Stockport Fed kills another water

[SpecimenSean]

You may remember me mentioning about my local club and its complete disregard for its waters and the fish within them. I was looking for help and advice about how to tackle an abusive club. Ive been plugging away and have so far gotten 19 serious members who are only phone call away when the time comes. But in the meantime it gets worse.

 

New House farm used to be the flagship water of the Fed. Last year it was having algae and oxygenation problems which the club did nothing about even when warned. And now the ice has finished it off. I went on today to see how its fishing. As soon as i walked on you could smell rotting fish in the air. I setup and was fishing for about 5 mins when a guy came over and started telling me about what had happened. 1000's of dead fish, from roach of a few oz to near 30lb carp and pike and everything in between. And then he showed me the pictures on his phone, and it was heart breaking. One picture there was about 20 carp all doubles. Massive pike...Its such a shame. They have been taking the fish out and burying them in a corner of the pond. It stinks.

 

The only thing i can find online is the talk on this forum. having a read will help you understand the extent of this. It was in the Manchester Evening News and Daily Mail.

 

http://www.northwestcarp.co.uk/forums/uk-c...ckport-fed.html

 

If you look down the posts theres pictures.

 

They dont deserve these waters or the fish. The club has nearly £100,000 in the bank! WHAT DO WE DO!?!?!

Edited January 17, 2011 by SpecimenSean

[Hopinc]

I am struggling to come to terms with the concept that a club committee would deliberately ruin it's resources and not care about it's members. what can possibly be the rationale behind that?

 

I read what you said about the algae, but aside from that are you sure that these deaths weren't unavoidable? Ice forming on the surface of many lakes and ponds resulted in such reduction of the dissolved oxygen that the fish literally suffocated. This sort of thing was reported at quite a few venues during the hard freeze? There are also other possibilities, poisoning caused by illegal dumping for example.

 

It would be best to get some of the fish autopsied by a fish expert. The EA might be able to help.

 

If you are then certain that the club's committee is actually responsible, and more importantly can prove it, then I would suggest the following (if you have not already thought of it):

 

Get hold of a copy of the club constitution. If it has been set up correctly there will be a way to call for a vote of no confidence in the committee. If you can get enough members on your side, call an extraordinary meeting and force a vote - please read on:

 

I don't know how many members you have in your club, or what percentage you would need on your side. All of this should be in the rules.

 

Follow the constitution exactly. Get hard evidence and check with a solicitor before taking any action.

 

Be careful about what you say and how you say it, you could expose yourself to a case of libel.

 

You should be prepared to go to court if things turn nasty. Are you ready to do that, you have to ask yourself?

 

You will, I suspect, make yourself very unpopular with some.

 

Please be aware that these are only my thoughts on the matter and that I have no legal expertise.

 

You could of course wait until the AGM and then put forward your own candidates for election.

 

Good luck.

Edited January 18, 2011 by Hopinc

[SpecimenSean]

Thanks a lot for that Hopinc. Myself and a lot of other members belive that if the oxygenation problems had been tackled early this wouldnt of happened. This is bad fishery management at its worst and not all down to mother nature. When anything gets asked or suggested, the usual reply is "it will cost to much". But the club has a lot of money in the bank. The waters it rents its gets very cheaply due to old arrangements, so the money isnt going there.

 

I already have 19 members for a vote of no confidence and this unfortunate incident should help me get more support. I'll keep plugging away and keep you updated!

[Hopinc]

I should think that you are entitled to see the club's financial records, which I would expect would be presented at the AGM. Again, check the rules of the club as to your rights.

 

Financial records should show where the club's money is being spent and might possibly help to support your case.

 

I really do advise caution. If you think that you can prove there is something wrong with the finances, you must seek legal advice before taking any action or making comments to other members of the public. Being charged with deformation of character (libel), if you cannot prove it, is a serious offence.

 

Myself and a lot of other members belive that if the oxygenation problems had been tackled early this wouldnt of happened.

