Jump to content

what fish are in the thames?


bluerinse

Recommended Posts

I was looking up vintage roach poles used on the thames (following on from my vintage pole thread) when I found this quote

 

“The Thames is now home to over 119 different species of fish." EA spokesman 2005. (http://www.fishingmagic.com/news/article/mps/uan/3900)

 

Are there really that many species in the thames and can we list them? It seems a little high to me

Jasper Carrot On birmingham city

" You lose some you draw some"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was looking up vintage roach poles used on the thames (following on from my vintage pole thread) when I found this quote

 

“The Thames is now home to over 119 different species of fish." EA spokesman 2005. (http://www.fishingmagic.com/news/article/mps/uan/3900)

 

Are there really that many species in the thames and can we list them? It seems a little high to me

 

Gawd only knows where that figure came from. I thought we only had about 50 different species in the whole of the UK and even then, I'd be hard-pressed to name more than 20 or so of them. 119 different species in the Thames is just plain silly.

Edited by yorkio
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 TROUT-SEA

2 CARP-CRUCIAN

3 CARP-MIRROR

4 CARP-COMMON

5 BULLHEAD

6 BLEAK

7 BREAM-SILVER

8 BREAM

9 BARBEL

10 EEL

11 BITTERLING

12 BULL HEAD

13 CATFISH-WELS

14 CHUB

15 DACE

16 TROUT-BROWN

17 TROUT –RAINBOW

18 SALMON

19 GRAYLING

20 ORFE-GOLDEN

21 ORFE-SILVER

22 LAMPREY SEA

23 LAMPREY BROOK

24 ZANDER

25 GUDGEON

26 STONE LOACH

27 LOACH SPINED

28 GRAY MULLET

29 THIN LIPPED MULLET

30 RUFFE

31 MINNOW

32 PERCH

33 RUDD

34 PIKE

35 ROACH

36 TENCH

37 GOLDEN TENCH

38 STICKLEBACK 10 SPINED

39 STICKLEBACK 3 SPINED

40 SMELT

41 FLOUNDER

 

 

Well I can only come up with 41 and some of those might not be in the thames

Jasper Carrot On birmingham city

" You lose some you draw some"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thats a dam good try though mate! shows how hard it is though as I read through your list and struggled to think of many more.

 

I suppose there must be several species of Blennie and Rockling to add as well as Conger eel and a few of the ray species etc.The Thames Estuarey has a wide range of salt water species. Its all down to there definition of the "Thames" I suppose? Also would they have included fish that are no longer present or are just "accidental visiters" Such as Sturgeon and Sun fish and the likes? Be interesting to get the actual list. Bet theres a few "ornementals" as well.

And thats my "non indicative opinion"!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is a list of 120 species which have been caught in the tidal River Thames between Fulham and Tilbury at some time since 1964

 

http://www.thamesweb.com/page.php?page_id=57&topic_id=8

 

Freshwater

 

 

Barbel

Bleak

Bream

Bullhead

Carp

Carp, Crucian

Catfish, Wels

Chub

Dace

Goldfish

Grayling

Gudgeon

Loach

Minnow

Perch

Pike

Roach

Rudd

Ruffe

Tench

Zander

 

Euryhaline (Brackish)

 

Bass

Eel

Flounder

Lampern

Lamprey

Salmon

Shad, Allis

Shad, Twaite

Smelt

Stickleback, 3-sp.

Stickleback,10-sp.

Trout

Trout, Rainbow

 

Marine

 

 

Anchovy

Angler Fish

Blue Mouth

Brill

Butterfish

Catfish, Channel

Cod

Coalfish

Conger Eel

Dab

Dab,Long Rough (unconfirmed)

Dory

Dragonet

Eckstrom Topknot

Garfish

Goby, Black

Goby, Common

Goby, Leopard Spotted

Goby, Painted

Goby, Rock

Goby, Sand

Goby, Sand (P.lozanoi)

Goby, Transparent

Goldsinny

Gurnard, Grey

Gurnard, Red

Gurnard, Streaked

Gurnard, Tub

Haddock

Hake

Herring

Ling

Lumpsucker

Mackerel

Mullet, Golden

Mullet, Red

Mullet, Thick-Lipped

Mullet, Thin-Lipped

Norway Bullhead

Pilchard

Pipefish, Broad-Nosed

Pipefish, Great

Pipefish, Nilsson's

Pipefish, Snake

Pipefish, Straight- nosed

Pipefish,Worm

Plaice

Pogge

Pollack

Poor-Cod

Pouting

Ray, Sting

Rockling, 5-Bearded

Rockling, 4-Bearded

Rockling, 3-Bearded

Rockling, Northern

Rockling, Shore

Roker

Sand Eel

Sand Eel, Greater

Sand Eel, Raitt's

Sand-Smelt

Scad

Scaldfish

Sea Bream, Black

Sea Horse (H.hippocampus)

Sea Horse (H.ramulosus)

Sea Scorpion, Long Spined

Sea Scorpion, Short Spined

Sea Snail

Sea Snail, Montagu's

Sea Stickleback

Sea Skipper

Smooth Hound

Sole, Dover

Sole, Lemon

Solenette

Sprat

Tadpole-Fish

Blenny, Tompot

Trigger-Fish

Weever, Lesser

Whiting

Whiting, Blue

Wrasse, Ballan

Wrasse, Corkwing

Edited by Steve Walker
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good start Bluerinse, but you will have to reduce your list by three as Nos 3 and 4 are the same species, so are Nos 20 and 21, and also 36 and 37.

 

Against that you could add Twaite and Allis Shads, Houting, and Atlantic Sturgeon. (although it is probably some years since these fish were present)

 

That makes 42, and then a few "exotics" released from home aquaria and maybe surviving could take it to (say) 45

 

and counting everything in the estuary, another 74 marine species would not be too hard to find.

 

(and whilst I was typing, Steve has kindly done it for us) :)

 

In the nineteenth century, up to 500 tons PER DAY of mackerel, herring, cod, turbot, brill and many other species were landed at Fish Street Hill (off Thames Street) ..........Peter Ackroyd in Thames - sacred river

Edited by Vagabond

 

 

RNLI Governor

 

World species 471 : UK species 105 : English species 95 .

Certhia's world species - 215

Eclectic "husband and wife combined" world species 501

 

"Nothing matters very much, few things matter at all" - Plato

...only things like fresh bait and cold beer...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmm, but have I spoiled all the fun of guessing? Still, 8 species of goby, 6 pipefish, 5 rocklings, 3 sticklebacks... I don't think Vagabond will be cancelling any tigerfish or peacock bass sorties to hunt the wild gobies of the Thames estuary (though I bet he can no more resist rock pools than I can :lol: )

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We and our partners use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences, repeat visits and to show you personalised advertisements. By clicking “I Agree”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent.