Otter friend or foe

[corydoras]

Getting back to Otters

As winter is almost upon us & fish become more scarce do otters decline due to a food shortage

Does anyone have any facts or figures on otter winter survival

Some reading for you.

 

http://www.jstor.org/pss/2404116

[corydoras]

Scarce? They don't die off, and are easier prey for Otter as they become less active.

With almost every post you show how little you know about the otter. Otters, whilst they do not hibernate become much less active during the winter and spend extended periods of time in their holts. This is why they need to get as fat as possible before winter sets in. Fish become harder for the otter to catch in winter because they tend to move to the deeper parts of rivers, where it is harder for the otter to find them.

[corydoras]

Pot calling the.......

 

I don't propose to be an expert on Otter, far from it, but then again I don't put myself forward as an expert on every subject that crops up on here.

 

However I was merely stating that fish don't die off in winter, and they still will be prey to the Otter, yes prey in the Winter, as Otter do feed in the Winter, but I didn't bring this up you did, and then corrected ME!!

 

Odd very Odd

 

I have to say your comment about fish moving to deeper parts of the River that Otter would find them difficult to find is naive to say the least. I think finding deeper parts of a chalk stream for a fish to feel safe from an Otter is not feasible.

 

Perhaps you have some link you could post up to show how just wrong I am?

I said in rivers, not in wee burns.

[Andy Macfarlane]

Even I'm bored with this and I can usually argue for weeks after I know I'm wrong.

[corydoras]

There is, and it has my name on it

A Fish Called Wally Edited November 23, 2011 by corydoras

[Anderoo]

I think otters in the river is foe, because there is a little fish in the river, the otter take many fish everyday. there will no fish in the river last.

 

Sorry if this sounds rude to a new member (welcome to AN ) but it blows my mind that anyone can actually believe this. It saddens and angers me that 'we' are so determined to shoot both feet off at every possible opportunity. I really do despair at times.

[corydoras]

I really do despair at times.

Me too.

[Anderoo]

I've always maintained that it's not 'antis' that we need to be worried about, but the general public. This is exactly the kind of issue that will turn them against us, and we are creating it for ourselves. Yes, I do despair. Especially when the extent of the argument from 'our' side is, 'they eat all the fish'.

 

If we want to play politics in the big boy's world and not our weird little subculture where we can do what we want, we're going to have to do an awful lot better than that, or be made to look very stupid and suffer the inevitable consequences.

[Anderoo]

But I am pleased you seem content with your lot on the Thames catchment area because the scenario , especially for that region is grim according to the latest studies.

 

I know, I've read them too, and have lost count of the number of times I've read on forums how desperate the situation is in Oxfordshire. Grim is an understatement.

 

It's all just more cobblers perpetuated by people (such as your good self) who pass all this unsubstantiated rubbish on with no personal experience. God knows what data it's all based on because it certainly isn't my experience. Loads of otters, loads of fish, no other anglers (they're all crammed shoulder to shoulder in the carp ponds). Go figure

Edited November 23, 2011 by Anderoo

[Steve Walker]

Of course all this Otter thing is a smoke screen, the real issues are the agencies that control our water supplies, and the fact that we handed over control of these bodies to the private sector was the beginning of the end.

 

Personally, whatever the other demerits, I would put the privatisation of the water industry as the single factor most responsible for the improvement in river water quality over the last few decades, even above the decline of manufacturing industry. If we still had water quality policed by the same bodies responsible for treating sewers, our rivers would still be as filthy as they were in the 80's. I think the water companies are still cut far too much slack, but at least they aren't regulating themselves.