Fisheries Report, June 2011
1.0 Delivering better fisheries across the SE
Across the SE a number of projects have been delivered over the last quarter. The headlines are:
1. Fisheries and Biodiversity teams from across the region, through working with local communities on ‘Big Society’ projects, have realised over 2000 hours of volunteer time being spent on enhancing our environment.
Projects included:
– Andover urban chalkstream enhancement in Hampshire
– Tackling non-native invasive species across London
– River restoration on the Little Stour, Kent
– Habitat improvement on the River Dour in central Dover
– Litter clearance and weir removal on the Bonesgate Stream, Kingston, London
– A community partnership with Leconfield Estate, Sussex
– Support for the London Youth Games
– Enhancing river habitat on the Thames at Penton Hook
2. Quick response saves thousands of fish.
– Our officers reacted promptly to a major fish kill on the tidal Thames caused by sewage from Mogden STW and combined sewage overflows following heavy rain.
– West Thames’ quick reaction to an SVC notification has helped restrict this serious notifiable fish disease from spreading.
3. Realising better fisheries and wildlife across the SE
– In response to the exceptionally dry weather, advice was sent to both stillwater and river fishery managers to protect fish and wildlife. This was seen as best practice by HO.
– The first ever action plan for sea trout on the south coast was successfully launched on the 24th June 2011.
Details of West Thames and North East Thames projects are shown below:
Tackling invasive non-native species. Working with a number of partners including the Natural History Museum, Thames 21, Local Authorities, the Wandle Trust and others we have set up a coordinated and integrated approach to tackling invasive species across London’s rivers.
Bonesgate Stream Volunteer Day. A volunteer day was recently held by ourselves and the Thames Anglers’ Conservancy (TAC) on the Bonesgate Stream, which is a tributary of the Hogsmill that joins the Thames at Kingston, with the aim of altering a weir and doing a litter pick along the affected reach. Four hours of manual work with four volunteers saw the weir removed and an Epsom Council truck filled with rubbish from the stream and its banks.
Big Society comes to Penton Hook Island! Penton Hook Lock island on the river Thames has been given a spring clean courtesy of volunteers from the Thames Anglers’ Conservancy (TAC).
Clapham common pond. Clapham Common pond is springing to life ready for new fishing season following joint project with the London Borough of Lambeth project.
Ladywell Fields river restoration. Ladywell Fields river restoration was recently opened following our work with the London Borough of Lewisham.
Tideway WFD fisheries surveys successfully completed. 8 sites were surveys between Richmond to Mucking (Essex). The tideway fisheries team is extremely grateful to all who came out to assist us from several F&B teams, Analysis and Reporting teams, London Environment Team, Kent and Essex IFCA, Thames Angling Conservancy and Kings College London students.
Fish/eel passes on Wandle. Fish and eel passes are being installed on the Wandle, Hogsmill and Beverley Brook and river improvements have started at the Hogsmill STW and Ashlone Wharf.
Intertidal terrace. Works have started on constructing an intertidal terrace as part of Environment Agency capital scheme on the tidal Thames at Vaizeys Wharf, Charlton.
River Churn fencing project boosts brown trout and water voles. The Fisheries team have fenced off a stretch of a Gloucestershire river to help protect stocks of brown trout and water voles. Working with partners Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, Bathurst Estate and Churn Fishing Syndicate, 1 km of the River Churn has been fenced at North Cerney, Gloucestershire. This will prevent cattle damaging the riverbank by grazing at the waterside and causing an over-wide shallow channel. The fencing will allow natural plants to colonise and cover the banks, ultimately improving water flows. Buffer zones also reduce erosion and the amount of silt entering the river.
London Youth Games. Croydon landed the big one when they took gold at in the London Youth Games angling competition, supported by the Environment Agency, at Tyler’s Common near Romford on Saturday.
Launch of South Coast Sea Trout Action Plan. The South Coast Sea Trout Action Plan has been developed by the Environment Agency, Wild Trout Trust and Atlantic Salmon Trust with the common goal of improving sea trout stocks on the south coast.
Evenload enhancement boost. In conjunction with several local landowners including Blenheim Estate and Cornbury Park Estate we have recently completed a series of habitat enhancements on the River Evenlode in Oxfordshire.
Fish galore! Exciting news from Sandford! At Sandford Lock a fish rescue was carried out in February after scheduled repair works to the lock gates. This time an amazing 40000 fish were rescued including roach up to 2lb, perch to 3lb and many other species including dace, bleak, skimmer bream, ruffe and gudgeon.
Thames receives its last salmon stocking. In March 2011 the Environment Agency carried out its last official salmon release into the Thames catchment when it released 2,000 salmon smolts into the River Kennet between Newbury and Hungerford.
