Case study:The Wye & Usk Passport

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Location: 51° 59' 45.14" N, 3° 13' 56.37" W

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Project overview

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Status	In progress
Project web site	http://www.wyeuskfoundation.org/projects/passport.php
Themes	Economic aspects, Fisheries, Habitat and biodiversity, Social benefits
Country	Wales
Main contact forename	Stephen
Main contact surname	Marsh-Smith
Main contact user ID
Contact organisation	Wye & Usk Foundation
Contact organisation web site	http://www.wyeuskfoundation.org/
Partner organisations
Parent multi-site project
This is a parent project encompassing the following projects	No

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Project summary

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The demand to fish the Wye was such that in the mid-20th century it was a case of "Dead Men’s Shoes". Beats were extremely valuable and anglers paid handsomely to fish the better ones. The pressure on catching fish was also high - all methods were used and beats seemed to accommodate many more rods than they do today. In addition, ghillies were employed to ensure catches remained high.

When the salmon runs collapsed in the early '90s, it was sudden and dramatic for all, except the lower beats. Lots of fishing suddenly became available but there was no means of putting anglers in touch with it. In 2003 we contacted all the fishing hotels on the upper Wye and found only one (owned by a keen angler) who was able to accommodate visiting anglers. The economy linked with fishing had all but collapsed along with most of the associated jobs.

In order to meet the requirements of EU funding, it was essential to show that our work and subsequent improvement to fisheries benefitted the rural economy, either with direct employment or by boosting revenue. We needed a scheme that did just this and at the same time enable us to calculate the extent of these benefits. The launch of pHish and some post Foot and Mouth funding (Adfywio) to get visitors back to Powys were the drivers that created the 'Upper Wye Passport' in 2003.

WHIP, our first project, gave us the opportunity to market restored trout fisheries and by combining neighbouring farmers' ownerships we were able to make beats of a worthwhile size. This gave the farmers some real incentive to look after their tributary. Many also had B&Bs that could be filled by anglers during the less popular months of the year. Our first Roving Voucher (now Wild Stream) scheme was on the Edw, Clettwr and Duhonw. Simplicity was the key factor: fishers bought vouchers, posted them in the beat box and enjoyed a day’s wild trout fishing. Later we added fisheries on the main river, giving rise to the "Booking Office". Then came the Usk, Lugg, Arrow and Monnow; and later reservoirs and still waters. In 2007, The Rural Enhancement Scheme funded fisheries infrastructure improvements in Herefordshire - paths, huts and bank repairs. The project added another 35 fisheries including, for the first time, coarse fishing on the middle/lower Wye. An online facility was added making out-of-hours bookings possible. A webcam on a gauge heralded a novel way of providing information on water conditions. Now there are nine spread throughout the catchment of them.

In 2003, the first year, 13 main Wye and tributary beats generated a modest £1,845 in fishing sales. Ten years later this was over £250,00 We have over 160 fisheries on board, including some outside the Wye and Usk and some of the area’s top still waters. We calculate the Passport to be worth over £1.3 million annually to the rural economy. We are able to cover its running costs.

How it works

The Passport is made up of two distinct elements:

Our "Wild Streams" focus on the wild trout fisheries created by our habitat restoration, while our "Booking Office" (telephone and online) has been created to take day, week and season reservations for salmon, trout, grayling & coarse fishing on the larger and more established fisheries.

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Catchment and subcatchment Select a catchment/subcatchment Site Edit site Name WFD water body codes WFD (national) typology WFD water body name Pre-project morphology Reference morphology Desired post project morphology Heavily modified water body National/international site designation Local/regional site designations Protected species present Invasive species present Species of interest Dominant hydrology Dominant substrate River corridor land use Average bankfull channel width category Average bankfull channel width (m) Average bankfull channel depth category Average bankfull channel depth (m) Mean discharge category Mean annual discharge (m3/s) Average channel gradient category Average channel gradient Average unit stream power (W/m2) Project background Edit project background Reach length directly affected (m) Project started 2003 Works started Works completed Project completed Total cost category Total cost (k€) Benefit to cost ratio Funding sources Cost for project phases Phase cost category cost exact (k€) Lead organisation Contact forename Contact surname Investigation and design Stakeholder engagement and communication Works and works supervision Post-project management and maintenance Monitoring Reasons for river restoration Edit reasons for restoration Mitigation of a pressure Exploitation of fish populations, Bringing income to the local area Hydromorphology Biology Physico-chemical Other reasons for the project Measures Edit Measures Structural measures Bank/bed modifications Cleared debris Floodplain / River corridor Planform / Channel pattern Other Non-structural measures Management interventions Made rivers more accessible to fishermen Social measures (incl. engagement) Other Monitoring Hydromorphological quality elements Edit Hydromorphological quality elements Element When monitored Type of monitoring Control site used Result Before measures After measures Qualitative Quantitative Biological quality elements Edit biological quality elements Element When monitored Type of monitoring Control site used Result Before measures After measures Qualitative Quantitative Physico-chemical quality elements Edit Physico-chemical quality elements Element When monitored Type of monitoring Control site used Result Before measures After measures Qualitative Quantitative Any other monitoring, e.g. social, economic Edit Other responses Element When monitored Type of monitoring Control site used Result Before measures After measures Qualitative Quantitative Monitoring documents Upload monitoring documents Additional documents and videos Upload additional documents Additional links and references Edit links and references Link Description Supplementary Information Edit Supplementary Information