Annual Dinner

15th October. Arrive 7pm for 7.30

Our 2010 dinner is being held at the Emlyn Arms Hotel this year at a cost of £19.50 per head.

The meal will be from the carvery of the hotel.

To book your places contact Mr. Barry Hallam by phone on 01239 711 150,

by mobile on 07971 237 383

or via email

The Emlyn Arms Hotel,

Bridge Street, Newcastle Emlyn

SA38 9DU

Click on the photograph of the The Emlyn Arms for more info.

A Petition from the Salmon and Trout Association

THOUSANDS SIGN PETITION DEMANDING ACTION TO SAVE WILD SALMON AND SEA TROUT

Lord Steel presents 17,000 signature salmon farming petition to Scottish Parliament; Salmon and Trout Association petition calls for urgent action to protect wild salmon and sea trout from damaging fish farming practices
Lord David Steel, on behalf of the Salmon and Trout Association (S&TA), has delivered to the Scottish Parliament’s Petitions Committee an appeal with over 17,000 signatures, calling for concerted action to limit the damage caused by salmon farms to stocks of wild salmon and sea trout in the west Highlands and Islands.

Paul Knight, S&TA Chief Executive Officer, said: “There is absolutely no doubt that the Scottish Government’s record on regulating aquaculture falls far short of its international responsibilities and obligations to protect wild salmon and sea trout. Our petition confirms that there is widespread public concern that the Government should
without delay take the necessary remedial action that will enable migratory fish populations in western Scotland to recover”.

Mr Knight added: “We are entirely realistic and appreciate that salmon farming is here to stay. However, as shown in our recent review, evidence of the devastatingly negative impact of salmon farming, as presently operated, on wild migratory fish stocks is unequivocal. It is the Government’s statutory responsibility, and the industry’s moral one, to provide proper protection for two of Scotland’s most valuable and iconic natural resources – wild salmon and sea trout – before it is too late. We will do everything possible to ensure their survival, and to this end we call upon the Scottish Government and the salmon farming industry to respond to this challenge. The time for prevarication is over”.

Please sign the petition to save the wild Scottish sea trout and salmon -

The pollution of the Afon Cych

Chairman of the TTA, Mike Evans, would like to reassure concerned TTA members and visiting anglers that reports of the fish kill caused by slurry pollution in a tributary of the upper Cych have become exaggerated in the angling press.

The fish kill was serious and is currently the subject of a legal investigation by the Environment Agency as well as the subject of a compensation claim by Fish Legal, however, the affected river was limited to the area highlighted in the accompanying maps.

Reports have put the number of fish killed at 25,000 but reliable eye witnesses estimated that in fact around a thousand fish were killed which is a thousand fish too many but a long way from the publicised figure.

Fortunately one of the major tributaries, the Afon Barddu, was running strongly at the time of the pollution which diluted the effect of the slurry in the river downstream of its confluence with the Cych. Kick samples have indicated that aquatic invertebrates downstream have survived and live fry were observed in the Cych only yards away from the confluence a couple of days after the event.

Mike would like it to be known that fishing on the Teifi is still as good as ever and that substantial numbers of fish are ascending the river at the time of writing in mid June.

It must be said though this further pollution of one of the most important and pristine tributaries is far from insignificant and that the rights of the club will be defended robustly in this and any similar case of damage to our waters.

Guess what did this!

I was surprised to hear that the damage shown was caused by the peacock at Vaynor Farm. The damage wasn't a one off, a few anglers have reported similar stories.

Apparently the bird sees its reflection in the paintwork and then does its best to knock seven shades out of it to the point where it damages both itself and the car in the process.

The owner of the car suggests that parking in the car park by the hut would have prevented this as the bird appears to be more territorial on the open road, so, be warned, if you don't want your car to suffer a similar fate don't park on the road, or alternatively don't polish it!

Bob Bird retires as Chairman

Bob Bird

After six busy years as the popular chairman of the TTA Bob Bird has recently decided to retire and is handing the position over to Mike Evans, his long standing and well respected Vice Chairman.

