About us

AVRA is an unincorporated not for profit association funded by membership contributions and grants. We are a principal member of the South West Rivers Association, an organisation that in turn represents all salmon and sea trout rivers across the South West.

Our association was formed in 1961 with the original aim of reversing the damage caused by a trap that had been placed across the lower part of the river Axe some five years earlier by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) to study the salmon population for the benefit of the country as a whole. In 1963 the MAFF study shows that 747 salmon had passed through the trap, with numbers declining until some twenty years later salmon were almost extinct in the river.

AVRA currently has around forty full members representing local land and fishery owners as well as additional local people with interests in the preservation of the health of the river and its catchment. Our committee comprises a voluntary and pro-active team of twelve individuals who provide a wide range of specialist skills and contacts across the South West. We are also aided by a wide group of enthusiastic volunteers.

Our Committee:

Independent Committee Members:

Andy Locke

Bill Hayes

John Blanchard

Geoff Thame

Barney White-Spunner

Steve Shaw

Julian Kennard

Owen day

Simon Tiffin

Bob Weatherall

Data Protection Act 2018:

Procedures are in place to comply with the new transparency rules and the individual’s rights. To this end, AVRA confirms:

1. Each Committee/Steering Group member has been advised of AVRA’s obligation to comply with the new GDPR legislation;

2. The membership secretary, or any other person nominated by AVRA’s Committee/Steering Group, will maintain a database of the names of all members of the Association together with their postal address, email address, and telephone contact. A record of each member’s payment of the annual subscription and its date of receipt are also recorded. For relevant individuals a note is kept of whether they are riparian owners and whether they are members of a fishing syndicate/club, if known. A member’s attendance at the AGM is also noted. No other personal data is recorded;

3. Members of the Committee/Steering Group may have access to the data base. The data is used solely for providing members with information about the Association which is representing members’ interests, sending out annual subscription reminders and notices of General meetings; 

4. The data has been provided by members themselves and not gathered from any outside source. It is not shared with the general membership (emails are sent ‘bcc’) but Committee/Steering Group members may be privy to its content for administrative purposes and to further the Aims and Objectives of the Association;

5. If the Association is advised of the death of a member or a member advises that he/she no longer wishes to be a member, or that a member has not paid the annual subscription for two consecutive years, then the data on that person will be removed from the database. In some cases an individual may ask to be on the mailing list to receive Association newsletters without being a paid-up member (e.g. being overseas) or is an honorary member (for services rendered);

6. The data on current membership is updated whenever a member’s detail change is advised. It is kept secure by the nominated custodian of the data on a PC and is backed up on a separate hard-drive. A hard copy printout of the data is kept for two years. No-one else has possession or control of this data. A risk assessment indicates that there is no perceived risk of this data being abused; and

7. The data is not used for commercial purposes, and will not be shared with any other member for such purposes, directly or indirectly.