A canoeing catastrophe looms

As water-sports activities ramp up on our rivers, we need to press home that summer self-gratification should not override the needs of the environment, says John Bailey

- 

LET ME state from the outset that I'm an angler, and over many years I've had days compromised by canoeing and paddleboarding activities. Probably many Field readers have experienced the same. However, this issue is far more than simple piscatorial irritation. The question of river recreational use and abuse is becoming more serious each and every summer: if it hasn't reached a river near you, it will soon. Post COVID-19 increasing numbers of people have wished to access the UK's countryside. This is understandable, to be encouraged and an excellent principle but sometimes comes adrift in practice. Anglers do not want to ruin the canoeists' fun but fun can only too quickly transmute to destruction of our fragile upper and middle rivers.