Bob’s term as club chairman has seen many positive changes to the structure and spirit of the club in the face of difficult times for game fishers in Wales. Apart from the new waters rented and bought by the TTA a stocking programme has been initiated during his time in office and Bob has given his support to the Teifi Rivers Invertebrate Monitoring project - both fine examples of TTA members taking the initiative to protect their rivers. Legal action has been launched against the commercial exploitation of the river by raft and canoeing businesses, a process which is continuing to this day. New rules aimed to conserve our fishing and to limit exploitation of fragile stocks at a time of a national decline have been introduced and Bob has steered the committee through some difficult decisions which we all hope will help to improve our fishing.

Being chairman doesn’t lend itself to having a quiet life, a big part of the role is to speak for the club and to listen to the opinion of members of the club which involves answering numerous calls and attending endless meetings, all of which have been managed by Bob with his usual good humour and diplomatic style - we’ll all miss that. Six years at the helm’s enough for anyone though and although he’ll continue to support the club as a committee member Bob can now look forward to some more time on the river and relaxed evenings free from the pressure of dealing with club business.

Mike Evans has asked me to express his enormous gratitude to Bob on behalf of the club for all of his hard work over the years, many thanks.

The perennial club business rolls on, global warming , problems with canoes, stocking, degradation of habitat , pollution, cormorants, poachers and, of course, bulls in fields. Fortunately Bob can pass these responsibilities on to a safe pair of hands, so, over to you Mike, Bob and the club wish you all the best in the job, we hope you enjoy it!

Mike Evans, new chairman of the TTA

New water, new maps

The TTA have recently purchased the Manordeifi fishery which extends to over two miles upstream from Llechryd bridge towards Abercych along the left bank. The new rental of the Glyn Teifi beat which extends the left bank fishery downstream from Newbridge, Abercych, means that there is now an almost unbroken fishery between Newcastle Emlyn and Llechryd, a wonderful achievement for a fishing association. Colin Chapman has created a Google map for all of the club waters which is right up to date, it can be viewed by clicking the accompanying link.

See the new waters Google maps

Membership renewals/applications

Due to the late distribution of membership forms the deadline for submitting them is now extended to 31st April - for this year only.

If you'd like to speed up the process a little the membership form can be downloaded from this site.

Click to download a membership form, either as a Word document or a PDF

Screaming Reels - coming your way soon.....

Apologies for the delay in the distribution of this years copy of "Screaming Reels". Due to unavoidable delays the club magazine won't be posted out until 16th March but rest assured, the publication will as usual be accompanied by membership renewal forms.

A bit of good news

CYPERMETHRIN SHEEP DIPS NOW PERMANENTLY BANNED

Salmon & Trout Association & Fish Legal   4 March 2010

Salmon & Trout Association and Fish Legal hail notable victory against one of our waterways’ most lethal toxic killers

 The Environment Agency (EA) and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) issued a statement yesterday confirming a permanent ban of cypermethrin sheep dips.  

The sale of cypermethrin sheep dip products had been temporarily banned by Defra since 21 February 2006, and the Salmon & Trout Association (S&TA), Atlantic Salmon Trust, Anglers’ Conservation Association (now re-named Fish Legal), Buglife – the Invertebrate Conservation Trust, and other fisheries environmental groups, have been seeking a permanent ban ever since.

The Sheep Dip Stakeholder Steering Group involved representatives from all sides of the argument and developed an Action Plan for the Pollution Reduction Programme for sheep dip, including the “Stop-Every-Drop” message and associated industry led campaign.  However, continual lobbying, backed up by the threat of legal action and freedom of information requests, from the fisheries and environmental sector has led to the only sustainable decision possible from this action.

The pressure has resulted in an unexpected development.  In recent weeks, the three manufacturers of cypermethrin sheep dip products have voluntarily written to instruct the VMD to expire the Marketing Authorisations for their cypermethrin sheep dip products, which had duly been actioned.  That means there are now no cypermethrin sheep dip products with a UK Marketing Authorisation.  Defra Ministers have been informed of this situation.

