We care passionately for our rivers at Sportfish, and part of our mission is to preserve them for future generations. It is why for many years we’ve been financially supporting and promoting our chosen national conservation charities (the Wild Trout Trust, the Atlantic Salmon Trust and the Angling Trust). And it’s why last year we added two local river conservation organisations that are close to our Sportfish stores (Action for the River Kennet for our Theale store and the Wye & Usk Foundation for our Winforton one).
Get involved this July and help make a difference to the rivers we love.
UK RIVERS IN CRISIS
Our rivers are in crisis. Sewage, chemical road run off, pollution from factory farming, habitat loss are all combining to destroy what we hold dear. Sewage spilled into our rivers 513,234 times last year for more than 4 million hours. A recent government report concluded only 14% of rivers in England have a good ecological status and none have a good chemical status. For a more detailed picture, please read our article 'Saving Our Precious English Chalkstreams'.
Many of us have been campaigning for decades. There’s now growing momentum in voices and organisations fighting for change - last year’s inaugural “March For Clean Water” brought many of them together to petition the government to stop the poisoning of Britain’s waterways. And the annual UK River Summit gets larger and more influential every year (Tuesday 8th July 2025: Celebrating Rivers sponsored by our friends at Orvis who share similar values to Sportfish ).
As anglers, we have a duty as custodians of our rivers. So this year we’re launching Sportfish Rivers Month. In addition to us promoting all things river conservation related, throughout July we’ll be encouraging our staff, customers, suppliers and partners to do something, however small, that can help.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED IN SPORTFISH RIVERS MONTH
- Support or volunteer for a day with our chosen charities (see later)
Most of the charities we support run volunteering days, everything from litter picking to habitat improvement. Even if you can’t spend a day helping them, support them in any way you can. - Find your local river organisation and join one of their volunteer activities
Use your preferred search engine to find one that's near you, it’s a great way of helping improve your local community and meeting like-minded people. - Just get out on your local river for 15 minutes or even a few hours and help clean it up however you can
Grab your partner, kids, friends and do some riverbank litter picking (make sure you have permission to be on the land or in the river, and take precautions to stay safe – rivers can be dangerous). If you’re part of an angling club you can order free river litter picking kits from one of our charity partners Anglers Against Litter here - Be active on your social channels about why & how we need to improve the health of our rivers
Help make some noise about the state of our rivers and encourage others to do the same. - Petition the Government not to abandon the Chalk Stream recovery pack: open the petition here
The Government recently shelved the plan promised by the Conservatives in June 2023 for this key initiative aimed at safeguarding these globally significant habitats. Over 200 councillors signed an open letter in February 2025 protesting against abandoning the pack, this is the public petition…sign it today! - Save water at home & be careful of the chemicals that go down your sink (small changes all add up to reduce pressure on our rivers)
The water we use in our homes is often taken from rivers or their sources, so the amount we use can affect how much is left for wildlife. Shorter showers, using a washing up bowl, and swapping your hose for a watering can are all good ways to keep the flow going. Watch what you put down the drain too, as harsh chemicals can escape into the environment through leaky pipes and storm overflows. - Keep biosecurity in mind – Check, Clean, Dry
When you spend time around rivers, diseases and invasive species can hitch a ride on your clothing and equipment. To stop them spreading, remember to Check (remove plants, mud, and critters on site), Clean (especially nooks and crannies), and Dry (ideally in sunshine) all your kit before visiting other watercourses.
MAKE SOME NOISE VIA SOCIAL MEDIA
However you get involved this July in helping our rivers, we want you to shout about it. Please post all your photos and videos on Facebook and Instagram using #SportfishRiversMonth so we can make a collective noise.
In August the Sportfish team will look through all posts with #SportfishRiversMonth and award prizes for what we feel are the best entries:
- 1st place = £150 Sportfish voucher
- 2nd place = £100 Sportfish voucher
- 3rd place = £50 Sportfish voucher
Please note our decision is final, winning vouchers must be used within 1 month of issue, are only valid online and are not transferable.
OUR ENVIRONMENTAL CHARITIES
We are proud to actively support the below charities and their efforts to help the conservation of our rivers and fish:
Action for the River Kennet (ARK)
Protecting & improving the river kennet & its tributaries.
Wild Trout Trust
Inspiring and helping everyone to protect wild trout and their habitat.
Anglers Against Pollution is a campaign from the Angling Trust that we’ve been supporting for a while (Anglers Against Pollution - Angling Trust). Watch Jim Murray, famous actor and founder of Activist Anglers, talking about protecting our rivers for the 2023 Sportfish Spring Spectacular below!
When on the rivers, it’s really important that you report anything unusual related to river pollution. If people don’t know about it then they can’t deal with it. Here’s Jim Murray again below, on how to report a pollution incident.
Sportfish also sells this supporters pack, which contains an enamel badge, car sticker and tackle box sticker, with 100% of the profits going to the Angling Trust!
So this July please get involved however you can to help the health of our rivers. Together we can make a difference. On top of the positive health and wellbeing benefits that can come from just supporting a good cause, actually just being by a river is incredibly therapeutic in itself, as our friends at WTT recently wrote about 'Finding the Flow: Blue Spaces and Mental Health'.
And don’t forget to use #SportfishRiversMonth when posting your content!
