News

Disastrous news from Dr Ben Rushbrooke at Hants &IOW Wildlife Trust that signal crayfish have been found at the very top of the River Itchen, at the upper limit of the known distribution of native white-clawed crayfish on the Alre, placing the entire subpopulation of the native species in very real and immediate risk.

Ben and colleagues are planning action but it is a timely reminder for anglers of the need for biosecurity: CHECK, CLEAN & DRY all your gear after every trip.

More info on biosecurity on the WTT website: https://www.wildtrout.org/content/biosecurity

It is a great sadness to the fisheries world that the death of James Carr has been announced, aged 71.

James was a former chairman of Salmon & Trout Conservation UK and a founding trustee of the Eden Rivers Trust, among his many roles in UK fisheries management. Deep condolences to James’ wife and children from all at WTT.  

As many of the invasive non-native plant species are raising their ugly heads along our rivers and streams, it is timely that we have a new blog from a young researcher wrestling with knotweed and balsam and their impacts upon salmonids.

Alex Seeney first qualified with a degree in Veterinary Science from the Royal Veterinary College but decided to change tack and get more ecological via a Freshwater & Marine Ecology MSc with our tame Prof, Jonny Grey, at Queen Mary University of London. There he honed his skills in freshwater invertebrate ID, contributing to the fascinating research in the thermal springs of Iceland that Dr Eoin O’Gorman reported for us in Salmo 2016. He is currently wading through the last of his samples at the University of Stirling, trying to identify: the influence of riparian invasive plants on the abundance, age structure and persistence of native juvenile salmonid populations; the impacts of riparian plant type and cover on fluvial hydromorphology and local habitat suitability; the mechanisms underpinning these changes, linked to the presence of riparian invasive plants where possible. He is also keen to assess the reversibility of these mechanisms.

Check out his work over on the blog.

WTT’s Conservation Awards, supported by Thames Water and the River Restoration Centre, seek to recognise and encourage excellence in wild trout habitat management and conservation and celebrate the efforts, ingenuity and imagination of all those involved. We want to hear about projects big and small and from every corner of Britain & Ireland.

There’s a trophy for every category winner, the recognition of your peers and a £1000 prize for each of the winners of the small and medium-scale projects.

Awards will be presented at a splendid ceremony in London on 17 October 2017. Further details here

WTT’s friends at the River Restoration Centre have two vacancies for Directors to their Board. These post are expenses only. Further details at http://www.therrc.co.uk/river-restoration-centre-%E2%80%93-board-director-role

Closing date for applications 4 June 2017.

WTT is delighted to welcome Rob Mungovan, on his first day (8 May) as a Conservation Officer. Rob will be working on the rivers across eastern England, with an early focus in Lincolnshire on the Welland and Witham.

You can reach Rob on rmungovan@wildtrout.org and 07876 257058. 

Asa White takes us back to the gentle chalk streams of southern England over on the WTT Blog in another update on current research from young scientists. And he's after some volunteers to help with electric fishing - fancy it?

Asa has been fascinated by aquatic organisms and habitats since early childhood. Through studying a BSc in Marine and Freshwater Biology at Aberystwyth University, and an MSc in Limnology at Uppsala University, his interests have become focused around understanding the impacts that perturbations – particularly anthropogenic  – have on the biodiversity, community structure, and ecosystem functioning of freshwater ecosystems. The goal of his current PhD research project at the University of Brighton is to assess the impact that watercress farming has on fish communities in chalk streams, with the ultimate goal of informing potential mitigation strategies.

In his words: I chose this topic not only for it being fascinating and perfectly-aligned with my research interests, but also for the great privilege of working on some of the most beautiful and interesting freshwater habitats on the planet. We couldn't agree more with the latter!

The Lincolnshire Chalkstreams Project is running a poetry competition, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and with support from Lincolnshire County Council.

The theme of the competition is 'Lincolnshire Chalk Streams'. Entries close midnight on Friday 14th July 2017.

There are prizes available for winners and runners up in 3 age categories.

Fixed term 3 month graduate placement - Starting Monday 5th June through to September

The Lincolnshire Chalk Streams Project (LCSP) is looking for an enthusiastic and motivated individual to support the team. This is an exciting opportunity for a graduate to gain work experience within a challenging but supportive working environment.

The post holder will be expected to work alongside the Lincolnshire Chalk Streams Project staff to support them in the delivery of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant funded project ' Engaging the Lincolnshire Community with their chalk stream heritage'. This will involve helping to organise a number of events for a week long 'Chalk Stream Festival' between 21st and 25th August 2017 to include a number of family friendly events to promote Lincolnshire's rare chalk streams. This volunteer opportunity is a part of the HLF project with support from Lincolnshire County Council.

A number of lots are appearing on eBay that appear to be WTT auction lots. Our auction has closed and we will not be posting any more auction lots on eBay until next year. 

These lots are fraudulent and have no connection to the WTT, so please don't bid on them ! 

We have reported the problem to eBay. If you have bought one of these lots, please contact eBay for a refund.

Jeroen Tummers takes the baton from Jess Picken over on the WTT Blog with another update on current research from the young scientists themselves.

Jeroen was awarded his BSc and MSc at Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands,and then decided to undertake a PhD at Durham University on river restoration ecology. In particular, his research focus is the effectiveness of a broad range of solutions aimed at restoring longitudinal connectivity in fragmented river systems for fishes. He is currently working on an EU-funded Horizon 2020 project, AMBER (Adaptive Management of Barriers in European Rivers).

If you missed the earlier news item, WTT is keen to act as a portal for young researchers working on trout-related science to communicate their work with non-specialists. Keep tabs on the blog for further items such as the impacts of invasive plant species on salmonids, and find out what's wrong with watercress....

Another significant pollution incident in Wales, this time on the River Honddu – a tributary of the River Monnow. The pollution was caused by a failed slurry lagoon. This is the latest in a series of slurry related pollution incidents in Wales, including one on the Teifi in December that impacted 6 miles of river.

This is from the BBC News website:

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said the incident, near Abergavenny, is likely to have a "serious effect" on some rivers in south east Wales.