80,000 fish to stock club waters

Anglers are celebrating this week as it’s revealed that over 80,000 fish will be given away free this winter as part of a project designed to improve fishing across the nation.

The Environment Agency has announced that it is currently carrying out nettings at a handful of specimen fisheries and various club venues in order to remove huge numbers of surplus roach, bream and rudd.

It’s an operation that’s being spearheaded by the EA’s fisheries teams in the North West and the on-going nettings that will carry on until next March will create a huge pool of fish that will be given away to angling clubs that have either lost stocks through pollution, oxygen problems, or are just in need of a helping hand in order to boost catches for visiting anglers.

But it’s not just clubs and fisheries in the North West that are set to benefit from the work that’s funded directly from revenue generated from rod licence sales.

Similar schemes are also in operation in other regions with the latest being in the South West where thousands of  bream, roach and rudd being transferred from an unfishable stretch of the Wiltshire/Berkshire Canal to a council-run venue called Wichel Lake in Swindon.

 “There are lots of fisheries out there that have a surplus of silver fish, so by removing them and passing them onto clubs that really need them is giving both parties exactly what they want and improving sport for anglers that visit those waters,” said an Environment Agency spokesperson.

“We have many nettings planned during the winter months and any club that has suffered a fish-kill or any other problems has the opportunity of requesting some of the fish that have been removed by our netting operations.

To find out more contact the environment agency by using the link below:
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/contactus/?lang=_e