Diffuse Pollution - Diffuse pollution may be defined as: pollution arising from land-use activities (both urban and rural) that are dispersed across a catchment, or sub-catchment, and do not arise as a process effluent, municipal sewage effluent, or an effluent discharge from farm buildings. Please download the full position statement here (uploaded 11th March 2008 52Kb)

Water Framework Directive - The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is a European Directive of December 2000 that is to be transposed into legislation by member countries. One of its main objectives is to maintain and improve the ecological status of the surface waters of Europe in which fisheries occur. Sustainable fisheries are most effectively managed by taking an ecosystem approach that relies on the maintenance of good ecological status and therefore the objectives of the WFD are fully compatible with the aims of IFM. The WFD raises a number of issues that affect river basin management for fisheries and thus the interests of the Institute. Please download the full position statement here (uploaded 11th March 2008 59Kb)

Ecosystem Services - It is often difficult to place value on fisheries and good ecological function of rivers and lakes in the context of the many demands that are being placed on water and aquatic environments. However, it is evident that the slow erosion of normal ecosystem form and function is having a profound effect on the economy by creating adverse conditions such as lowered presence of fish in our rivers and lakes, increased sensitivity to pollution or increased incidences of flooding. One approach that is now advocated is the Ecosystem Approach to development and management that incorporates the concept of ecosystem services and focuses on management inputs that maintain or restore ecosystem processes as the key to conservation. Several definitions have been proposed for ecosystem services but, in general, they are benefits that people obtain from ecosystems. Consideration of the outputs from healthy ecosystems as services means that they can be costed, especially as the former contribution of healthy ecosystems has to be paid for from other sources as the systems degrade. They can also be placed in a framework of benefits to society of maintaining healthy ecosystems. Please download the full position statement here (uploaded 11th March 2008 28Kb)

Koi Herpesvirus (KHV) - Protecting Fisheries against KHV  should be based around sound bio-security measures. The first line of defence is ensuring that you do not get the disease into the fishery in the first place. 
Please download the full position statement here (uploaded 11th December 2006 42Kb)

Environmental Flows - The Institute of Fisheries Management should promote and support science to develop our understanding of the relationship between fish ecology and rivers flows generally and of the effects of artificial manipulation of flow regimes in particular. 
Please download the full position statement here (uploaded 24th November 2006 79Kb)