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).

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:



1. Support/volunteer for a day with our charities

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, it’s a great way of helping improve your local community.

2. Get out on your local river for and help clean it up

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

3. Be mindful at home

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. It may sound small, but watch what you put down the drain too, as harsh chemicals can escape into the environment through leaky pipes and storm overflows!

4. Make 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.

A MESSAGE FROM SPORTFISH PARTNERS:

 “Wild Atlantic salmon face challenges across their lifecycle, but we know a healthy start in life in freshwater is critical to their ability to survive their ocean migration and return to spawn. We and our Missing Salmon Alliance partners recently launched five key asks for Governments across the UK, demanding action and greater urgency in stopping this iconic species from going extinct and giving them a thriving future. These include: legislation to make sure wild salmon are put first; making polluters pay; ensuring salmon have free access to cold, clean water; better land management practices to reduce the appalling impacts being suffered by our rivers and streams; and improving wild salmon survival at sea.

We’re delighted to support Sportfish Rivers Month to help raise awareness of the poor state of Britain’s rivers and to help urge meaningful action to enable their recovery. It's not just policymakers who have this responsibility though. It’s up to all of us, individuals, businesses and organisations, to play a role in giving wild salmon the future they deserve.” - Mark Bilsby, CEO Atlantic Salmon Trust

"We at the Wild Trout Trust are delighted to support Sportfish Rivers Month. In the UK and Ireland, most of our rivers are in trouble due to pressures like pollution, abstraction, and physical damage - as are fish like the wild brown trout. We're glad that this initiative is raising awareness on the subject and celebrating everything that these special places give to people and wildlife. Whether we're volunteering with a local action group or taking care over how much water we use, we can all do our bit to improve the health of our rivers." - Shaun Leonard, Director, Wild Trout Trust

“ARK is proudly supporting Sportfish Rivers Month. Healthy rivers are vital, for wildlife, for communities and for businesses. We all need cold, clean water. Our fragile chalk streams need your help. Support ARK and stand up for your rivers, membership is just £20.00 a year.” - Charlotte Hitchmough, Director of ARK

“With rivers facing more pressure than ever, the time for passive concern from anglers is over. Sportfish Rivers Month is exactly the kind of grassroots campaign we need—mobilising anglers to take real, visible action to protect and restore our waterways. Whether it’s joining our river pollution testing programme, becoming a volunteer bailiff, or simply taking five minutes for a litter pick, every action counts. The Angling Trust is proud to stand alongside Sportfish and the wider angling community in the fight for cleaner, healthier, more vibrant rivers.” - Jamie Cook, CEO Angling Trust