Michelle
Dolphin - 18-Feb-2008 - Environment Agency
Fisheries Officers have been overseeing
the successful movement of a hundred pounds
of roach and bream from Wedgwoods Main Lake
to restock the Top Lake in Stoke on Trent,
in freezing conditions.
The fish were moved
by members of the Stoke on Trent Angling
Society Fisheries Management Team, who have
many years of experience in netting operations.
It was not a straightforward
operation because the Main Lake also contains
bitterling, which are not native to England
and are subject to restrictions under the
Importation of Live Fish Act (ILFA) 1980.
Any bitterling caught
must be removed from the lake, so all the
fish caught had to be painstakingly graded.
Ninety bitterling were sent to the Environment
Agency’s National Fisheries Laboratory at
Brampton.
Bitterling are found
in France and may have been released into
the wild after being kept as pets in fish
tanks or garden ponds. They pose a threat
to native fish where large populations have
direct competition for food but may also
carry non-native parasites. They grow to
about 80mm in size and live for 5 years.
They have an unusual life cycle as they
need swan mussels to breed. The female lays
her eggs in live swan mussels. The male
then fertilises the eggs and guards them
until they hatch.
Fisheries Officer, Mick
Buxton says “Non-native fish such as bitterling
can spread diseases and parasites that our
native fish have little or no resistance
to, so it is very important not to put fish
from a fish tank or garden pond into the
wild. All fish movements require a formal
consent from us. It is an important part
of our job to audit them to ensure that
there is no risk to the environment.”
Any movements of fish
between watercourses needs Environment Agency
consent. This is a legal requirement under
section 30 of the Salmon and Freshwater
Fisheries Act 1975 and is very important
to reduce the risk of spreading disease,
parasites and non-indigenous fish species
that may be harmful to local eco-systems.
Part of a Fisheries Officer’s job is to
audit such movements of fish to ensure they
are carried out safely.
Rea Brook fish rescue
Michelle Dolphin - 18-Feb-2008 - On Monday
18 February 2008, Environment Agency ecology
officers will rescue hundreds of fish which
would otherwise be left stranded by emergency
works on a bridge that carries the Rea Brook
in Sutton, on the southern outskirts of
Shrewsbury.
Cracks in the bridge
were reported to us on Friday 25 January,
indicating that the bridge is starting to
fail. Shropshire County Council will be
carrying out the work to repair the bridge
with our assistance and support, as the
work involves a watercourse.
We responded to their
request as a matter of urgency because the
embankment above the bridge carries utilities
including a gas main.
Work is well underway
to divert the watercourse. Shropshire County
Council excavated a section of new channel
which, together with the existing mill leat,
will carry the Rea Brook while the bridge
is repaired.
Shropshire County Council
are now almost ready to divert the brook
into the its new channel. But diverting
the brook will leave hundreds of fish stranded
in pools of water as the original course
of the brook dries up.
So, Environment Agency
officers will use specialist electro-fishing
equipment to lightly stun the fish, making
them easier to catch using nets. The fish
will then be placed in tanks of oxygenated
water to recover before being released elsewhere
in the Rea Brook.
Ecological Appraisal
Officer, Martin Fenn, says “We had to work
very quickly to help Shropshire County Council,
but diverting the brook will leave many
fish stranded. We will be using specialist
equipment to catch them tomorrow before
finding them a safe new home elsewhere in
the Rea Brook.”
