WAVENEY VALLEY: For those who cherish the whole length of the River Waveney, and fear for its future, do not abandon all hope.

Its welfare presently invested virtually in the Environment Agency alone could be a watercourse due for an administrative change.

Arising from a recent Angling Trust Consultative meeting in Ipswich, was the news of an item comparatively few are aware of, especially in any detail.

This important development is the 'Association of River Trusts' facility, by which its fundamental working is a system to register the whole river course from its birth to the sea as a charity, supported by some huge and influential organisations.

With the Broads Authority and its Angling Strategy Group involved only with a minor role covering just a portion of the river, as far as the full river system is concerned this could contain very good potential indeed.

The first seeds are already being sewn locally for finding possible interested partners and participatory bodies with the subject on the Bungay Cherry Tree AC and Suffolk County Amalgamated Angling Association agendas for their meetings.

Such a project could easily be tied in with other topical ideas under discussion, such as the developing Bungay Town Plan and the concept of a National Heritage Grant to refurbish and regenerate the River.

Many notable anglers and angling clubs throughout the UK are appalled at the decline in their own local rivers, including the likes of the mighty Severn.

With half a dozen rivers already in the scheme, this concept is a credit to the Angling Trust's dissemination of news and could be something worth investigating for the Wensum too.

Anglers can endeavour to protect the legacy left us and maintain them as worthwhile watercourses to hand on to the next generation.

Undoubtedly if no concerted action is taken, our rivers will continue to suffer from budget cuts in maintenance, chemical discharges, reduced flows from abstraction and no legal control over minimum flow levels.

• The tidal Waveney continues to produce some great fishing as hemp and caster come into their own – lovely plump redfins with a green gleam to their backs and every fin standing out erect, fat in the hand shimmering in the weakening sun.

At the Quay some double figure bags of skimmers with a healthy run of perch make the sport as roach continue to await colour in the water.

Upstream the brilliant blue kingfisher zips past after feeding on the abundant fry present and the dace remain the key species on the feed, but it has been the odd big bream which have bulged the keepnet. Showing at Brockdish and the Bungay Caravan site the bronzed beauties have surpassed 8lb, giving good sport on light tackle.

Commercials keep the run of value for money going strong with the ever-popular decent sized carp still feeding at most of the venues.