2.0 Enforcement and rod licence sales
Close season. Calls to our emergency hotline number have been down on last year. In addition to routine intelligence led enforcement patrols our enforcement boat was used to access more remote parts of the Thames. 43 close season offences were recorded up until the 15th May, 6 set lines and two unlicensed crayfish traps were seized.
Licence evasion. Early indications are that licence evasion rates are up. A fuller report will be available at the next meeting.
Rod licence sales. To the end of May rod licence sales were up by just over 6% with 148,514 licences sold across the SE. Whether this increase will be sustained will only become clear by the end of July/August. Our target is about 400,000 rod licences.
3.0 Incidents and emergencies
Two significant incidents to note within the Thames catchment are:
Emergency response to major fish kill on the Thames tideway
Heavy rain over 24 hours caused Thames Water to release storm sewage into the river from Mogden STW and tideway combined sewage overflows. Environment Agency officers reacted promptly to the incident. Bubbler boats and hydrogen peroxide were used to increase the oxygen levels. However thousands of fish were killed including roach, dace, bream, bass, eels, flounder and sea trout.
SVC notification 13TH June 2011
Movements of fish into, out of and within a fishery in Northamptonshire have been restricted, following the confirmation of Spring Viraemia of Carp (SVC). Cefas acting on behalf of Defra has issued a confirmed designation prohibiting the movement of fish to, from and within Crockwell Farm, Eydon, Northamptonshire, NN11 3QA.
West Thames Fisheries staff in collaboration with Cefas have completed the first phase of an eradication programme. No further cases have been reported. Advisory letters have been sent to nearby fisheries.
4.0 Drought – guidance to fisheries
Advice letters and a poster have been produced to advise fisheries managers on how best to cope with the exceptionally dry weather.
Suggested advice to stillwater fishery managers and owners:
We recommend that you consider the following actions in order to minimise the risk of fish mortalities:
• Keep a close watch on water levels and look for any signs of fish in distress. Visiting the water early in the morning will allow you to observe your fishery when dissolved oxygen levels are at their lowest.
• To help maintain water levels repair leaking sluices or control structures so as to preserve valuable water resources.
• Consider restricting the use of bait and ground bait to avoid unnecessary pressure on water quality.
• Minimise the use of keepnets. If a match is planned consider using multiple weigh-ins to avoid unnecessary stress to fish stocks.
• Avoid stocking further fish.
• Consider reducing fish stock densities to avoid problems later with reducing water levels and low dissolved oxygen levels. Prior to moving any fish, a consent is required from the Environment Agency. This is designed to reduce both the spread of fish disease and non-native species.
• With the potential of low water levels and high temperatures, care must be taken over fish welfare.
• If you believe your fishery may be at risk from low dissolved oxygen levels due to algal growth, low water levels, elevated temperatures or over-crowding – be prepared – and check that you have access to water pumps, aeration equipment and generators.
Please note:
• Talk to us before you relocate fish, as our written consent is required. This is designed to reduce the spread of both fish diseases and non-native fish species.
• We won’t normally rescue fish. However, in exceptional circumstances, we may consider an emergency fish rescue, if we can find somewhere safe to move them to and on the condition that the fish have been health screened within the last six months.
• Please report any dead carp to us immediately as this may be due to a disease outbreak.
If you see any fish in distress please tell us immediately by calling our National Incident Hotline on 0800 80 70 60 for advice, please contact our Fisheries and Biodiversity Department on 01794 832740 between the hours of 0800 – 1800.
Suggested advice to river fishery managers and owners
We recommend that you consider the following actions in order to minimise the risk of fish mortalities:
• Think carefully before cutting weed as it helps to hold up water levels and avoids disturbing quantities of silt, which can compromise water quality.
• If you stock fish, consider lower stocking densities.
• Avoid stocking locations that are vulnerable to drying out such as: headwaters, perched or raised channels – particularly from mid summer when groundwater and river levels are likely to fall most sharply.
• Discuss issues of flow splits and hatch control with neighbours and all interested parties so as to avoid ecological impacts.
• On raised or perched channels, check hatches and structures for unnecessary leakage in order to maintain depth. Even with low flows on these sections, depth will still provide useable fish habitat.
• With the potential of low flows and high temperatures, care must be taken over fish welfare particularly on salmon fisheries.
• Low flows and reduced water levels can increase the risk of avian predation. To reduce this pressure, maintain as much rough and overhanging marginal cover as possible, particularly adjacent to pool habitats which provide areas for fish to hide.
If you see any fish in distress please tell us immediately by calling our National Incident Hotline on 0800 80 70 60
Thank you for your support in helping us minimise the impacts of the dry weather. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and keep you updated. For further assistance or advice, please contact our Fisheries and Biodiversity Department on 01794 832740 between the hours of 0800 – 1800.
