Boost to upper Severn barbel stocks
THE River Severn above Shrewsbury has been stocked with 250 baby barbel in what’s thought to be the first official stocking of the species on the upper river.
The River Severn above Shrewsbury has been stocked with 250 baby barbel
The 12ins-long, dye-marked fish were introduced into Rowley & Fenemere AA’s stretch of the river at Leaton, and further stockings are planned at the location under a three-year partnership between the EA and the club.
RFAA chairman, Max Taylor, said:
“These fish will help enhance future populations of the species in the upper Severn. The initial stocking may seem small, but it represents roughly half the number of barbel put in the river by Angling Times in the 1950s, which kickstarted the Severn barbel boom. To be able to replicate that work is fantastic.”
l The club is keen to track the progress of the fish, so If you catch a dye-marked barbel, call Max on 07977 048270.
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.
£2000 of carp up for grabs for one lucky fishery
FISHERY managers are being given the chance to scoop £2,000-worth of premium British carp after a leading fish farmer decided to give a little back to the industry as it struggles to emerge from the Covid pandemic.
Viv Shears, who runs VS Fisheries with fishery scientist Simon Scott, has launched a competition under which one lucky club will win a selection of stunning commons and mirrors weighing between 9lb and 14lb, all of which have been hand-reared at the Sussex fish farm.
VS Fisheries are well known for producing some stunning looking carp
Viv said:
“It’s been a challenging year for everyone in the fishing industry, including fisheries and clubs.
“Many haven’t received funding for new fish, while others have suffered from predation and have spent stocking money on protecting their venues.
“We feel that giving something back now is a good thing.”
Viv with one of the C4 carp up for grabs
To participate, visit the VS Fisheries Facebook Page, click ‘like’, and then head to www.vsfisheries.co.uk/competition to fill out an entry form.
Head over to VS Fisheries Facebook page for more info
On September 1, Viv will then pick a winner at random from the entries.
In a second charitable act by Viv, any angler who successfully predicts the name of the winning fishery will pick up 25kg of 6mm VS Fisheries feed pellets, free of charge.
Predict the name of the winning fishery and win a 25kg sack of pellets!
How ducks can stock our fisheries!
The resilience of our coarse fish has been underlined in a fascinating scientific study that reveals how lakes can become stocked without human intervention.
For the first time, researchers have proved carp eggs can be eaten by ducks, digested and excreted, yet still survive and hatch into fry. One of the eggs in the experiment hatched after between four and six hours in the bird’s gut, during which time it could theoretically have flown 220 miles.
The ducks eat the weed and/or the fish eggs. The study showed that the eggs can survive intact for up to six hours in the birds’ gut.
The newly released report, published by the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences in the USA, was the result of work by Hungarian scientists.
How do they do it?
“Fish have somehow colonised isolated water bodies all over the world without human assistance,” they write.
“It has long been speculated that these colonisation events are assisted by water birds transporting fish eggs attached to their feet and feathers, yet empirical support for this is lacking.”
Citing a recent theory that birds actually eat the eggs and excrete some of them alive, the report explains how the scientists decided to test this, and what they found.
The experiment
The team collected eggs from common carp and Prussian carp (similar to a crucian) and fed approximately 500 eggs to each of eight mallards in a controlled environment.
The birds’ faeces were collected at timed intervals and soaked in filtered river water. All recovered eggs were then moved to tanks for incubation.
In total, eight common carp eggs and 10 Prussian carp eggs were recovered, and all but one were excreted in the first hour after ingestion. One common carp egg was found in faeces between four and six hours after it had been eaten.
Fungal infection killed many of the viable embryos – as it did with the control eggs which had not been ingested by the birds – but three fish did hatch into fry.
Natural stocking
The study found just 0.2 per cent of eggs survived passage through the mallards, but when you consider a single carp can lay up to 1.5 million eggs during each spawning event, and the huge population
of water birds in this country, such a survival rate could still lead to successful natural stocking.
Many of our waterfowl are also very fond of eating fish eggs, as they contain useful protein and fats. The phenomenon of eggs surviving being eaten by birds is described in the report as
“likely to be frequent in nature, given the frequent feeding by birds on fish roe”.
Many waterfowl are fond of eating fish eggs
How far do the eggs spread?
The report adds that although most of the viable eggs passed through the birds within an hour, the average mallard could have travelled over 30 miles during that time.
“How often such dispersal events lead to the successful establishment of new populations of invasive freshwater fish is a critical question for future research,” concludes the report.
The full study can be viewed here.
Fish farm cuts prices to help fisheries stock up for new anglers
THE owner of a fish farm in Kent is slashing his prices on carp and F1 hybrids to help lighten the load for fisheries looking to buy new stock.
Jason Dorkings, whose Babylon Fish Farm produces more than 100 tons of F1s a year, said that his phone has been ringing off the hook since fishing returned.
“During the lockdown I was worried about our sales for the season but I’m now being inundated with calls from fisheries who’ve been saying they need fresh stock to keep the influx of new anglers happy,” Jason says.
“Most of the fishery owners I’ve spoken to say their banks are full every day, which is a superb sign that angling is getting back on its feet.
“They’re desperate to keep these new anglers on the bank, so I thought I’d help out by reducing my prices.”
Jason usually sells 6ins F1s and carp for £5 per pound, but is now offering them for £3.50 per pound, with orders and deliveries being taken for September onwards.
He adds:
“In this warm climate it’s not safe to ship stock, so we will be taking orders now and delivering during the autumn.”
The fish farm has dropped its prices for carp and F1s.
10,000 silvers donated to struggling clubs
It’s always fantastic to see the angling community come together and you’ll struggle to find a greater example of this than with Partridge Lakes and the Environment Agency.
They’ve helped preserve fishing on two struggling club waters with a massive donation of silverfish.
Nearly 10,000 roach, bream and gudgeon were netted by EA staff from Partridge’s Covey 5 match lake which were then stocked across Dunham Massey AC’s Heatley Mere and Knowsley Park AA’s White Man’s Dam fisheries – both of which have suffered from cormorant predation. The EA also added fish protection cages.
“Knowing the fish will once again bring joy to other anglers is the perfect end result,” said Partridge Lakes owner Barbara Ikin.
Fisheries stock up on thousands of F1s!
IT’S that time of year when fisheries around the country look to top up their stocks for the year ahead – and fish farmers have never been busier.
One fish that has grown in popularity in recent years is the F1, an interesting cross breed between carp and crucian carp/brown goldfish that feeds all year round.
Renowned for feeding all year round, it’s hardly surprising that club lakes and commercials are looking to increase their numbers of these fish, which will keep anglers fishing in the cold.
Babylon Fish Farm in Kent has done exceptionally well in taking advantage of this trend. When they put an advert on Facebook advertising thousands of 3-6-inch F1s for just 50p a fish – they sold out in record time!
A spokesperson said:
“The fish have been growing really well and once again we’ve had a massive overproduction. When we put deals like this out, they’re always popular so fisheries will continue to build their stocks.”