Paul Knight, CEO of the S&TA, said, “this day has been long in coming, but marks a significant step in the improvement of UK rivers.  It brings to a conclusion fifteen years of work by S&TA and other organisations to get these lethal chemicals banned from entering our waterways.  Miniscule amounts of cypermethrin have proved incredibly damaging to aquatic insects, fish eggs and the fish themselves, causing widespread damage in Wales, SW and NW England and many other areas.  Achieving this permanent ban proves that the concerted, coordinated lobbying and influence of fisheries organisations can bring about real benefits for the aquatic environment and its dependent species.”

Mark Lloyd, CEO of Fish Legal and the Angling Trust, said: “we are delighted that the manufacturers have finally thrown in the towel and given up trying to sell these chemicals which have done so much harm to UK rivers.  The recent decision by the Information Commissioner to force the manufacturers to reveal their previously-secret environmental risk assessments was very significant, not just for the fate of cypermethrin, but for other polluting chemicals.  Fish Legal will fight the manufacturers’ attempt to appeal this important decision.”

DEFRA press release -

This really is good news and not before time. Edgar George, our vice president and past chairman, has been at the forefront of the lobby from anglers to get this product withdrawn, now it seems that a well deserved victory has been achieved and we should be grateful for the hard work that he's undertaken with and on behalf of Welsh anglers - well done Edgar.

Problems remain with cypermethrin based insecticides used in forestry to control the pine weevil on juvenile conifers. The Teifi catchment has recently suffered from this pollution when the Afon Brefi, once a very important breeding stream for migratory fish and brown trout, was poisoned following spraying operations on a new plantation that spilled into the water course.

This group of chemicals is far too dangerous to aquatic habitats to be used no matter what guidelines are issued for their use, they should be withdrawn from the market.

Rod licences -

All anglers fishing TTA waters are required to have a fishing licence and it's never been easier to buy one - except for the price, of course, £72.00 for a full game licence this season, ouch. Remember to get yours in readiness for the 2010 season which begins on 1st April either from the Post Office, by telephone or on-line.

Buy online / info

Llys Y Fran Reservoir

Our nearest reservoir opens on 27th February this year, a chance to blow the close season cobwebs away with an Arctic breeze.

2010 prices

Opening/Closing

Membership

Andrew Thomas aka Twm Twm, who's been the membership secretary for the last five years or so has finally decided to retire from the position after putting many hours of hard work into what is probably the most unenviable job on the committee. Many thanks for all your time and effort which gave TTA members such good service Twm Twm. Thanks also to Gino who has helped out with the admin.

Bob Montgomery,a glutton for punishment, has taken up the reins as membership secretary this year and his details are given on the Contacts page - well done Bob and good luck!

Invertebrate Monitoring

The Teifi Rivers Invertebrate Monitors (TRIM) continue with their good work and have now completed a year of collecting aquatic invertebrates along the Teifi Valley. The data shows a marked difference in the quality between the Teifi tributaries but we now have good data on which to compare future samples and make assumptions on whether water quality is improving or not. The figures will also be instrumental should a pollution incident occur on the river as we have proof of it's health, recorded scientifically by trained personnel. Many thanks to all from the TTA for their financial support and to the club members who have helped in creating this vitally important and easily accessible information.

The Environment Agency have responded to concerns raised about poor sampling results from the lower Cych with an intensive survey which can be viewed alongside data collected by TRIM and other West Wales invertebrate monitoring groups.

For the latest report compiled by the EA on West Wales rivers click here

Interested in joining TRIM?

Contact Colin Chapman via email if you'd like to receive training to enable you to participate in the project.

New Secretary

Wayne Bishop is also moving on after many years of service to the club as its secretary. Thanks for your hard work Wayne, we're all very grateful.

Jez Moore will now take over as club secretary.