Fish stockings and fry production reach an all-time high!

THE FUTURE of our fisheries shines brighter than ever after more than eight million fish were stocked into rivers and lakes. 

The Environment Agency’s National Fish Farm produced an almighty 12.3 tonnes of chub, barbel, dace, roach and crucians, among other species, at its Calverton Fish Farm in Nottinghamshire. 

Barbel are a species regularly stocked by the EA

More than half a million (520,475) of these went into rivers, helping to replace stocks lost to pollution and predation and boost numbers in areas where natural reproduction is low and angling opportunities thin on the ground.

In addition, 7.6 million advanced, reared larvae were released into the wild. These are nurtured at the farm for longer, so they have a better chance of surviving in the wild.

Tench another popular species that was stocked

Alan Henshaw, team leader at Calverton, is delighted with the results:

“We’re pleased to have had another record-breaking year at the fish farm,” he says.

“By introducing better growing techniques and achieving a good survival rate for the fish, their overall weight has risen by six per cent on the previous year.

“Great care is taken to ensure that every fish can survive when stocked into the river. During their 18 months at the farm, we feed the fish live natural food, they encounter a range of flora and fauna, and they are trained to deal with flowing conditions.”

Great care is taken to ensure that every fish can survive when stocked into the river

All this work is an example of rod licence fees being used to ensure the future of our waterways, as Heidi Stone, fisheries manager at the EA explains.

“The fish that the farm produces play an important role in the EA’s work to restore, improve and develop sustainable fisheries.”

Bars of gold. Stocked by the Environment Agency thanks to rod licence funds.