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New CEO at Salmon & Trout Conservation
S&TC’s CEO, Paul Knight, is to retire at the end of June 2020 and Nick Measham, currently Deputy Chief Executive, will take over the reins of the UK’s premier wild fish charity.
Paul Knight stands down on June 30th after 26 years with the organisation, 18 of which have been as CEO, although he will continue for a further year with some part-time consultancy work, mainly connected to his Co-chairmanship of the NGOs at the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organistion (NASCO).
Paul Knight and Nick Measham, third and fourth from right respectively.
During Paul Knight’s tenure, the organisation evolved from being the governing body for game angling into a fisheries charity (2008), changed its name from Salmon & Trout Association (S&TA) to Salmon & Trout Conservation (S&TC) in 2016, and had two office moves from Fishmongers’ Hall, culminating in its first ever dedicated HQ, which is now located in Wiltshire.
Above all, the charity has gradually developed the focus of its work from being an angling interest group to a fisheries conservation organisation with policies built on sound scientific evidence. S&TC now sees angling as being a dividend of its work to create healthy wild fish stocks, water quality and freshwater and marine habitats, and its membership base is still mainly anglers, albeit those with a vision of their place within the wider water environment and their critical role in its future protection
Paul Knight had this to say about his time at S&TC,
“I have been extremely proud to work for this organisation for a quarter of a century, during which we made some substantial changes to the way in which we operate. I am very grateful to the six Chairs, all the Trustees and, before them, Council and Committee members, and of course the many volunteers at branch and national levels, all of whom have helped make my job so enjoyable. I am handing over to a very able successor in Nick Measham, with whom I have worked for five years and so continuity is assured. Despite our hard-won achievements over the years, there is still much to do to protect wild salmon and trout and the water environments on which they depend, and I wish S&TC, Nick and our tremendous staff the very best for the future.”
Nick Measham has a background in investment management and a near life-long fascination with rivers and fish. He joined S&TA, as it then was, in 2015. He project-managed S&TC’s highly successful Riverfly Census initiative and oversaw the expansion of freshwater campaigns to improve water quality and riverine habitat, and still found time to be an extremely effective fundraiser.
Nick Measham said,
“I am excited to take on the challenge to build on our achievements under Paul Knight to protect wild salmon and trout from the harm wreaked by over-exploitation, fish farming, poor water quality, land management issues and over abstraction. I inherit a talented and committed team and together we will strive to carry forwards our evidence-based advocacy for wild fish and their habitats.”