Otters are as dangerous as lions

[The bad one]

Bad un and CC.

They obviously aren't a problem on your local...........yet!

When your river, pond, lake goes downhill, you'll know how we feel....

Bad un, I can't be ar$ed to go through all that cr*p just to find the bit about when they were supposed to get permission from angling clubs to release otters near their waters.

They are here, no-one researched the effect they would have on the rivers, drains and lakes they would find their way into!

The numbnut tree huggin doogooders just wanted to bring the cuddly wuddly fluffy critters back...........what a bunch of to$$ers!!!

Steve where I river fish they never lost them in the main mate! So always been some there, the systems are balanced and have been that way for a long time.
Those systems also produce high quality fish with other age ranges throughout the stock. The constriction threat does not come from otters on them, it comes from the cormorants.

So that's why I don't buy the bull dung from the misinformed and or them who for reasons of their own agenda are creating mischief!

 

[cam clearie]

tell you what bad one you are the most obstinate self important self rightous type i have met in a long time .tell me where you fish and i will personally capture thirty otters and release the darlings into your stretch.post under your own name ,lets us know where you fish .You can have our otters up there .Your views and mine will never aline

 

[quickcedo]

If you think Otters are the reason for fish stock decline, I'm afraid you are sadly mistaken. Yes there are localised areas which have suffered but in general Otters are not the reason.
I do live and fish an area of reintroduction and I have witnessed abandoned cubs being taken away and "grown on" then returned however, the local river was in massive decline BEFORE this occured. The fact is if you take into account, over dredging, Signal Crayfish, Cormorants, chemical leaching and loss of spawning grounds the Otter is just another piece of the puzzle, not the kiss of death just another nail in the coffin lid of many freshwater fish. the fact is only 117 adult Otters were released nationally (recorded) between 1983 and 1999 and 17 of these were in the Thames region alone (6 males and 11 females) at least 7 of these were found dead on the roads.

 

[Terry D]

We'd all like something obvious to blame for any decline in our fishing and this is not it. The lack of support by the government for people like the EA to do their job properly is, in my opinion, more to blame. We actually need more research to get to the real main root cause of any problem areas, and that means money. Something that's not going to be forthcoming for quite a few years to come.

 

[quickcedo]

I forgot to mention the killer of most rivers. How could I have overlooked it!!
The dreaded the one and only, "Flood Defence" knobs.
If you choose to build a house on a flood plain....TOUGH!

 

[cam clearie]

As a a baliff on Throop fishery for the last eleven years believe me when i say i know the venue inside out .i have actually lived very near to throop for 53 years .In that time we have had allsorts of problems in 1984 the river was reduced to a few small pools ...thanks to the efforts of the baliffs and anglers not one barbel was lost.
We had the black death remove many of the dace and roach and we have always had otters.
Otters that were never seen ,otters that had a very large range and with no doubt were very cautious of man .
Five years ago i could of taken you on a walk from new weir to blackwater bridge and shown you two hundred barbel in the summer with the light allowing .
Now i might be able to show you half a dozen .Now you can bleat on about river abstraction and nitrate poisoning ,river straightening ,poor year classes ,dying out of the bigger fish and as one fool said duck weed.NONE OF THESE PROBLEMS HAS CAUSED THE VERY RAPID DECLINE.
Otters are now seen every day on Throop and are certainly not in any way even cautious of man .On beat three it has been estimated that in a couple of miles of river there may be as many as thirty otters .Anyone even doubting this needs only go to the recreation ground at night to see and hear .As for only 117 otters being released it is total nonsense .A man in fordingbridge has had a court order placed on him in may to stop him releasing otters.He has been doing this for forty years
Those that rattle on about otters being part of a balanced eco system are refusing to see the reality that the eco system is being eaten and that the fish cannot be replaced .
lets take the Barbel societys stance on these matters ...dont seethe otters being a problem.....they pulled out of their jewell in the crown because no one was fishing it ..the otters had eaten all the fish.
Groups like the barbel society do not want a fight with the conservation groups who whole heartedly view the reintroduction of otters as a huge success .Not for the barbel in this neck of the woods it isnt.Not for Mark Symonds the carp breeder who lost thirty thousand pounds worth of fish in one night ,not for the many stretches and lakes that are feeding them every day it isnt .So unless you have personally had your fishing destroyed by the otters i reckon you want to keep your mouth tightly closed as your opinion is not wanted round these parts.

