Fish Legal tackles sewage - July update

A sewage-filled Manchester Ship Canal brings some good news for anglers

Last week, the Supreme Court opened the door for Fish Legal to bring legal claims on behalf of its angling clubs, fishery owner and syndicate members against water companies for ‘nuisance’ caused by harmful releases of untreated sewage.

As an organisation, we were set up to use the common law as a means of bringing about improvements to fisheries and the water environment. One of our earliest court cases with angler members – the Pride of Derby - Fish Legal – features in the Supreme Court judgment.

But our hands have been tied to a certain extent when it came to taking action to tackle releases of untreated sewage into waterways. We were previously limited to actions on behalf of members where we could show negligence or deliberate wrongdoing on the part of the water company. This Supreme Court ruling changes that, although each nuisance case will still depend on the facts.

We are already in touch with many members whose fishing is being blighted by regular releases of untreated sewage.