A PAG committee, including prominent members such as John Wilson, Martin Bowler, Tony Gibson, Mike Heylin and Tim Paisley, has been formed to research and report on the effects of predation on fisheries and angling in Great Britain.
The group state via their website that:
“That the balance of nature is steadily being destroyed and as a consequence angling is under threat. The spread of imported signal crayfish means that the food resources once utilised by fish are now being depleted and their spawn is preyed upon. The seas are being stripped of fish, a phenomenon which has resulted in cormorants being driven inland for their prey, the effect of which is well documented, with John Wilson rationalising that they account for up to 58,000,000 irreplaceable small fish per annum.
Against this background of increasing small fish predation in the early ’70s a programme was put in place to rear otters in captivity and reintroduce them to the wild. The EA Otter Survey of 2010 reveals that the spread of otters has been far-reaching and they are now present in most areas of the country.
Because of the impact of signal crayfish and cormorants destroying the small fish food chain, otters have had to learn to look elsewhere for their normal prey and as a result, their impact on specimen fish has been alarming. They have all but totally wiped out the specimen barbel population and have been responsible for serious damage to, and the destruction of, an increasing number of carp fisheries.
Fishery owners, controllers and fish farmers are in a difficult position when it comes to protecting their interests and livelihoods because otters and cormorants are protected. The authorities are in denial over the predation issue. Notwithstanding the fact that we spend £25,000,000 per annum on licences, anglers are looked on as the poor relations compared to such bodies as the RSPB, English Nature, and so on.
The Angling Trust is there to look after anglers’ interests but they are underfunded and have their hands full. The PAG has been formed to research the predation issue and put together a convincing case for some measure of control of predators.”
In the first instance it is the PAG’s brief to report their findings to the Angling Trust; if that does not have the desired effect then they say it may be necessary to lobby Government directly and are actively seeking funds in order to finance their aims.
For further details check out the PAG website HERE
