Source: The Canal & River Trust
The Canal & River Trust, working with Tring Anglers and the Boxmoor & District Angling Society, have relocated over 5,000 fish to the Grand Union Canal, Aylesbury Arm in an effort to boost the fish population after a pollution incident wiped out a two mile stretch of this popular fishing destination.
To help restore fish numbers, specialist fish contractors, MEM Fisheries, transferred fish from the Aylesbury Basin at the end of the canal and also from Westbrook Mere, a popular carp fishing lake in Hemel Hempstead. The fish were caught using large nets, placed in special bins filled with clean water and transported by trailer to the canal.
John Ellis, national fisheries and angling manager at the Canal & River Trust, said:
“Back in 2013 pollution entered the canal near the village of Buckland killing a vast number of fish and affecting the fishery along a two mile stretch of the canal. Thankfully we have now been able to restock the canal by relocating fish from the canal basin and those donated from the Boxmoor & District Angling Society who kindly provided us with mature Roach and Bream from their fishing lake.”
Dick Pilkinton, from Tring Anglers, said:
“Our fishery was massively affected when the canal became polluted and it got to the point when there was a huge part of the canal that couldn’t be fished. On average it would take eight years for the fish population to recover on its own so I’m delighted we have managed to speed this process up and once again fish this part of the canal.”
Mike Heylin, secretary to the Boxmoor & District Angling Society, said:
“This lake is principally a carp fishery so when we heard that the canal needed some extra fish we offered the Trust and Tring Anglers the opportunity to take some roach and bream as really we had too many in this water. Having too many fish in a small lake can be bad for fish health and growth so we wanted to reduce the numbers whilst also helping to restore stocks in our local canal. By donating these fish also means our carp will flourish and should grow on well now.”