 

My thoughts on this comment is that it is just you and your friends opinion (I am playing devil's advocate you understand). Proving negligence is something else entirely, especially as quite a few other clubs throughout the country have suffered similar events, and this could be used against your argument - "we weren't the only ones," if you see what I mean.

 

In my opinion the committee would have to have had prior knowledge of this problem, and then to have ignored it, for your argument to stand. Nigh on impossible to prove I would have thought, unless you can cite a previous case in your club's history?

 

Once again, I must point out that I have no legal expertise, and that these are these are only my opinions and thoughts.

Edited January 18, 2011 by Hopinc

[ayjay]

If you succeed in (let's say, for simplicity sake) "getting rid of the committee" , do you know what you would have done, or would do in the future to prevent the problem happening again?

[SpecimenSean]

Ayjay, im not a fisheries expert, just one of many fed up with the way our club is being run. What i feel a new, commited governing body could do though, is find someone who knows what there doing and is willing to put the time and effort in. Im willing to put the time in, but i dont have the knowledge. Im also very willing to learn what i need to know. But iam not proposing to take over, and i have no pipe dreams of taking the top position. That isnt what this is about. This is about a club that makes a killing yet hasnt even arranged a working party for years....

 

Dave, again, thanks for everything, this is the best advice ive had yet. I got a phone call today from another member who has also been doing a bit. Hes had the EA out and they've taken fish. Were just waiting on the results. Like i said, the problem here was mentioned in a national newspaper. And im getting extra support daily, especially now because of this. Its very sad that something like this had to happen to make people do something. I cant stress how sad it was to see all those fish, it really was heartbreaking. I know fish usally go in order of strength and how they long they can take it, but everything was there, carp, pike, roach, perch, tench, bream....everything. So, so sad.

 

I have been thinking, and would like peoples opinions. Is it worth giving the AT a ring and seeing if they can help, or should i just not bother, for the sake of giving them some worth? Ive been toying with the idea but am worried they make take the matter in another direction.

 

Also, it is known that the commitee knew about the oxygenation problem as several different options were discussed including a permanent one. Although nothing ever happened.

Edited January 18, 2011 by SpecimenSean

[Hopinc]

Also, it is known that the commitee knew about the oxygenation problem as several different options were discussed including a permanent one. Although nothing ever happened.

 

I still think that you might be on a slightly sticky wicket with this, as the freezing conditions experienced in the U.K. recently were unprecedented according to the weather people. This could be used against your argument. The committee could well put forward a counter similar to "we didn't feel it was worth spending a lot of money on something that may never happen!"

 

It comes down to - do I insure against something that might happen or do I take the risk and hope it doesn't. They might be perceived as having taken a not unreasonable gamble.

 

At the very least I think you have now got a good reason for quizzing the committee at a club meeting as to when and how the fish stocks will be replenished, and what they propose doing to prevent it ever happening again.

 

I think you should also ask if your club is insured against this type of loss? It might be regarded as an "Act of God" by the insurance company, but it may be worth asking the question anyway.

 

You have my sympathy, I too would have been shattered if I had witnessed these deaths first hand. It was bad enough looking at the pictures.

Edited January 22, 2011 by Hopinc

[SpecimenSean]

I still think that you might be on a slightly sticky wicket with this

 

ive had a baliff come forward this morning, saying that if this is done properly he will support this all the way and back up anything he knows to be true!

 

Also, what about the Angling Trust? Should i give them a ring or should i just not bother with them? Ive heard nothing but bad things about them but at the end of the day, isnt this why there here?

[Rob Ward]

/

Edited January 20, 2011 by Rob Ward

[Steve Walker]

Some photographs of the fish kill here.

 

Google maps:

 

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sour...mp;t=h&z=16

 

Looks small, shallow, murky, not much plant life. If it was suffering oxygenation problems in the summer, as reported, it sounds as if it has major problems. Maybe overstocked, maybe too much organic matter on the bottom.