We benefit greatly from the support of this expert Fisheries & Angling Advisory Group (formerly the National Angling Advisory Group), which comprises a small number of skilled and experienced practitioners.
The group helps us chart a course through angling and fisheries management issues, especially those that may be innovative or controversial, to ensure fisheries and angling is appropriate, well managed and reflects our charitable objectives.
Chair
The group's chair is Andy Strickland, a retired chartered accountant, Andy is now the general secretary of Prince Albert Angling Society, the largest angling club in the UK, with around 10,000 members. He manages a portfolio of more than 200 fisheries, including over 40 that are owned outright and more than 20 SSSIs, including sections of the Montgomery Canal.
Members
Caroline Susan Galloway BEM
Sue has been a Level 2 Coarse Angling Coach since 2010. She is a freelance coach who also volunteers as the Lead Coach for Northampton Nene Angling Club on the junior development team and is also the lead coach on the Canal & River Trust's Let's Fish activities.
Her goals and aspirations are to continue to provide angling opportunities for children and young people with disabilities as well as increasing the number of girls and women participating in angling. Sue loves being around water and nature and firmly believes in using angling activities to support and maintain wellbeing.
Her most recent achievement has been receiving the “Distinguished Award for Services to Young People,” from the Northamptonshire Association of Youth Clubs in 2020. Sue has greatly improved her canal fishing techniques, which have helped to improve her canal coaching skills.
David Kent BEM
Board member of the Angling Trust and chairman of the Angling Trust Freshwater Group, David has volunteered in numerous capacities in fisheries and angling for over 40 years. David plays a lead role in the organisation of our joint competitions with the Angling Trust and is also one of our council members.
Dave Ottewell
Dave began angling for gudgeon on the Trent & Mersey Canal at the age of 10, eventually learning the necessary skills to tackle the rivers around his hometown of Burton upon Trent. He was fortunate enough to have had access to plentiful mixed stocks of coarse fish and benefitted from the coaching offered by a number of dedicated anglers from Burton Mutual Angling Association and the former Derby Angling Association. These factors combined enabled him to develop both his match and pleasure angling, forming a lifelong love of angling and our precious aquatic environments.
This led to the academic study of freshwater ecology and professional roles held within the Environment Agency, British Waterways, consultancy and his current position of Senior Hydrologist for Natural England, which enables him to advise the group on the management of fish populations and their associated legislation within the protected sites held by the Trust.
Keith Williams.
A national expert in fisheries legislation, Keith is a retired EA Fisheries Inspector with profound knowledge of the Dee Catchment as well as fisheries within Wales more generally. Keith was the lead intelligence officer in Operation Omega dealing with gang activity on the Dee Cockle Fishery and the Crown Court witness lead in the Morecambe Bay Drowning tragedy and commended.
Following serious fisheries offences on the River Dyfi and River Aled where cyanide was used to take fish, Keith subsequently worked alongside Monsanto PLC to bring about strict national and international controls on cyanide sales.
A committee member and fishery officer of a club renting fishing rights from the Trust, Keith has a team of club bailiffs who have evidenced the impact of illegal fishing with unlicensed instruments. Keith is now working with Voluntary Bailiffing Service and the Cheshire Police Rural Crime Team and is striving to bring the " Building Bridges" programme to the area to help combat unlawful fishing activity and unlicensed angling. Keith has also previously worked as a reporter for both Angling Times and Anglers Mail
Lee Woodhouse
A self-employed mechanical engineer based in the Black Country, Lee has vast experience of match fishing on the canal network and more widely, especially in the Midlands area. Lee is a respected match organiser; his regular portfolio includes such events such as the Black Country Canal Championships and heats of the Canal Pairs and Canal Masters. In recent years he has become closely involved around the challenges that invasive non-native species can cause to the canal network, in particular working closely with Trust ecologists around the issue of Azolla.
Mike Heylin
Mike is an entrepreneur and business manager with a marketing, PR, advertising and sales background in consumer and b2b markets. He has wide European experience and is a starter by nature. He has proven ability as a secretary and administrator to numerous fisheries, angling and voluntary community and social groups, and has run club stillwater fisheries for more than 25 years. Mike is a life-long political and environmental activist. He grew up fishing the Grand Union Canal at Boxmoor.
Paul Coulson
Paul is the Director of Operations for the Institute of Fisheries Management (IFM). He has a background in education and training and was a lecturer in Fisheries Management before joining the IFM. He is also the Chairman of the East Yorkshire Rivers Trust as well as a member of the British Record Fish Committee.
He has been an avid angler from the age of 8, when he was given an old glass fishing rod by a neighbour. His kit has improved since, and he now spends his fishing time on the canals and natural waters of Yorkshire, with a particular love of winter league fishing.
Phillip Smith
Phillip holds a PhD in canal fisheries (Impact and management of Zander) and has over 20 years experience of managing research and innovation in the NHS. Phillip has a strong interest in canals and fishing from a very young age and fondly remembers his time spent on the canals fishing.
Richard Gibbs
An angler from the age of four Richard has held numerous administrative positions within fisheries and angling organisations, including being appointed the first secretary of the Grand Union Canal Anglers Consultative and was fishery officer for the Tring Anglers for many years. A retired police officer, Richard brings experience of the challenges of enforcement of legislation and fisheries and environmental crime more generally. A regular volunteer for the Trust with an extensive knowledge of hedge laying, Richard is an active advocate of the principles of sharing the space on towpaths. Richard is also an active level one angling coach supporting the Let's Fish programme.
Tom Sherwood
After a spell in the financial services industry, Tom has been employed by the Environment Agency in the fisheries & environmental field for the past 25 years. Tom has wide ranging fisheries related experience having worked within environment management, monitoring, fisheries and biodiversity within the Thames catchment and currently is part of the National Fisheries team.
He led on the developing and implementation of the last National Angling Strategy 2019-2024, the implementation of the recent 3-year incremental rod licence duty rise, through direct Government liaison and widespread stakeholder engagement. He currently co-ordinates and delivers fisheries marketing and communications for the Agency.
Tom’s fisheries technical experience includes wetland and pond habitat restoration design and creation, catchment restoration strategies, report writing, fish community monitoring (including hydro acoustics), incident response, managing large data sets, scientific investigations, fish pass implementation, freshwater ecology, fish biology, fish disease and pathology, river corridor and river habitat surveys and fluvial audits.
