waterman1013

If you think it is CNGV or KHV, which are the same you should report it to CEFAS Fish Health Inspectorate. Fish Health Inspectorate Cefas Barrack Road, The Nothe Weymouth, Dorset, DT4 8UB Tel: 01305 – 206600 Fax: 01305- 206602 Email: fishhealthinspectorate@cefas.co.uk

Gozzer thanks for the head up on baits but at the moment we think it is weather patterns over the year and an extra supply of nutrient, because of the summer rains, and then a late diatom or algae bloom, once the water palnts have really stopped growing and are in die back, causing a DO problem. But each water is different and we are seeking this info to try to determine any local or national patterns. In a worse case scenario it could be a new virus or a genetic modification of an older one. No trace of virus has yet been found but some of the deaths have occurred over a period of days and weeks, while other have occurred all at one time, so we are probably looking at a number of causes. Many of the waters hit are lightly fished with not that much bait going in, very different from match and commercial waters which have also had deaths. I had one reported this morning which almost certainly was due to thunder storms and a DO crash resulting from the low pressure under the storm clouds. Reports of red/tea coloured water from fisheries without kills would be very useful to add to the database as well, as Ken kindly suggests. Mike

Gozzer These deaths are nearly all in low density specimen waters. We are not talking pasties here but fish at 30, 40 and 50 pounds weight. Some of the waters affected have been prime carp waters for many years with no recent history of introductions, hence our concern as to cause. All the usual parameters don't seem to fit. In some waters, species other than carp have been affected. Richard The water colour reflects the growth of either diatoms or red algae and is pre milk not post milk. Mike

Thanks Newt, I wasn't sure where to post it, as I have not been posting much over recent years, too busy working away in the background!! Hope you are keeping well. Mike

ECHO has been getting a lot of reports of deaths of large carp at fisheries across the country. Some of these are due to KHV, which is being monitored now. Some are due to fish still holding spawn they did not shed during the spring and summer. Most are unexplained. A single common thread through many of the waters affected is the colour of the water, a tea colour, just like peat water running off the moors. This colour may be caused by a diatom, or an algal bloom, or by the stirring of the bottom strata during the recent floods, but not all the waters reporting kills have been flooded. The pattern of deaths on many waters follows the pattern one would associate with a viral infection, although in most reports the fish are showing no signs of disease, parasite loading or any damage to gills. SAA and ECHO are very concerned about this situation but much of what we are being told is hearsay. We need to build a database of events and circumstances to even be able to project the size of the problem and to develop ideas of what may be the cause. We need the nation’s anglers to report facts, seen with their own eyes. If you have any information regarding carp deaths in your waters please email secretary@saauk.org, heading it Carp Deaths, with the following information; name of water, location, number of deaths, size and species of fish affected, colour of water, if the water was subject to flooding in the recent summer rains, the timescale over which the deaths occurred, what action the Environment Agency has taken to determine the cause, any explanation they might have given. It may be that we can do nothing to prevent further deaths, but this information may allow those of us who are working on the problem to gain a better understanding of the cause and give our scientists some directions in which to conduct further research. Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

ECHO has been getting a lot of reports of deaths of large carp at fisheries across the country. Some of these are due to KHV, which is being monitored now. Some are due to fish still holding spawn they did not shed during the spring and summer. Most are unexplained. A single common thread through many of the waters affected is the colour of the water, a tea colour, just like peat water running off the moors. This colour may be caused by a diatom, or an algal bloom, or by the stirring of the bottom strata during the recent floods, but not all the waters reporting kills have been flooded. The pattern of deaths on many waters follows the pattern one would associate with a viral infection, although in most reports the fish are showing no signs of disease, parasite loading or any damage to gills. SAA and ECHO are very concerned about this situation but much of what we are being told is hearsay. We need to build a database of events and circumstances to even be able to project the size of the problem and to develop ideas of what may be the cause. We need the nation’s anglers to report facts, seen with their own eyes. If you have any information regarding carp deaths in your waters please email secretary@saauk.org, heading it Carp Deaths, with the following information; name of water, location, number of deaths, size and species of fish affected, colour of water, if the water was subject to flooding in the recent summer rains, the timescale over which the deaths occurred, what action the Environment Agency has taken to determine the cause, any explanation they might have given. It may be that we can do nothing to prevent further deaths, but this information may allow those of us who are working on the problem to gain a better understanding of the cause and give our scientists some directions in which to conduct further research. Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

Personally I wouldn't give any government any more data about myself than I absolutely had to. I have seen too many innocent people jailed on poor evidence and too many fingerprints appear in places the accused has never been. If they can't get the truth about WMD correct what chance has an innocent man with planted DNA when it suits someone in power to get him off the streets for some reason. The nanny state has already gone too far. With everything we have introduced since 911 we have already lost the war on terror. They wanted to defeat our democracy and the turkeys are already voting for Christmas, scared by government propaganda and the media complicity in it.

