COULD I correct some of the statements in the article (Don't cull the swans, The Press, January 11) about swans, as they do not reflect the policies of the various national organisations representing fisheries and angling?

I would like to make it clear that the Fisheries and Angling Conservation Trust (FACT), including its member organisations, has not sought or suggested a cull of swans, nor does it have any intention of doing so.

Swans do cause a problem to the ecology of certain rivers; this is acknowledged by other conservation bodies, and is being investigated by Natural England.

The impact of swans is particularly acute on chalk streams in southern England, where many rivers enjoy Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) status, partly because of the presence of water crowfoot (Ranunculus).

This plant is a key indicator of the health of such rivers.

Due mainly to over-abstraction of water, causing longer summer periods of low flows, swans are eating and destroying the plant's roots, instead of grazing on the upper layers of foliage.

This results in large areas of river bed becoming devoid of Ranunculus.

The consequence is not only the loss of fish habitat; populations of aquatic invertebrates have also declined, diminishing the food chain for a variety of living forms, including water birds.

What FACT wants is less abstraction and a return to historic healthy river flows, in which swans and fish can co-exist.

Anglers have always striven for a pristine aquatic environment for the benefit of all forms of life, because fish populations cannot be managed in isolation.

This view is shared by the other national conservation organisations, with whom we work closely on this and related issues.

J Glasspool, Chairman FACT, Fishmongers Hall, London Bridge, London.