River Severn fish stocks at an all-time low
Monday 25th October 2010, 6:30PM BST.
Shrewsbury’s River Severn is in “crisis” with fish stocks at an all-time low, a Shropshire angling chief warned today and he blamed protected species for the problem.
John Roberts, chairman and head bailiff for Shropshire Anglers’ Federation, said young fish and adult fish were being eaten at an alarming rate by birds, including cormorants and geese.
And he claimed a rise in the otter population was also to blame.
The river chief is now calling on the Government to authorise a bird cull in order to let fish stocks replenish.
He said: “On the river near the West Mid Showground you have got about 80-odd goose gander and at Pimley Manor in Sundorne there is a bunch of about 40 or 50 of them.
“They get together for one period and then split off.”
Mr Roberts said the amount of birds feeding off the river was having a devastating impact and claimed if something was not done soon about the situation it could see anglers leaving some of the county’s watercourses completely.
“We have just resurrected a competition in conjunction with Total Angling in Battlefield with five Saturday events.
“We have still got three to go but seven or eight years ago it was nothing to see the winner take about 80kg (176lbs) of fish for first place.
“In our latest competition the winner only had 7lbs 12 ounces (3.18kg) worth.
“It’s a total crisis, the river is in crisis. There is so much money tied up in this river and the biggest concern is clubs could turn their back on the river and then we have lost the management of it.”
Mr Roberts said he would be lobbying Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski over the issue.
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Blaming this on protected bird species and otters is utter rubbish!
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Nice argument Mick. Would you like to expand on that? What’s it down to then?
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See below!
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Animals just doing what comes naturally,
cormorants, geese and otters they have more right to do some than some leisure seeking angler.
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Anglers act as custodians of the rivers and help to ensure the river’s eco system stays in balance.
There are far too many geese for this stretch of river. Most of these should be culled to save the fish population.
Turn them into Christmas dinner for the local old folks homes.
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Kill all the wildlife. Yeah. That’ll work. Mr T had a word for people like that.
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Good riddance to the anglers on the Severn; they are parasites and a menace to our wildlife. If they must pursue this selfish and cruel “sport” they should use dedicated, artificially stocked commercial fisheries and leave the river to its natural users – the birds and animals who need its resources purely in order to survive.
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it seems to me this crisis is based on falling angling competition weights.we have had some catastrophic floods over the last few years and these have bound to have changed the profile of the river bed.the fish are still there but have probably changed location due to change in the river bed.perhaps anglers should adapt their methods accordingly.its all to easy for us anglers to blame poor catches on over predation and ignore what other causes there may be.
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try fishing this place, was there last weekend. brilliant
http://www.blakemere-leisure.co.uk
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i have fished the river severn on and off for over 30yrs it has allways had its ups and downs but i have seen a big change since the work carried out in ironbridge and also have noticed a higher rate of scum at the waters edge in various locations between shrewsbury and bridgnorth also a lot more debris and litter in the river its about time the necessary authorities used the monies
3 million + anglers pay each year
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In response to the comment made by Mick “blaming this on protected bird species and otters” is not utter rubbish it is fact and more over it is only half the story.The situation is being made worse by mink which are an alien species.I fish the river at Cressage and there are mink everywhere along with the aforementioned geese and cormorants and the decline in the amount of small fish in the river over the last couple of years is alarming.
A cull of mink,cormorants and geese needs to be authorised quickly before the situation becomes irreversable.
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The otter is actually countering the invasion of mink – to the benefit of all, including anglers.
Do your research!
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“Do my research”,don’t make me laugh!!
I spend a considerable amount of time on the riverbank,not just fishing but observing the wildlife as well and you can take it from me that there is no way that otters are countering the invasion of mink.
Mink numbers are on the increase year by year.Lets not forget that these furry killing machines have been let loose by “do gooders” who do not realise what damage they are doing to the balance of nature.
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Oxford Univeristy research, (inital publication in 2003 with biannual updates), indicates mink numbers are down to possibly as low as 40,000 from an all time high of around 110,000 in the mid 80′s.
The reason? A resurgence in the native otter. It is better suited to the habitat and has even been known to directly kill mink, (as opposed to just out-hunting them).
