Fish thefts from The Broads?

[teebee]

From The Eastern Daily Press - apologies if this is old news.

-------------------------------------------------

 

 

Broads being used as hunting ground

 

ROY WEBSTER

 

09 March 2005 07:30

 

Angry anglers' allegations that many thousands of coarse fish are being plundered from the Norfolk Broads area for use as predator baits have been dismissed by the Environment Agency who say the fish “are disappearing down the necks of otters and mink”.

 

Needless to say sceptical rodmen have greeted this explanation with total amazement.

 

Brushing off evidence of masses of fish scales on the banks of the Potter Heigham boat sheds and tyre tracks leading from the scene, the EA's spokesman Adam Piper told the angling press: “I cannot state categorically that fish thefts are not occurring in the Broads, but in this instance the explanation lies elsewhere.”

 

Environment Agency fish surveys in the Herbert Woods boatyard lagoons at Potter Heigham reveal fish only at the back of the wet boat sheds with just two pike found in open water where previously anglers have traditionally bagged up with roach for many years.

 

Piper added: “As for the scales anglers found, these are indicative of predators such as otters and mink. Netting does not cause massive scale loss.”

 

Quite simply, local anglers do not believe him.

 

Barry Burlton, the chairman of the Stalham Angling Club, whose members forked out more than £2500 for fishing access and car parking facilities at Potter Heigham, was just one top club official who remained unconvinced by the Environment Agency.

 

“All the Potter boat sheds were jam-packed with roach before Christmas when we also caught fish from open water. These fish are not there now.

 

“Fish predators simply do not leave vast quantities of scales on the bank nor are they responsible for removing many thousands of fish over a short period of a few weeks,” he said.

 

He explained further: “We moved from the Stalham boatyards because our catches had steadily declined, but now it seems we leapt out of the frying pan into the fire.

 

“We did not catch a single fish during our last outing and our members quite rightly feel grieved that our move from Stalham to Potter Heigham has been a shocking waste of their hard-earned cash.”

 

Burlton concluded: “Fish are being stolen from the Broads, there is no two ways about it.

 

“I just cannot accept that bait fish are being imported alive from abroad or produced by fish farms. Some of these frozen products can be bought so cheaply from the suppliers the economics just do not add up.

 

“If I was an Environment Agency law enforcement officer I would want to see the paperwork relating to some of these transactions, want to know the countries of origin and view the shipping documents.”

 

Great Yarmouth's well known- national and international angler, David Docwra, who has just returned to the sport after an enforced lay-off due to ill health said he was appalled by his poor catches from some of his favourite venues.

 

He commented: “I would like the Environment Agency to answer these important question: Are otters and minks responsible for the unlawful fish trawling operations seen on the River Thurne and on one of the tributaries of the River Ant? Are these animals connected with the unlicensed nets crammed with coarse fish discovered by eel fishermen on Barton Broad?

 

“And have these mammals consumed the many thousands of fish that were known to populate the Martham Boat Dyke last November, for they are not there now?

 

“Did an otter or a mink drive the heavy vehicle that left fresh tyre tracks along the Potter Heigham boat sheds coinciding with the disappearance of the fish?

 

“I believe the scale of fish theft to supply an increased demand of frozen baits throughout the whole country is colossal.

 

“And until the government bans the use of all freshwater fish as bait this degradation of our natural fisheries is likely to continue.”

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright © 2005 Archant Regional. All rights reserved.

Terms and conditions

 

[ 22. March 2005, 10:22 PM: Message edited by: teebee ]

[Peter Waller]

Otter strikes can be quite devastating and these have been witnessed at Beccles in similar circumstances to Potter Heigham.

 

I'm not saying that there are not thefts but Roy Webster is Roy Webster, always looking for a story.

 

Sounds like a bit of campaigning against those who fish for predators to me.

 

Doubtless this will emerge at the next Broads Angling Strategy Group Meeting that I attend. I'll ask a few questions.

[Dick Dastardly]

I have no great knowledge of the area so cant pass comment.I will however take issue over the following statement-

 

“Fish predators simply do not leave vast quantities of scales on the bank nor are they responsible for removing many thousands of fish over a short period of a few weeks,” he said.

 

As an angler,someone who has ran a fishery with a mink problem and also attended several workshops on the subject of mamalian piscavores and holder of a IFM certificate have to say "RUBBISH!"

 

Whats your view on this Bruno?

[Bruno Broughton]

Ah, good old Roy Webster, the predator anglers' friend (not).

