Environment Agency Area Director Lesley Worswick pens her latest column as she looks forward to National Fishing Month and the agency's part in caring for our waters and its wildlife, plus latest efforts to prevent flooding.

After a pretty miserable May and June, we enjoyed some superb weather here in the North West for a few weeks. 

In fact, it felt like the dog days of summer had arrived. 

While many of us have no doubt been enjoying our beautiful coastlines and countryside, it’s been such a busy time for your local EA team, I hardly know where to start.

Fisheries is taking something of a centre stage at the moment as summer can see Environment Agency staff responding to many reports of fish in distress. 

Fish get hot and bothered just like the rest of us in the midday heat and too much sun can reduce the dissolved oxygen that fish depend on. Intense summer rainfall, like the thunderstorms we have experienced recently, can also be especially damaging for fish.

Just last month, our fisheries officers rescued almost 200 bream trapped below a weir in Pennington Brook in Leigh. 

Bream are a still water fish which are present upstream in Pennington Flash and at this time of year they congregate to spawn near the flash’s outflow.

These unfortunate fish had been washed out of their spawning grounds during heavy rainfall at the end of May and were unable to return due to the shallow summer water levels and the weir itself.

Environment Agency Area Director Lesley Worswick

To prevent the bream from suffering due to a combination of factors such as warm water temperatures, lack of food and with the potential of them being illegally taken and poached, the decision was taken to rescue the fish and return them safely to Pennington Flash.

This was a difficult task due to the nature of the location and limited access however, careful planning by our Fisheries Officers ensured a safe and successful result. 

In total, 174 fish with a combined weight of approximately 900lb were safely returned, which included a number of individuals weighing in excess of 10lb!

Of course, July and August is often a lovely time for anglers and the summer holidays are a fantastic opportunity to get outdoors and enjoy some time next to the water.

With both National Fishing Month and Take a Friend Fishing upon us, now is the perfect time to give fishing a go or introduce someone new to the sport.

Take a Friend Fishing will run until Sunday, September 5, and it couldn’t be easier to get involved. All you have to do is visit www.takeafriendfishing.co.uk to sign up with your fishing licence number.

The free fishing licence from the Environment Agency, usually worth £6 to £12, will be sent with a confirmation email, so please remember to have the angler’s fishing licence and both people’s email addresses plus a few other details handy when you pre-register.

National Fishing Month will also run until August 30. A series of events will be held across the country that aim to give people who have never fished before an opportunity to learn the basics for free.

I’ve been told that going fishing can make you a healthier, happier person with benefits that will last much longer than the duration of your visit to the bank. 

But, I have never been one to just talk the talk and I am going to be dipping a toe into the sport myself, alongside our fisheries officers, as part of Take a Friend Fishing later this month. I will of course share my experience and any catches of the day with you all in my next column!

Continuing with the theme of water, it may seem strange to talk about flooding during the warmer months, but I have often said that the best time to prepare for it is on drier days and that’s exactly what we have been doing.

RISK: Work continues to reduce the problems of flooding.

On July 29, we announced that homes and businesses in Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire will be better protected from flooding and coastal erosion with £42.8m invested in more than 50 schemes in 2021/22.

The investment is part of plans outlining £5.2 billion of investment nationally over the next six years, as part of our annual capital programme.

We already have a strong record in Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire with over 10,000 homes better protected since 2015, but we are now going further.

Working with our partners, we are aiming to protect 336,000 properties across the country by 2027, plus helping to avoid £32 billion in  

wider economic damages and reducing the national flood risk by up to 11 per cent. 

Action is also being taken to reduce the impacts of flooding when it does occur such as improving flood insurance, planning policy, and property flood resilience measures.

We want to drive down flood risk from every angle while also creating better places for people and wildlife.

This includes maximising opportunities for greater use of sustainable drainage systems and natural flood management that can help to slow the flow or store floodwaters alongside wider sustainability and carbon reduction benefits.

This investment, alongside our overall FCERM Strategy, will ensure that today’s growth and infrastructure is resilient to tomorrow’s climate by making the right decisions now to allow us to build back better and greener.