Massive boost for UK barbel

A memorable season for big barbel has been topped by news this week that nearly 300,000 more fish have been stocked into Britain’s rivers. 

The Environment Agency has revealed the impressive figure was part of a total of over three million fish introduced nationwide over the 2016/17 campaign.

The Nene, Thames, Avon, and Hull are among rivers that have benefitted most, with thousands of juvenile barbel to help sustain stocks of the species. 

A spokesperson for the EA said: “The water quality in many of our traditionally industrialised rivers has improved dramatically in the last 30 years. 

“This allows us to focus on improving barbel stocks which we can be confident will now have a great chance of repopulating reaches. 

“We have therefore accelerated restocking from our Calverton Fish Farm of natural fish stocks.”

 It’s great news for barbel anglers, who thanks to a combination of mild temperatures and perfect river conditions have enjoyed a stunning season which saw records fall on the Thames and Itchen, as well as an 18lb 14oz specimen from the River Trent. 

One club to have benefited from a boost in their river stocks is Rowley and District Angling Society, which has been rewarded with 250 fish after monitoring barbel numbers on their stretches of the River Severn for the past eight seasons.

Just recently their match and pleasure anglers have also been taking scale samples and submitting them alongside catch results to the EA for analysis.

Rowley DAS vice chairman Max Taylor said: “Due to our diligence and our willingness to help in further data collecting, we have been rewarded with barbel from the EA hatchery at Calverton, which is to be repeated in 2018, 2019 and reviewed after that.

“The news is encouraging as our captures have proven that there has been a decline in barbel numbers from the Severn at Coalport year-on-year, and considering 90 per cent of our anglers fish for barbel there was cause for concern.”