Biggest Barbel in the UK...Ottered!

[quint]

I applaud the Telegraph for publishing that article, totally gives the real view of what Otters are doing to the fish stocks in this country.

But it's an absolute disgrace the responce from the EA, we fund them massively, without anglers licence fees there would be no EA, or it would have to be funded totally by the government.



www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/11772358/Britains-biggest-barbel-fish-the-Big-Lady-killed-by-otter.html

[smiler]

No evidence and it's been posted all over

The telegraph is just an anti barbel society page that posts nothing but rubbish

[quint]

Aug 6, 2015 10:36:13 GMT smiler said:

No evidence and it's been posted all over

The telegraph is just an anti barbel society page that posts nothing but rubbish

What do you mean no evidence, a Baliff saw it on the bank.

Ask the anglers who fish the Gt Ouse if there's no evidence that Otters have destroyed the fishing on the river.

[smiler]

So why didn't the bailiff get a picture ?

Ever thought its to stop people fishing for it as the stretch was getting hammered ?

[kpkh]

A lot of what the ea said there is right. Don't get me wrong I don't like the thought of fish getting ottered but otters live in rivers!
The last few decades have seen a false situation where big fish like barbel have had no predators, couple this with the pellet revolution and demise of silver fish (less mouths) and you get fish growing to un natural sizes.
Otters arnt the main problem, look at water quality and a whole list of other problems for that.

[patterdalewilson]

Re introducing otters into our river systems in the '80s is the problem , just as the eel population was crashing.
Why did this happen ?

[keepitreal]

The great Ouse and indeed the Ivel are stocked barbel rivers, there is no great record of recruitment from barbel. meaning two things they will grow big and they will slowly dissapear. This was happening on the gt Ouse before re introduction of the otter, as it did before when the river was stocked with thames barbel in the late 1800s. On the few stretches of great Ouse near suitable spawning areas, barbel are still a viable target. And it is still a top chub river, which it has been for many a year, have the otters singled out the barbel?

IMO the current trend to blame otters for rivers barbel population failing is short sighted and rivers where barbel do not naturally occur, cannot be held as an example to this view.

[quint]

Barbel were not native to the Wye, Seven and Teme, all 3 are stuffed full of them, the latter in decline a bit and many are blaming you know what, this argument that Barbel aren't native so let the Otters eat them is crazy.

We are now facing something as anglers that has never happened before, an Apex predator left to run riot with no control of it's numbers, this has never happened before and it only goes one way.

Why do you think they were hunted, they are and always were a pest, killing everything in sight, back in the days when people ate freshwater fish they were seen as a menace.

Lets get it straight, Otters are killing machines, and left unchecked they will eventually change river angling forever.

Listen to this man 4mins in, he knows a thing or two about the subject...

youtu.be/hUf8q7eGmKQ?t=250

[keepitreal]

Merchant navy and hairdresser according to wikipedia, so without doubt far less qualified than whomever wrote the EA reaction on the telegraph link!

Yes we all know that otters eat fish, sometimes 'prize' fish, and yes this isn't good for our sport.
Mass reintroduction was highly misguided, but we aren't gunna turn back time.

Anglers calling for otter culls, calling otters vermin, calling otters killing machines, ect, ect are on a hiding to nothing.

These people will have an adverse affect on angling, as they will make more of the general public anti angling.


Who cares outside angling that a 50lb carp is supposedly worth 8k?

We as anglers should be doing more to look at the other problems that face our rivers, invasive species, water abstraction, agricultural run off and the like.

There are rivers out there sustaining fish and otter populations (wye, Severn, Swale, Nidd, Trent, Yorks Ouse, and others) with time hopefully the more adversely affected rivers will do so too.

Sad that lots of the Great Ouse and now Ivel fish are now dead, but how long would these highly pressured, old, upper double and 20lb barbel been around anyway? Immortal they are not.

[quint]

LOL, John Wilson not qualified with 60 years experience of fishing in the UK, I've heard it all now, fishing for a living has been his job.

That's the exact person you want to be listening to, not the E.A, the E.A could not give two sh*ts about anglers.

[keepitreal]

I merely implied that someone who works for the ea should scolared in ecological and biodiversity, and john Wilson isn't.

Of course he's qualified to have an opinion on the matter, same as I am with a mere 20yrs and you are with x years experience.

In all honesty I haven't watched the interview, I may do later, I'm sure he'll have some valid points, and probably some that I don't agree with.

[stevo53]

Aug 7, 2015 19:18:42 GMT quint said:

LOL, John Wilson not qualified with 60 years experience of fishing in the UK, I've heard it all now, fishing for a living has been his job.

That's the exact person you want to be listening to, not the E.A, the E.A could not give two sh*ts about anglers.

Apparently 20 pairs were introduced onto the Yorkshire Derwent brought from Scotland apparently, I bet they were glad to see them go.
These otters were introduced at a time when the fishing was in serious decline on the Derwent, apparently the Derwent does not have the ability to sustain Its fish population and recover from problems like most rivers, theres a fancy name for this situation according to the EA but It escapes me at the moment.
As far as the EA not giving two sh*ts about anglers I might dispute that point In as much as they seem to be keen enough where salmon and trout are concerned but coarse anglers claim they are getting a bum deal.
Never have I heard the salmon and trout anglers complaining about otters unlike us moaning coarse men I am sure theres a reason for this but It currently escapes me! .
Anyone read the piece In the Angling times about the EA fishery enforcement figures? It makes interesting reading the Yorkshire region Is way out in front of the rest of the country with regard to convictions, obviously our local bailiff  Is doing a great job.

[trout]

Our local beck got a otter in it for a while, it used to be a good mixed fishery with trout, grayling, chub, dace, roach the odd pike, the otter cleaned it out except for the trout, don't now why the trout survived maybe to fast or not on the menu I don't know anyway the only thing that stopped it was a car, flattened it into the tarmac

[quint]

20 pairs on the Derwent, and the E.A helped Natural England do things like this, no wonder it's a stunning river that holds nowhere near the fish it should do.

Personally I think if Otters can not be controlled, then you need to start putting more fish in, a lot more stocking needs to be going on, while doing this you need to control the cormorants.

The E.A needs to spend our licence money on another couple of farms, and start putting right the wrongs they have caused.

[kpkh]

"Personally I think if Otters can not be controlled, then you need to start putting more fish in, a lot more stocking needs to be going on, while doing this you need to control the cormorants."


I disagree with this idea quint, the only thing we can do as anglers is let nature balance itself out! We can't controll otters and never ever will be able to. Stocking more fish is just like throwing more bait into the pen for them to eat creating a false habitat. Yes a lot of rivers are absolutely on there arse but some are also doing ok! Things go in cycles, maybe the barbels had its turn and some other fish will beggin to do well.