The BRFC met at the Fishmongers Hall, London on 30th June 2009. In attendance were Ian Epps (Chairman), David Rowe (Secretary), Oliver Crimmen (Natural History Museum), Scientific Advisor, Nigel Hewlett (Environment Agency), Scientific Advisor, Mike Heylin (Angling Trust) & Andy Nellist (Angling Trust, Freshwater). Mr Len le Page, Guernsey Record Fish Committee, also attending was Mark Lloyd Chief Executive of the Angling Trust.
Ian Epps was elected Chairman of the Committee following the sad death of Ken Ball last year, Mike Heylin takes over the responsibility for the processing of Freshwater claims and the sea claims will be processed by David Rowe who agreed to retain the overall secretariat of the BRFC.
The initial contact point will be the Angling Trust Offices at Leominster.
The following claims were ratified by the committee:
Species Weight Captor Date Caught & Location Previous Record.
Coarse Fish 2lb 15oz Mr Philip 8-May-09 2lb 2oz
Bream – Silver 1.332 Kg Morton Mill Farm Fishery, Pullsborough, Sussex
(Blicca bjoerkna)
Coarse Fish 66lbs 14oz Mr John 6-Apr-08 65lbs 14oz
Carp – Mirror 30.335 Kg Bird Collingbrook, Ashford, Kent
(Cyprinus carpo)
Coarse Fish 67lbs 8oz Mr Austin 16-Aug-08 65lbs 14oz
Carp – Mirror 30.618 Kg Holness Collingbrook, Ashford, Kent
(Cyprinus carpo)
Seafish – Boat 1lb 8oz 6drms Mr Steven 12-Aug-07 1lb 7oz 12drms
Almaco Jack 0.692 Kg Penrose Off Newquay
(Seriola rivoliana)
Seafish Boat 1lb 5oz 8drms Mr Kevin John 25-Jul-08 1lb 5oz 4drms
Spanish Mackerel 0.6095 kg Beausire Banc au Nord, Sark
(Scomber Scombrus)
Seafish Shore 19lbs 11oz 12drms Mr Stephen 24-Nov-07 19lbs
Bass 8.952kg Cave Sandown Pier, IOW
Dicentrarchus labrax)
Seafish Shore 3lb 4oz 7drms Mr Simon 16-Jul-08 2lb 15oz 1drm
Couches Sea Bream 1.4866 kg Newton Belgruve Bay, Guernsey
(Pagrus pagrus)
Notes from the meeting:-
1/ Other claims considered by the committee:-
a) A claim for a new record for the coarse fish species Crucian Carp submitted by Mr Chris Gadston was rejected by the Freshwater sub Group, because the scales were inaccurate with the result that the fish was below the current record.
b) A claim for a new record for the coarse fish species Crucian Carp submitted by Mr Melvin Regan was rejected by the Freshwater sub Group, because the fish was identified as being a hybrid and not a true Crucian carp.
c) A claim for a new record for the coarse fish species Roach submitted by Mr Terry Jackson was rejected by the Freshwater sub Group, because the fish was identified as being a Roach/Rudd hybrid and not a true Roach.
Note! Dr Patrick Hamilton of the School of Biosciences at Exeter University very kindly agreed to assist the committee by analysing DNA obtained from a single scale which had been taken from the fish by the captor. Dr Hamilton was able to confirm that the fish was a Roach x Rudd hybrid.
This is the first time a DNA test has been carried out on a claim for a BRFC record and it confirmed the previous identification of the Committee’s Scientific advisor.
Dr Hamilton and Professor Charles Tyler also of the School of Biosciences at Exeter University were authors of a paper on the genetic identification of Roach published in the summer of 2007 under the title: “Identification of microsatellite loci for parentage analysis in roach Rutilus rutilus and eight other cyprinid fish by cross-species amplification, and a novel test for detecting hybrids between roach and other cyprinids“.
d) A decision on the claim for a new record for the shore caught sea fish species for a Sting Ray submitted by Mr Keith Canning was deferred pending further clarification on the scales used to weigh the fish. This will be considered further by the committee at its next meeting.
2/ Use of DNA for Identification of Species
The Committee considered the use of DNA for the identification of some freshwater species and decided that now that it is possible to verify the identify of Roach, Rudd and Crucian Carp using DNA obtained from a single scale that this should be reflected in the record lists.
In future the Record List will contain additional records for Roach, Rudd and Crucian Carp where the fish has been genetically identified using DNA extracted from a scale.
The existing records for Roach, Rudd and Crucian Carp will continue to be maintained to allow anglers to claim a record without taking a scale. Where a genetically identified fish is heavier than both existing records it will qualify to hold both.
To encourage the establishment of genetic records for all three species the committee has set qualifying weights for the three new records as follows: Roach at 4lb 3oz; Rudd 4lb 3oz: Crucian Carp 4lb 8oz.
3/ Gamefish- Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss):
a) Cultivated Species Category: The committee agreed that the unsatisfactory situation in respect of the suspended cultivated record be addressed and agreed that the suspended cultivated record for a fish of 36lbs 14oz 8drm be removed and that the previous record for a fish of 30lbs 12oz caught by Mr T Flower at Tavistock Fishery in July 1994 be re established as the record. A pending claim for a fish of 33lb 4oz caught by Mr J Lawson at Watercress Trout, Fishery, Devon will be considered at the next meeting of the BRFC.
b) Wild Species Category: The committee considered the vacant record for the wild rainbow trout in light of the confusion caused and the difficulty of establishing such a fish caught in rivers and waters. It was agreed that that this the category be removed from the British list
4/ Future Operation of the BRFC
The meeting was attended by Mr Mark Lloyd the Chief Executive of the Angling Trust who acknowledged the value of the British Record List and agreed that the AT would continue to support the BRFC and host the official British Records List on its website. The committee agreed that the future initial contact point of the BRFC would be the Angling Trust Head Office.
The next meeting of the full committee is scheduled for November 2009.
