Sustainability Committee

Inquiry into access to inland water in Wales

I would like to offer evidence in favour of free unconditional access to our waterways. My name is Mike Elias and I have spent sixty years close to or on the river Towy in west wales either as a coracle fisherman, a boat owner or angler and have had the pleasure of enjoying that environment by indulging in my hobbies of sketching,walking and bird watching as well as 'bobbing for eels' 'fluking for flatfish' and gathering cockles and mussels in the estuary. My education has been more practical than academic so I would like to offer my evidence orally to the committee as I can not give credit to my experiences and passion to promote our aquatic environment via the written word. I have served on EA (Wales) REFERAC as a netting rep served as a local councillor and have been active in trying to preserve our unique welsh net fisheries (i.e coracle,compass,seine,putcher and lave) and sit on the Carmarthen Riverside Group who are currently improving the access to the Towy for all river users. i.e walkers,cyclists,canoeists,coraclemen,boatmen,artists, naturalists and fishermen. My whole life has been spent enjoying this beautiful river environment but I'm concerned that those pleasures and privileges are being eroded to protect the narrow financial investments of a particular interest and both legislation and regulation aimed at conservation is being manipulated by an unfair and biased approach by government and it's agencies. I would appreciate a reply if an oral presentation is possible.

Yours faithfully,

Mike Elias.