News

The majority of our wild trout need to move. They move at different times of the year for different periods of time to different places for different reasons. It could be to reproduce on clean, well-oxygenated gravels in small tributaries or headwaters, well away from where the larger adult is typically found. It could be to seek refuge from spate conditions, or it could be to take advantage of a seasonal food source. Whichever reason, it’s an intrinsic component of their nature that makes them so interesting, so adaptable and resilient…. so iconic. And it’s not just trout.

Can you think of any rivers or streams in your area that are not obstructed or impounded in some manner by man-made structures such as a dam or weir? No matter how small, they will be having some impact upon ecological or physical processes. Connectivity is a key issue on our streams and rivers, and our COs are often highlighting in Advisory Visit reports how much better a club’s wild populations and hence catch returns might be if such and such a weir or dam was removed or circumvented somehow.  We can maintain and enhance river habitat until the cows come home (as long as they are stock-fenced so they can’t trash the buffer strip) but it will not fulfil its potential if there are physical barriers to overcome.

This is not new. Many small to medium scale projects  have been undertaken to restore connectivity, and the Environment Agency published a report in 2013 (click here to view) reviewing best practice for weir removal, lowering and modification. A key finding then was that much of the evidence for benefits (improved flow & fish passage) and potential risks (flooding & sediment transport) was anecdotal. A need to collect empirical evidence and monitor results and impacts of such projects was identified.

After much deliberation, WTT has decided not to attend the CLA Game Fair at Harewood in 2015.

This has not been an easy decision since WTT has been a regular feature in Fisherman's Village for many years, but we feel that, based on the experience of recent years, we cannot justify the cost of attendance. A stand for WTT costs several thousand pounds – money that we feel we can put to better use for trout in our rivers and lakes.We'll be sure to keep an eye on the future of the fishing area in the Game Fair and hope to return at some future point.

We'd be delighted to see members at our annual gathering, this year on 6 & 7 June on the Ribble at Waddow Hall (click here for details) or the other shows that we'll continue to attend, such as the British Fly Fair International and Sportfish Show.

A commemorative tea party this week at Godington House in Kent remembered Paul Bates who sadly died last autumn.

Paul was an avid, determined and tenacious champion for his river, the Great Stour in Kent. As WTT Conservation Officer, Andy Thomas, often notes “Every river and every club could do with a Paul Bates”.

In 2011, following a WTT Advisory Visit, work started on a reach of the Great Stour near Ashford, under the formidable pairing of Paul and Andy. The river had been hammered by land drainage engineers and had in-filled with reeds, with very little recognisable as chalkstream habitat. In a series of phases and through an extraordinary partnership between Paul’s fishing club, the Godinton Piscators, the local (and excellent) Environment Agency fisheries team, the Godinton House Preservation Trust and WTT, and with additional funding from the Ninevah Trust and SITA Trust, the river began to regain life and function.

The River Avill is a beautiful stream flowing through the Exmoor National Park in west Somerset, though the lower reaches, through Dunster Marsh, have suffered from channel straightening and diverted flows. 

In an excellent practical collaboration between the local EA fisheries team (headed by Fisheries Officer, Matt Pang), the local parish council, the Angling Trust, landowner (Crown Estate) and WTT’s Mike Blackmore, a new lease of life has been given to a recently dredged section of the channel. The project involved local residents, Exmoor National Park volunteers and staff and students from Bridgwater and Petroc Colleges (42 volunteers in total) installing woody debris to create low-level berms and deflectors to improve flow diversity through the system. There are now good signs of improvements to life in the Avill. 

Matt Pang reports that the project site has established really well with beds of Ranunculus starting to form and the low lying berms vegetating. The flow deflectors are working well, creating plenty of riffles, pools and gullies. Really encouragingly, recent EA fishery surveys have reported juvenile trout where they were not found in 2014 and sea trout smolts, not thought still to be present in the catchment. This finding may well help to effect alterations to weirs on the Avill to ease access for more sea trout into the river.

The problem of soil loss for all of society in the UK is simply staggering – Govt estimates put annual topsoil loss at 2.2 million tonnes, 95% of which comes from farm land. That soil hits our rivers, causing huge ecological harm, contributing to flooding, needing treatment for potable supplies, loss of agricultural production etc.WTT's Conservation Officers see every day in the river the ecological harm from this issue, so it was heartening to see farm practice that seeks to mitigate these impacts – truly excellent and inspirational work.

WTT's team of Conservation Officers recently had a simply outstanding day visiting the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust's Allerton research farm at Loddington, Leics, hosted by Dr. Alastair Leake (centre right of photo) and his colleague, Prof. Chris Stoate.Here, GCWT staff research the effects of different farming methods on the environment.We especially focussed on soil management and the use of continuous cover and minimum till or no till regimes to reduce soil loss from fields. GWCT's work indicates that, at least with their topography, soil type and farm practice, these regimes can dramatically reduce soil loss through run-off without impacting crop productivity. 

Visit the Allerton Project website - click here