Work has been carried out on angling infrastructure across south Wales, as part of NRW’s commitment to making fisheries more sustainable and accessible.

In the south west, our Area Statement has a health focus, so it is important for our teams to be thinking about access to nature, improving health and well-being and wherever possible, removing barriers to any outdoor recreation activity.

NRW’s fisheries lead for south west, Dave Charlesworth, said: “We did a survey a while back that told us that the things that stop people accessing fishing as a recreation activity is the equipment, the location, and wanting someone to go with. So, we have had focussed on urban or community fishing development where we can achieve lots of benefits for the community.”

Gowerton Coarse Fishing Infrastructure Improvements

There is a coarse fishing lake next to the golf range at Gowerton. The lake is in walking distance of Gowerton itself and can be easily accessed from other nearby towns and villages such as Gorseinon, Loughour, Waunarlwydd or further afield thanks to a nearby train station and travel infrastructure.

The Gowerton fishery is very much a local community fishery with lots of families and children going there for what is often their first angling experience. The improvements made here will support the development of the facility and improve the angler experience, which will encourage local residents to visit the site more often. This will increase their access to outdoor spaces, nature and recreation, and allow them to experience the wider benefits on their health and well-being.

NRW worked collaboratively with the owner to identify improvements to the coarse fishery with a specific focus on making the site accessible. We oversaw and funded the installation of 10 single person platforms and two double British Disabled Angling Association compliant platforms for safe wheelchair access. In addition, access paths have been resurfaced, compacted and levelled.

At other locations in Neath, in collaboration with Glyn Neath & District Angling Club, our fisheries team have identified suitable locations to make safe access for river anglers of all ability. Examples of other accessible infrastructure projects include:

Example 1 (left): Stepped angler access on the Pont Walby River, Neath. This has made fishing in this section of the river easier for anglers of all abilities.

Example 2 (right): Gated river access has been added to a previously modified bank to help anglers of all abilities to get to the water edge.

To support the sustainability of fisheries in the south west, we collaborated with SW Angling Society using Shared Outcomes Request funding, to install a fish screen in Clyne Pond, Swansea.

This type of infrastructure (see below), keeps coarse fish in whilst allowing water to flow out. This helps sustain the supply of coarse fish within the fishery and prevents their escape into native waters which could have a negative impact on the native fish species within our rivers.