"commercial fisherman is that they do not think we should be stakeholders" Commercial fishermen need to realise that we are all stakeholders in sea fish stocks, whether we fish or not. The fish in our seas are held in common, for all. The problem has always been that the common has never been managed by those who own it, but, until now, those who live closest to it and have continually raped it. Read the Fisheries Debate at http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=...=angling#g992.6 and see the comments from an inner city constituency.

The RFERACs and EPACs are statutory advisory committees for the Environment Agency. Those who sit on them are not sitting as representatives but as individuals. The EA will not accept, nor are they allowed to by law, representatives of organisations onto either committee structure. The Agency look for individuals who have a wide interest in angling and experience, hence Leon posting this notice for SAA. Freshwater anglers need to get on board with this process. Mike

The nation remembered and every night in London 1000 ex-servicemen sleep rough. Wearing the red poppy helps to bring them some relief. It is a shame on Government and the MOD that so little is now done for guys who served their country in time of need.

Michael There is a good lake, I can't remember the name, just off the R684 near Woodstown, south of Waterford. I understand the fishing is let from the white cottage upon the hill behind the fishery. They had a couple of boats a while back so you should do well there. It used to be £5.00 for the day with a boat but I don't know if it is still that cheap. Held 20s when I was last home. Ferry from Ballyhack to Passage East Mike

Fisheries and Angling Conservation Trust (FACT) recently had a meeting with Defra and the EA on the subject of the much promised new fisheries bill, which the government cannot find time for in Parliament. We suggested a number of ideas to the Agency regarding bylaws on licenses, buddy slots to allow a new angler to go without a licence to fish with a licensed friend on one occasion before getting his/her own licence and others. The Agency is considering putting the bylaws back on the licence or attaching copies of local and national bylaws to all licenses. The Agency are currently reviewing whether they have the powers to act under The Theft Act, which power they believe is restricted to the police. They are taking fresh legal advice on whether they could add this to their armoury for enforcement. "The question was whether Anglers could act as Voluntary Community Baliffs in association with the EA." The Agency used to have volunteer and part time bailiffs. They disappeared with the advent of the Health and Safety culture!! The Agency is now logging all calls received regarding "fish theft" and "illegal Fishing", and comparing those figures with the figures local police forces maintain. In the last twelve months the Agency claim to have only logged 27 calls on this issue, so for all the heat in the debate if you see it happening call the Agency on 0800 807060. The call is free. Ask for the log number when calling to ensure that the emergency team have logged it. Remember they deal with all pollution events, flooding etc and a vast array of environmental issues, so you will be speaking to a national call centre and probably someone who does not even know the Agency is responsible for fisheries. The Government has recently cut Grant in Aid to the fisheries teams of the Agency, yet again, so you could lobby your MP to get the money re-instated on the basis that you do not believe that you are getting value for your rod licence fees and taxes. The current members of FACT are:- - Anglers Conservation Association - Angling Trades Association - Association of Stillwater Game Fishery Managers - Atlantic Salmon Trust - Professional Coarse Fisheries Association - National Federation of Anglers - National Association of Fisheries & Angling Consultatives - National Federation of Sea Anglers - Salmon & Trout Association - Specialist Anglers Alliance I hope that helps with some understanding of the issue and what is happening at a national level to try to address it. Michael

If it is the Lea, almost certainly signals. The reason for the explosion might be the problems the consortium have had in continuing to trap them on the river. I know they were being trapped and sold by the consortium but that came to and end and I have not seen Adam recently. I'll send him a mail and see what the score is. Where abouts on the lea are you fishing? Mike

What canal is it Unimexsol? If the crays have small claws they may be native white tailed but if they have large claws they are probably signals, although there are other species in the wild now, having, like the signals, either escaped or been seeded into various waters. Mike

Peter, you forget about sea anglers with NFSA and game anglers with S&TA. There has always been more than one national angling organisation. At least we are now trying to pull it all together for the future. Had the three national bodies then represented the interests of all the anglers within their remit the other organisations would not have come into existence. I often wonder how many who comment in negative terms regarding what we are trying to do are members of any of the national bodies. Certainly if we had one body to represent all anglers I would expect membership to be mandatory with the rod licence. And then we could have representation from a local level through the catchment consultative or sea fisheries committee up to national level. Perhaps then angling would be able to afford the manpower to properly monitor legislation and respond instead of relying entirely on the good will and free time of the unpaid to do it. Perhaps then angling could promote itself properly in a competitive world where potential participants have so many other choices of what to do in their spare time. Perhaps then we could and would get angling onto the school curriculum and engage so many young people who are presently disengaged from schooling and society. The BCU employs numbers to negotiate with government, the RSPB the same. What does angling get? Not a lot to be frank, but then in this life generally you get what you pay for and until more anglers see the need to pay for governence and its function in the modern world, we will all continue to get very little. I recently sat at a meeting where someone said, "We didn't rejoin NAFAC because we found a better insurance deal elsewhere." All well and good but they totally failed to see what else they were getting for their money and what it was doing for angling, even though NAFAC has been very good at keeping members informed on a regular basis. Mike