I think deep down all anglers want to see what goes on below the surface of the water and it’s one of the reasons why I’m keen to find, and film, as many freshwater fish as possible. In this respect I’m hoping to make a short film showing as many of the 54 freshwater fish species currently in the UK as possible; some I suppose you would only loosely class as freshwater as they only visit it, but I wanted to include any species with a direct connection to freshwater.
You can check out my species ‘hit list’ by clicking HERE
I’m a wildlife cameraman and photographer by profession, and cover all species from birds to insects, but I have always had an interest in fish, particularly freshwater fish, since growing up in Nottinghamshire there wasn’t exactly much in the way of sea fishing locally!
Freshwater fish face so many threats now; what with barriers to their movement, pollution, habitat loss and invasive species to name but a few, so I feel that it’s important to document and to show what’s happening. It’s often a case of ‘out of sight out of mind’ with freshwater fish so I’m very keen to put them ‘in sight and in mind’ both with the public and with any other bodies that control, areas of water.
Species such as eels, lamprey, shad and salmon all struggle in rivers that have extensive barriers on them and this can reduce numbers drastically – and when you consider that eels have declined in numbers by about 95% in the last 50 years it’s not a good picture. Although rivers have mostly improved in recent years they still get a fair amount of pollution flushed into them and there are no rivers in lowland England and Wales unaffected. Invasive species such as signal crayfish and mink can have a massive impact on local river systems too, and when they get a foothold they are often hard to remove.
The aim of my film is to show off as many species as possible in their natural habitat throughout England, Wales, Scotland and, hopefully, Ireland too. Species like shad can be found in the Welsh Wye while glacial species such as vendace, whitefish and charr can be found in the Scottish lochs and Lake District waters. Showcasing these fish species, most of which the public will never have seen, raises awareness of them and puts them in the conservation spotlight; indeed many nature reserves in the UK have wetland habitats but few actually try to improve fish numbers or try to benefit the habitat solely for the fish. The aim of this film is to raise the profile of our freshwater fish – and hopefully you all can help.
The aim is to produce a short film with clips of each species, with insert films showing me going after certain species up and down the country. The film will initially be shown at a private viewing at a Nottingham cinema and at a later date put online. Help is always appreciated, so if you know of a venue that has clear water and a species I need to film then please get in touch!
Some species, such as the spined loach, are hardly known by most people and even anglers generally haven’t heard of them; a small fish with remarkable patterns they live most of their lives in the silt filter feeding, they are limited to the east of England to five rivers and their tributaries. Other species like lamprey, which hold no angling value, are still a part of our river systems and need to be preserved.
Species I’m looking to film include barbel, carp, zander, ruffe, wels catfish and bitterling. Although the main emphasis is on native species if I can include some of the non natives it would be good to show them off too as it gives the full picture of the current state of our fish fauna. There will be many challenges on the course of this project with some species only being around for a few months, while others look their best in the breeding season, usually at a time when most anglers aren’t on the river.
Having filmed with the BBC for a few series including chub eating blackberries on ‘The Great British Year’ and filming on a urban river in Nottingham for ‘Springwatch’ showing it was, in fact, full of life, I’m keen to get fish on TV to wider audiences. Our fish species have some fantastic behaviour that just aren’t being shown; whether it’s bitterling injecting their eggs into swan mussels, grayling fighting for the best spot in the river or pike working together to mob roach into a shoal.
Why aren’t these being filmed and shown? Well, I think it’s mostly a case of ‘cute and cuddly’ will always draw in a larger audience so is a safer bet to do a piece on that! However, angling is one of the most participated activities in the UK with some 20% of the population having fished in the last ten years, it’s unlike any other sport with so many different aspects to it and I’m sure the audience is there.
For the past year I’ve filmed as many species as I could find; you can click HERE to take a look at some of the footage of the 28 species of fish I’ve got to date from venues in Hampshire, Norfolk, Nottingham, Leicester, Derby and Lincoln.
Although I’m now after the less common species I’m also looking to get some of the better-known species like carp, roach and pike and put them into more of a natural history perspective. Clarity of water is the key to my filming and this does limit where I can go, meaning most commercial fisheries are of little use, so I need to stick mainly to rivers and clear stillwaters to find species.
If you are interested in helping then please click HERE for further information.