Professional researchers across the conservation spectrum agree that this is happening so I am afraid I cant accept your “memoranda from the riverbanks” as the authoratative opinion on the matter.
I do, however, agree that it is misguided morons “freeing” the mink that caused the problem in the first place.
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Posts 1 & 2, my thoughts exactly. Makes me wonder if the stock is low by natural standards, or low by the inflated standard set by these people after they introduced more fish to the river for those with nothing better to do than sit there for hours drowning worms. Aquatic birds DO eat fish, that is their natural source of food, and have been so doing since time began,yet, strangely, fish are not extinct.
If the local MP does get involved, then he too, obviously, has nothing better to do. Judging by past performances this may be right up his street.
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Anglers are obviously not as good as they were 7 0r 8 years ago!!
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Straight to the geese and the otters before even having the water tested for pollution including nitrate run-off and illegal slurry release. Theres nothing like the scientific approach and nor is this.
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The problem lies with three alien species – mink, goosander & cormorants .
Mink – an American species, introduced thanks to the anti-fur groups. Over populated & very little management.
Goosander, not a native species, these are in huge numbers on the Severn & need to be culled. These are indiscriminate hunters & will ruin fish stocks, frog, newt populations as well as other aquatic species. These are the problem, not ‘geese’ but goosanders are a protected species??! (why??)
Cormorants – a sea bird that due to declining sea fish stocks is now in big numbers on our freshwaters taking large numbers of young fish & injuring may others.
What I will add is that I love to see the return of the otter & enjoy sharing my fishing spots with them. The numbers of fish taken by otters are very small compared to the above.
To those that don’t believe the above I invite you spend 30+ days each year fishing & watching the alien species hard at work munching on the native ones!
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Instead of playing the “blame game” which appears to be the choice of many of the commentators on here.
Why don’t the river authorities carry out a survey of the river looking at the water quality at specific points, pollution content, natural predator numbers and imported predator numbers.
Then, once armed with the facts, they can move forward with appropriate restocking of fish or proposed culling in certain circumstances.
Jumping to unfounded conclusions isn’t helping anyone!
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‘Jumping to unfounded conclusions isn’t helping anyone!’
Yeah, but without that most human of behaviours there’d be no need for a comments section in the Shropshire Star on any news item, or even any Shropshire Star at all perhaps.
To these naysayers, I say let’s keep up the unfounded comments…in fact let’s make them even more unfounded !
In that spirit, has anyone noticed a correlation between fish numbers declining and UFO sighting increases ?
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And we all know that to assume is the mother of all **** ups!
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Their is probably no ideal solution to current problems with the River Severn,as anglers and conservation groups have totally opposite views.However,my views are based on 39yrs as an angler and club bailiff on the river.Cormorants ARE prolific eaters of fish,they are large birds.Goosanders ‘work’ together and eat the smaller fish.I and i am sure many other anglers could take anyone to places which are now almost devoid of fish including minnows and bleak.The river never gets as clear as it used to,even in rain free periods,what is in the water damaging other aquatics etc?Also, yes Richard i have reported the scum on the river several times to the E.A.
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Also,the floods of recent years around June/JUly must have had a massive impact,as small fry and small fish will have been washed onto fields,with no way back when the waters receded.This will have affected several ‘year’ stocks.Finally,the competition results don’t lie,too many quality anglers catching really low weight’s or even no fish at all,give a true state of the river. .
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Nistagmus – Yes I have noticed said correlation. But I also dont think we should dismiss Elton John’s up and coming show. To all “in the know”, he suffers from Ichthyophobia (fear of fish), and some say his “people” have removed them on his wish so he can scent the river with lavender. Dam you celebrities!!!
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Wow, I doff my hat in your general direction. When it comes to unfounded conclusions that really *is* hardcore.
What is even more brave is making jokey Elton references…did you see what happened to that guy over on the comments section for that story ?
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Fri 29th oct.After all the dismal reports it is only fair to report the following.Just been talking to 2 very reliable,well known local anglers[Ironbridge,Dawley].The old Avenue stretch is full of very small dace,with some larger dace there too,literaly a fish a ‘chuck’.
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