Ben's Column

<table width="100%" height="100%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr> <td colspan="2" align="left" valign="bottom"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""><tr><td background="../../graphics/180601_pages/pat.jpg"><img src="../../graphics/180601_pages/top.jpg" width="760" height="54" alt="MP for Exeter" usemap="#Map" border="0"></td></tr></table> <map name="Map"> <area shape="rect" coords="38,21,223,37" href="../../biog/" alt="Biography" title="Biography" target="_parent"> </map> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="right" valign="top"> <table summary="" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td width="150" height="341" background="../../graphics/buttons/bottom.jpg" valign="top"> <table summary="" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <a href="/" target="_parent"><img src="../../graphics/buttons/home.gif" alt="Home" width="150" height="34" border="0"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="../../exeter_labour/index/" target="_parent"><img name="Image6" border="0" src="../../graphics/buttons/party.gif" width="150" height="23" alt="Exeter Labour Party"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="/" target="_parent"><img name="Image7" border="0" src="../../graphics/buttons/speeches.gif" width="150" height="23" alt="Speeches"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="../../column/" target="_parent"><img border="0" src="../../graphics/buttons/column.gif" width="150" height="24" alt="Ben's Column"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="../../faqs/" target="_parent"><img border="0" src="../../graphics/buttons/faqs.gif" width="150" height="23" alt="FAQs"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="/" target="_parent"><img border="0" src="../../graphics/buttons/local.gif" width="150" height="23" alt="Local Information"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="/" target="_parent"><img border="0" src="../../graphics/buttons/newsletter.gif" width="150" height="23" alt="Newsletter"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="/" target="_parent"><img src="../../graphics/buttons/links.gif" width="150" height="23" border="0" alt="Links"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="../../contact/contact/" target="_parent"><img src="../../graphics/buttons/contact.gif" width="150" height="23" alt="Contact" border="0"></a> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td align="left" valign="top">  <title>Welcome to Ben Bradshaws Website</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000" link="#cc0000" vlink="#cc0000" alink="#cc0000" leftmargin="0" topmargin="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.legendsofgaming.co.uk/" style="padding: 5px 10px;">Betting Sites Not On Gamstop Uk</a></div> <font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><a name="top"></a></b></font> <table width="90%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="10" summary=""> <tr> <td align="right"><a href="../../column/column/" target="_self"><img alt="Back" src="../../graphics/new_bio/back.gif" width="90" height="22" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="-3"><font size="4" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#CC0000">Fish Stocks — 12 May 2004</font></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="-6"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The first comprehensive report on the state of fish stocks in our streams and rivers makes encouraging reading for the nation�s three million regular anglers.<br> <br> The Environment Agency study showed that water quality in many of our rivers is better now than at any time since the Industrial Revolution. Coarse fish are now found in more waters and in greater numbers than at any time in the last century.<br> <br> Salmon are appearing in rivers like the Mersey and Trent, which for decades were so polluted they were wholly devoid of life. <br> <br> But there is also some worrying news on salmon and another migratory species, the eel. <br> <br> Seventy percent of rivers, including the Exe, failed their salmon targets in 2002. Generally speaking, salmon are doing well in the north and east of the UK but badly in the south and west. <br> <br> No-one quite understands the reasons for this, but there are likely to be a number. They include global warming, which may have disrupted the salmon�s long migration routes across the Atlantic, agricultural pollution and changes in moorland management and even the increase in the cormorant and goosander populations.<br> <br> Puzzlingly, sea trout, which also migrate, are doing very well. <br> <br> The health of fish stocks should not just be of concern to anglers, but to all of us, because they are one of the best barometers of the overall health of our natural environment. <br> <br> The recent reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, which will make farming more environmentally friendly, should help us build on the progress made in recent years. <br> <br> Angling is Britain�s most popular participation sport and growing. It contributes about �3 billion to the national economy and is particularly important here in Devon.<br> <br> For young people getting involved it is often the first contact they have had with wildlife and the natural environment. A number of pilot schemes up and down the country have shown it can even help to reduce truancy, anti-social behaviour and youth offending.<br> <br> So cleaning up our rivers has beneficial effects far wider than one might suppose.<br> </font></td> </tr><tr> <td height="-7"><a href="#top"><img alt="Back to Top" src="../../graphics/180601_pages/back_top.gif" width="100" height="27" border="0"></a></td> </tr> </table> </body></td></tr></table>