 

[geoffmaynard]

It's very obvious from reading these very passionate posts that both sides of the argument have a lot of support from highly informed and educated parties. I am neither, but for me it's a no-brainer. Left unchecked, otters will destroy fisheries. This is a recorded fact witnessed by too many people in too many places. Otters are obviously not the cause of river decline everywhere but the evidence such as Cam (and many other people) supply is too strong to ignore.
I still want to know why the Trent is doing so well whilst others are doing so poorly. They have otters too. And pollutions, and...etc...

 

[quickcedo]

I can assure you that I am and EVERYONE else IS entitled to an opinion and is entitled to have there say on an open forum! Even if you disagree with it. My local fishing HAS been degraded since the Otters were released here. All the local Barbel have gone, but I still have my opinion as to the bigger picture.

 

[Neil Maidment]

Passionate words all round. I consider the lower Stour Cam is talking about to be "my" river and the barbel in my Avatar was from there a couple of years ago but I fear I may never see its like again.

We love a good passionate debate on here and there's not too many other topics that get the passion going than Otters. But, gentlemen, please respect the views and opinions of our fellow anglers.

Ta.

 

[The bad one]

tell you what bad one you are the most obstinate self important self rightous type i have met in a long time .tell me where you fish and i will personally capture thirty otters and release the darlings into your stretch.post under your own name ,lets us know where you fish .You can have our otters up there .Your views and mine will never aline

Rather an obtuse comment from you given that you don't know me or have ever met me.

Now I'm interested in this guy you claim has been releasing otter for 40 years and has a court order against him.
So given that you claim this you'll, have some evidence of it I take it?
So please feel free to put a link up to the local paper that ran the story or the court reference number of his conviction.

Oh dear, as I'm writing this, I'm also watching the telly on See Hear (Natural World) and it's about Sea Otters in California

 

[quickcedo]

"Otters Are As Danderous As Lions"
But nowhere near as dagerous as an angry FMer!

 

[cam clearie]

post has been removed

 

[matt1960]

Is it possible to train otters to eat just the fish that should not be there?
Like carp, catfish, zander, barbel (apart from a few rivers) , rainbow trout etc..
And then they can be allowed maybe a brace of fish per day (providing they are not roach over 1lb):wh
Matt

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

I've never read such rubbish

Otter are as dangerous as lion - what tosh - if this were the case then why has there never been any Otter trainers in the circus!

Picture it - and man bravely standing in acage with 4 otter on little podiums and he cracks his whip and waves a chair and the otters perform trick. The British public won't stand for it I tell you

 

[geoffmaynard]

Is it possible to train otters to eat just the fish that should not be there?
Like carp, catfish, zander, barbel (apart from a few rivers) , rainbow trout etc..
And then they can be allowed maybe a brace of fish per day (providing they are not roach over 1lb):wh
Matt

Yes Matt. Well worth a try. :wh

 

[quickcedo]

Personally I'd like them to have a bit more of a go at the p0xy crayfish!
I think the idea was these would become a staple diet of the Otter. Trouble is nobody told the Otter.

 

[Harvey]

..........

 

[Poshpaul (Angling Trust and PaSC)]

Now come on Harvey - you know none of these are really dangerous..why not even the Polar Bears of Svalbard are as viscious as that blooming waspy thing that got me just North of Hovden....blister the size and shape of the Millenium Dome! Now that coming over here would worry me!!

 

[Harvey]

..........

 

[michedw91]

otters are making a comeback but the thing i dont get is they are now taking on bigger fish than themselves which never use to happen because there main food source use to be chub and eels but now they are killing expensive carp and over half the time they kill them and dont eat them at all