 

As Budgie knows, this 'story, is based on prejudiced guesswork, false logic and bizarre interpretation. Anglers cannot catch roach... fish scales on bank... odd tyre marks - hey presto, pike bait suppliers have netted all of the fish from the Broads (and let's ban deadbaiting). Eh, evidence anyone?

 

Otters and, to a greater extent, mink tend to be messy eaters, leaving lots of body parts behind. If you have seen the scales from 100 roach, you would believe that there has been a massacre. Unless the Broads has become overrun by furry mammals (Peter aside ), my bet is that:-

 

1. there has been some minor mammal predation

2. the fish have simply moved, especially as spring has now sprung.

 

That's not to say some fish rustling hasn't taken place - I really don't know - but such would be the massive scale of such an exercise, it is inconceivable that the culprits wouldn't have been spotted, or caught. How many roach have to be removed to totally denude the boatyards of fish, and how many trips off site would it take to remove them? It would take fleets of articulated lorries to achieve this. Wroxham bridge would have buckled under the weight.

 

And anyway, coarse fish are worth far more alive than dead, so any rustling would be for live fish for the restocking market. Hey, let's ban fish suppliers while we're at it!

 

Now, we could start an 'illegal Albanian immigrants are eating all our fish' thread, but that would be ridiculous and designed to appeal to the basest of instincts. On second thoughts... maybe I have a career in journalism after all.

 

[ 24. March 2005, 01:21 AM: Message edited by: Bruno Broughton ]

[Newt]

Sorry Budgie/Bruno - but there is now photographic evidence to support the story.

 

The Theft Suspects

 

And

 

The Strange Tyre Tracks

[Peter Sharpe]

I suppose it makes a change. Usually, when club members can't catch any fish they demand a pike cull. Then, following a mass slaughter of pike and/or zander, pound-plus roach start to turn up within weeks. It's amazing how quickly they can grow when there are no pike around.

[Peter Waller]

So Roy Websters reputation has reached your corner of the wood then Bruno!

 

It has to be remembered that the boatyard dykes are owned and that people live and work in the immediate area.

 

Of course it could be the bass/zander that have now moved into the area following the sewerage spills on the Thames.

[Peter Waller]

Had a chat with a Broads Authority Conservation/Fisheries Officer today. She speaks with the same tongue as Bruno!

 

[ 24. March 2005, 07:25 PM: Message edited by: Peter Waller ]

[trent.barbeler]

Dear Chaps,

 

For many years I was involved in re-stocking programmes that involved obviously being part of a netting team. Stock ponds and lakes would be netted and netted fish transported to venues where they were needed.

 

Bruno will confirm that netting is damned hard work and those new to the game normally curse their first day by being daft enough not to bring gloves along. A days netting can wear the skin on your hands down to almost nothing! And the weight of the net when full of roach, bream, rudd and perch can be colossal.

 

Tens of thousands of fish can get netted in one pull making the job of getting the netted fish into tanks for transportation extremely hard work after the exhausting work of pulling the net in the first place!

 

It might surprise many unfamiliar with netting that almost "NO" fish scales are left behind on the bank where the net gets pulled near shore. This is because the fish get removed from the net into "holding Cages" (square floating net cages) then taken from the holding cages in smaller landing type nets to the transportation tanks. It could be that nets full of fish might be dragged up banks wholesale by powerful vehicles illegally but the resulting noise and sheer volume of work needed to collect the netful/s of coarse fish would be a considerable task and one that definitely would not go undetected if anyone lived within ear-shot.

 

I also DON'T believe that otters or mink (less so mink) are responsible for the loss of thousands of fish in a short space of time. I might favour their disappearance to coincide with the shoals being moved on by predators or helped along by predators as water temperatures begin to rise triggering mass exoduses of shoal fish about to start their spawning journeys.

 

I wonder what Nev thinks of this story Bruno? A load of old.......... I should think!

 

Regards,

 

Lee.

[argyll]

For what its worth the shoals of silver fish along with big bream and carp have gone from my marina too, seemingly taking both perch and pike with them. Reason? Levels of dissolved oxygen are down and as a result I believe the majority of the fish have moved out into the main river to take advantage of a local arrangement of two weirs and a sluice which are are putting oxygen back into a much depleted river. A good period of wind and rain is required to condition the river (and marina) during what is normally a good period for me. Right now I have no morning or evening rise, nothing topping at all. Effectively the marina is bereft of life...this is a dead marina.