I DOUBT if many readers will have concluded any relevance between comments raised in Roland Batten’s column Rod and Line(Journal Sport, October 29) regarding the lack of weed in the River Avon and the photograph of swans which appeared in Journal Postbag in the same edition. It may have been an “extraordinary sight” at the end of Martin Wright’s Harnham garden but in reality it is a frequent observation along the Avon and its tributaries.

Although we keep hearing the rhetoric that rivers have never been cleaner the stark reality is, by government’s own admission, 83 per cent of rivers in England fail the test of good ecological status under European environmental legislation. The Avon is one of these failing rivers and yet it carries the highest environmental designation ie Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

Weed is a vital element in the ecology of any chalk stream.

Not only is it a haven for fish but essential habitat for certain invertebrate populations which provide a food source; not only for fish but also a number of bird species and mammals.

Swans rely upon healthy weed growth for food but too little and flocks can decimate the riverbed.

This is not the fault of the swans which are just trying to survive but it is incumbent on all conservationists to challenge the threats rivers are experiencing, eg over abstraction, high levels of nutrients, diffuse pollution, etc.

In the past few days the European Commission has challenged the United Kingdom’s commitment to the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD – Directive 2000/60/EC) by sending a reasoned opinion spelling out its concerns and giving the UK two months in which to respond.

If the UK fails to act, the case may be referred to the Court of Justice of the EU.

The commission’s action supports what Salmon & Trout Conservation UK (S&TC UK) has been saying for some time and had earlier submitted to the commission in its formal complaint over the protection of the Hampshire Avon SAC under both the Habitats and Water Framework Directives. Since 2009, there has been a distinct lack of ambition from central government in England and Wales over the WFD and, frankly, far too little has been achieved that makes sure rivers and lakes are restored to good ecological status. Instead, there has been a sad but predictable tendency within English regulators to write yet another report or fanciful plan, re-hashing and re-packaging the old and failed approaches to diffuse pollution and over-abstraction, and think that is enough to deliver the objectives of WFD. Both S&TC UK and the European Commission believe this must now change. S&TC UK will be watching with great interest to see what the government now does.

JOHN SLADER Salmon & Trout Conservation UK