Environment Agency: December Update

Hello from everyone at the Environment Agency,

This month, we bring you our final update of 2020. Team EA had a busy year responding to the pressures of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic while remaining focussed and committed to protecting lives, livelihoods and the environment.

We have had an exciting month, with our teams in the North West reporting news of Arctic Charr sightings – a species once on the brink of extinction, but now thriving thanks to the hard work of our team and local partners. It has also been a month of discovery, with our teams in Kent freeing the long-buried Basted stream which will offer future habitat to wildlife and fish species as well as reducing the risk of flooding.

As always, across the country, our fisheries enforcement officers with support from the Voluntary Bailiff Service (VBS) have been out on patrol to investigate any signs of potentially damaging and illegal activity.

14 illegal traps seized across Essex and Suffolk

Our team in the East has been exceptionally busy, working throughout lockdown to remain vigilant of any activity that could harm our precious fish species and wildlife. Between March and the end of November this year, the team has seized an impressive 14 illegal traps and successfully deterred opportunist anglers fishing illegally with regular patrols. We encourage anyone to get in touch if they spot anything suspicious.

Our enforcement officers in the North East have also been cracking down on illegal activity, joining forces with our team in Yorkshire to combat crime across their shared border. On the 18th November, the teams carried out a night-time operation targeting coastal streams in South East Cleveland and North Yorkshire as well as the River Esk. By sharing intelligence, the teams were able to protect fish entering streams at the coast which are more vulnerable to netting and gaffing.

Some of the illegal fish traps seized by the EA in December.

Operation Leviathan leads to 48 prosecutions

In the North west, our Fisheries Officers have been working alongside the Angling Trust and Merseyside Police Officers from the Wildlife and Rural Crime Team to crack down on illegal fishing and anti- social behaviour at local fishing hotspots.

Operation Leviathan was launched in 2015 and is managed by the Angling Trust with help from our officers and local constabularies to target fish theft, illegal fishing and any criminality associated with it.

Under this ongoing operation, our local Fisheries Enforcement Officers have been assisting in joint patrols and sharing intelligence with the local Rural Crime Team. Thanks to this latest investigation, 48 people across the North west have been prosecuted for offences such as anti-social behaviour and fishing without permission - 41 of which did not have a rod licence.

Income from rod licence sales is vital for the preservation and enhancement of our much-loved species and fishing hotspots. Fishing without a licence is not only illegal, but also takes away income that would otherwise be invested into our fisheries and angling communities.

We therefore greatly appreciate the information we receive via calls to our helpline. Your descriptions allow us to assess the appropriate course of action and direct our resources in the most efficient and impactful way. By carrying out enforcement underpinned by intelligence, we significantly increase our ability to put a stop to illegal and harmful activity. We can identify hotspots of potentially illegal activity which with the help of the Police and partners we can put a stop to. Recently our teams, guided by intelligence, were on the ground in Kent and South London checking licences. Working with the Police and local partners, we were able to put a stop to 45 anglers fishing without a licence.

The Operation Leviathan team, combining local Police and EA Fisheries Officers.

Arctic Charr rescued from the brink of extinction!

Last month, our North West team reported an increase in the population of Arctic Charr in Ennerdale Water in Cumbria. Arctic Charr are a rare British fish, restricted to lakes and rivers in the highlands of Cumbria, Wales and Scotland. Our team has been leading the Ennerdale Arctic Charr Restoration project which has seen numbers rise from a few individuals to hundreds of fish! Working with local partners, the Forestry Commission and Wild Ennerdale, the team first collected ova and milt (eggs and sperm) from remaining Arctic Charr to kick start spawning and then focussed on achieving the best natural conditions for the fish. Teams carried out a number of tasks and assessed several factors to achieve this, including barrier removal, gravel supply and water quality.

The next phase is underway and will include using high tech sonar equipment to passively monitor numbers during the annual migration of Arctic Charr in the autumn, limiting the need for our officers to disturb the fish.

Annual salmon spawning redd counts begin

We have started our annual Salmon spawning redd counts across Cumbria and Lancashire, and this year our teams are joined by the Ribble Fisheries Consultative Association. Having their support with additional sites is fantastic as we can cover a much greater area of water. We are also pleased to report that salmon have already started spawning on the Ribble and we’ve seen some large fish in several locations.

If you are out and about on the river bank have a go at looking for the redds. Once you know what you are looking for the redds are relatively easy to spot as the salmon dig a hole and then scatter gravel back across the eggs which leaves a clean spot on the river bed. But please take care not to disturb spawning salmon or their redds – salmon are easily spooked and wading across spawning redds will disturb and kill salmon eggs.

Project success on the River Stour

Last month, our team in the East returned to a river restoration project we completed in June to take a look at progress made so far. Despite only five months passing, the team were happy to already report the difference this project is having on fish and other biodiversity.

In June, our officers created a backwater on the River Stour in Stratford St Mary. A backwater is an aquatic habitat that connects to the main river and has two important functions depending on the flow. In high flows, the backwater becomes a refuge for fish to rest in until the normal flows return. In normal flows, the shallower water left in the backwater will warm up quicker than the main channel and act as a nursery area - promoting the growth of young fish. As this project develops, it will help increase the fish population and provide a good habitat for migratory eels.

Man made backwaters on the iconic River Stour will provide refuge for young fish.

EA undertakes crucian carp restock to aid recovery

Last month, our fisheries officers in Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire have transported 800 crucian carp from our national fish farm in Calverton to restock two fisheries – one in Northamptonshire and the other in Norfolk. To help promote population growth and avoid hybridisation, we have identified waters with few or no carp or pike present in which to restock crucian carp. The species is sadly becoming quite rare and so EA teams are working in full force to help boost the resilience of this vital species. We are also working with the Angling Trust and other partners on a National Crucian Carp Conservation project.

Both the Northamptonshire and Norfolk fisheries are on a 3-year restocking programme with the Environment Agency.

Crucians being stocked at Norfolk and Northamptonshire fisheries - the start of a three year programme.