new technologies to market, must be a major part of those efforts.

And, here, Mission Innovation and the Climate Energy Ministerial play a vital role.

So it is a real pleasure to celebrate the launch of the next phase of Mission Innovation today and its three new missions, which see governments and business come together, to make clean hydrogen competitive, to get zero emission ships sailing across our oceans, and to enable countries to transition to 100 percent renewable power.

The UK is pleased to lead on power and hydrogen, together with our partners.

And I urge governments and the private sector to join each of these new missions.

To take action to reach their goals.

And to bring forward action plans and new Missions at COP26.

I am also pleased that the CEM will play an increased role in developing markets for clean technologies.

The UK intends to double its funding for this next phase.

And we welcome the launch of the CEM Industrial Deep Decarbonisation Initiative by India and the UK yesterday, which will coordinate public procurement of green steel and cement, using governments’ purchasing power to create demand in those industries where decarbonisation poses the greatest challenges.

Demand that, ultimately, markets can fill.

We must sustain such approaches over the next vital decade.

And place collaboration at the heart of our efforts to reduce emissions; working together to drive action in each of the main emitting sectors, and to put the world on a path to net zero, to keep 1.5 degrees alive, and to protect our planet for future generations.

Thank you.

People most vulnerable to life-threatening bacterial infections, including newborns, elderly and those in hospital are set to benefit from an extra £1 million boost to support the development of innovative treatments for antibiotic-resistant infections.

The Global Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation Fund (GAMRIF), part of the Department of Health and Social Care, is investing further funding to help the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) efforts to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR), one of the greatest threats to global health.

The new investment represents a contribution to all GARDP programmes, including to the development of SECURE, a new antibiotics initiative co-developed by GARDP and the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with other international bodies.

SECURE’s mission is to expand access to essential antibiotics to prepare countries for the silent pandemic of drug-resistant bacterial infections. These essential medicines will include new antibiotics to combat drug-resistant infections, but also existing antibiotics that are not widely available or suffer from frequent supply chain interruptions and shortages.

The unchecked growth of drug-resistant infections has long-term implications. Resistant infections kill an estimated 700,000 people a year, a number projected to increase exponentially as drug resistance grows and imperils our ability to treat even common infections. The consequences of not addressing this now could result in a future where we are unable to treat common infections such as pneumonia, urinary tract infections and infections in newborns.

Lord Bethell, Minister for Innovation, said:

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health, making common infections more difficult to treat and risking lives. This is a key focus of our G7 presidency and I am looking forward to further discussions on this with the world’s major democracies at the health ministers’ meetings in June.

Our additional funding will continue to support the fantastic work of GARDP in the development of vital treatments to treat drug-resistant infections. This will help safeguard the future of modern medicine.

Seamus O’Brien, GARDP Director of Research and Development, said:

We are extremely pleased by the UK’s increased contribution at a time when COVID-19 has demonstrated the critical importance of preventing and preparing for pandemics, including the pandemic of drug-resistant infections.

By investing an additional £1 million, the UK is again demonstrating leadership in efforts to accelerate the development and delivery of life-changing and life-saving treatments for every person who needs them.

With the UK’s 2021 G7 presidency prioritising global health threats, this funding recognises that effective antibiotics underpin modern healthcare, and reinforces the partnership between the UK and GARDP to ensure that such antibiotics are available now and for future generations.

The funding comes on top of £13 million previously committed by the UK government to GARDP. Funding both GARDP’s pipeline and the development of SECURE reflects the shared belief of GARDP and GAMRIF that developing new treatments and ensuring responsible access for all in need are inseparable.

The crackdown saw almost 200 fishing licences checked and people reported for offences including fishing during the close season, unlicensed fishing and fishing using illegal baits.

The Fisheries Enforcement Team worked with partners to target specific areas where illegal fishing has been reported.

This included an operation with Northumbria Police to target fishing offences and anti-social behaviour at an urban fishing lake in Washington, with one person reported for illegal fishing at Corgi Pond.

A second operation with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council’s Environmental Crime Team tackled illegal fishing and camping at Stillington Forest Park, where two people were reported for unlicensed fishing and a number of people were asked to leave and remove tents and litter.

Patrols were also carried out in Tynedale, Gateshead, Durham and stillwaters in north Stockton where 10 offences were detected.

‘There is no excuse’

The Environment Agency’s David Shears, Fisheries Enforcement Specialist in the North East, said:

It was great weather over the Bank Holiday and it was good to see plenty of anglers out enjoying our region’s beautiful scenery.

While the majority of the anglers we spoke to had the correct fishing licence and were abiding by the law, 27 of those checked were found to be in breach of rod licence and close season legislation and were reported for it.

People who don’t buy a licence are not only cheating other anglers and the future of the sport, but they are running the risk of a criminal conviction and fine. There is no excuse.

By working together with our partners we can combine our expertise and knowledge and share resources to continue to protect wildlife, detect crime and improve the local river and water environment.

It is currently the ‘close season’ for coarse fish which remains in place until 15 June inclusive and aims to protect fish while they spawn and give them the chance to recover.

The Environment Agency acts on information received from the public to target their patrols to areas where its suspected illegal fishing is taking place. They work with police and other partners, supported by the Angling Trust, to gather intelligence.

The Environment Agency acts on information received and illegal fishing can be reported on the 24-hour Incident Hotline on 0800 80 70 60.