Caught by the River

ACA Bulletin

17th May 2008

Starting today, the ACA is launching its special 60th anniversary fund raising auction. Over 140 fantastic lots, generously donated by our supporters, are now available for you to bid for via our website and there are full details in our latest Annual Report, which will be with you in the next week. There are some fantastic items in several categories – guided fishing trips with high profile anglers, coarse and game fishing all over the UK, coarse and game tackle, art and literature. Much of the fishing on offer is on private rivers and lakes giving you the chance to fish waters that would not be available otherwise. Guide prices range from £10 to £900 so there should be something for everyone. Please remember this auction is to raise funds to help us to continue to fight those who damage our fishing, it’s not a bargain hunt!

The auction operates on a sealed bid basis, ending July 16th. If you see something from the catalogue of lots that interests you, you can bid the maximum you would be prepared to pay for that lot. If your bid is the highest on the closing date (July 16th) you win that lot but you only have to pay £5 more than the next highest bid, rather than the full amount of your original bid. If two maximum bids are the same, the first bidder wins, so get in quick! You can make bids directly through the form on the website or by posting the form from the Annual Report back to us.

Please send this e-mail to as many anglers as you can to publicise the auction far and wide.

Good luck and happy bidding!


About the ACA
…….

In 1948, backed by funds of just £200, a new pollution fighting body fought its very first case in Britain and won! Known then as the Anglers’ Co-operative Association, it was a pioneering organisation founded by John Eastwood, after whom we have named our current headquarters in Leominster, Herefordshire.

Three years later, the newly-formed ACA forced a city corporation to spend £1.8m – worth £30 million at today’s prices – on a new sewage works to prevent pollution. John Eastwood showed remarkable vision and determination by using the common law to stop pollution and to win compensation for anglers when it occurred.

Since that daring start, the ACA has brought thousands of cases to a successful conclusion, recovering millions of pounds for those affected by pollution. We are a powerful deterrent and we make a real difference to the quality of watercourses and lakes in the UK. Anyone who enjoys aquatic wildlife benefits from our work, as ultimately do all of us who drink tap water!

In 1994, the Anglers’ Co-operative Association changed its name to the Anglers’ Conservation Association to reflect more accurately the valuable work it does conserving and protecting our rivers, lakes and streams.

Today’s ACA, with its highly professional staff, takes on all polluters and others who would damage fisheries from the largest multinational corporations to one-man fly-tipping operations.

If necessary, the ACA will pursue cases all the way to the House of Lords. In its entire history, the ACA has only lost three cases – a record second to none. Such is its reputation that most cases are settled out of court, with defendants being made to pay compensation to enable polluted waters to be cleaned up, restocked and restored.

Today, no stream, river or lake can be completely free from the threat of pollution or other harm. No organisation fights that threat as single-mindedly or effectively as the ACA.

If you want to support us, please click here to join up