Otters Force Out Fishing Club

[Jeffwill]

In light of Worms' post, just to flag up the sources for some of my previous comments - please see below:

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/oxfordshire/3220457.stm

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5331740.stm

 

Just so it's clear it's not just my opinion.

 

Well pointed out Anderoo, its been widely claimed that Otters are helping / increasing vole numbers by pushing mink off rivers, its very possible and those voles need all the help they can get.

 

It seems the biggest member of the UK weasel family out muscles its american cousin. But where are the mink going? Taken from the first of your sources above: " In some rare cases otters have even killed mink in direct competition". So mink are moved along, inland or further down the river or up the streams, brooks etc. Mink are ruthless killers and have not vanished into thin air. So where / what are they killing today...the mink story will not have a happy ending for british wildlife.

 

PS If Otters are so successful at pushing mink off rivers then its logical to rule out mink as the main culprit for the river fish kills pictured on this thread.

 

Those greedy weasels, they want all the fish for themselves

Edited January 20, 2010 by Jeffwill

[Anderoo]

I really don't know, Jeff - the way I read it, the number of mink had decreased by about 75%. Not that 75% of mink had moved a few miles up/downstream. So I had assumed that the otters had retaken their territory and the mink had died out. But I am not an expert in either otters or mink, so am happy to stand corrected.

 

I may as well say, that the river I have seen two otters with my own eyes is the Windrush. The first time, a stream of bubbles came downstream and a brown and white whiskery face popped up right in front of me. The second, I was walking back to the car in the dusk and a huge (dog?) otter lolloped right past me across the meadow heading for the river. I was quite amazed! They look big out of the water!

 

I have, unfortunately, seen lots of mink on the same stretch of river. I even have some footage taken on my digital camera of a mink scurrying along the far bank.

 

I am not going to defend mink. They are not native and they certainly do damage the environment and native wildlife. Whoever released them from fur farms (no matter how well intentioned) should be thouroughly ashamed.

 

I know I keep saying it, and I also know I said I wasn't going to say it again(!), but otters does not necessarily equal carnage. But what do you expect a native predator to do if you tip a load of fish into a pond and don't fence it?

 

Also, 'ruthless killer' is a bit emotive for a wild creature, native or otherwise. Is their behaviour worse than keeping tens of thousands of chickens in a shed in very poor conditions so we can enjoy cheap meat, for example?

[watatoad]

I would like to ask you anglers on here for donations to start a fund to buy me a cage to fish in...hehehe and armor suits for the otters.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cambrid...ire/5013470.stm

 

Because if the animal rights or whatever release these little babies acclimatised into the rivers its the only way I will go fishing, does anyone know how the farmer got on or was he eaten?

[Sharkbyte]

Eureka!

 

I have the answer to these Otter woes.

 

What we need is a voracious aquatic predator to trim up their numbers. Something so evil that it will destroy anything that swims in it's path.

 

 

What species should we go for?

 

Well, I have heard of one. A creature rumoured to be so devastating that the verminous Otters had better watch their backs. A species so feared that respected angling journalists have in the past referred to it as a 'cold blooded killer'! Apparently, these vicious aquatic dwellers 'kill for fun' and unless controlled, will 'overrun our waterways and angling as we know it will be end overnight'.

 

Obviously, introducing a species fitting this description would require that the any new byelaws afford it no protection whatsoever, and anglers could in turn help to maintain a healthy balance. I doubt there would be any objections to systematic culling of this 'wicked alien species', so we need not worry on that score.

 

God forbid this harbinger of death and destruction gains a firm foothold in our waterways!

 

 

If you wish to find out what species I am talking of, click the link.

 

All is Revealed

 

 

Do you think that the guy in the video is a pest control chap hired to hunt down these 'ruthless predators'?

[Anderoo]

Sharkbyte, I was growing up in the fens when these alien invaders rampaged through the drains and river systems, killing everything they came across. The match boys did their bit by throwing them (usually alive) in the bushes, but it wasn't enough. It's a shame the AT wasn't around then to sort it out!

 

The fact they were killing everything was proved by a series of years of poor fishing. The smaller fish just weren't there in numbers any more. It was obvious what was going on - who was stupid enough not to make the link?

 

Except it wasn't the zander, it was idiotic sluice management by the (then) NRA, which left whole generations of fish eggs high and dry in exposed reedbeds, and sucked immature fish out to sea.

 

Bad sluice management doesn't have a face, however.

[Dick Dastardly]

Except it wasn't the zander, it was idiotic sluice management by the (then) NRA, which left whole generations of fish eggs high and dry in exposed reedbeds, and sucked immature fish out to sea.

 

And still they insist it was the Zander and still some kill them.

[Dick Dastardly]

Well despite a lot of searching I cant find some pictures I wanted to post.They show some Catfish dead on the bank with their gills missing and chunks eaten out of them. Would this have been Otters do you think?

[Anderoo]

And still they insist it was the Zander and still some kill them.

 

They do, they are still culling zander in the Oxford canal. Mud sticks, unfortunately.

[gozzer]

I thought Wayne was referring to the 'menace' with the rod, not his prey.

 

John.

[Jeffwill]

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/4881240.Ot...arp_at_fishery/

 

http://www.gofishing.co.uk/Angling-Times/S...nd-John-Wilson/

 

REGARDING FENCING GRANTS

 

Personally I'm not a fan of "the big carp scene" but I think there should be sufficient grant money

made available to fishery owners to fence waters (and without question 100% grants available to people affected who have owned their fishery before reintoduction of otters to their area). Otherwise owners facing financial ruin might feel forced into taking the law into their own hands.

 

A good friend told me of someone he knows who stocked his pond on a small holding with a number of trout and when he turned up in the spring tried fishing but the pond was "empty".

 

The owner rang my friend to come over and in a large sack was an otter, the owner claimed his dog killed it. My friend told me he was surprised how heavy the otter was and the size of its teeth. My friend is a good source so I have no doubt this happened though he said the dog killing the otter is questionable....the owner had a labrador.

 

The E.A need to help out with fencing to avoid conflicts between fishery owners and otters, as the "otters attack simmo's carp" headline may become more common and fishery owners feeling they must fend for themselves and making criminals of owners feeling they are forced into acting themselves.

 

IF YOU WERE A FISHERY OWNER WITH A FAMILY TO SUPPORT AND A MORTGAGE TO PAY AND SAW YOUR STOCK IN BITS ON THE BANK, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?