News

There is a chance that the rivers of the UK and Ireland will see pink salmon this summer. This normally Pacific species has been appearing in recent years around our coasts and in our rivers, thought to be the product of strays from northern Norway and Russia (and possibly originally fish farm escapees?). Anglers might be interested in an information sheet from the Environment Agency and report any captures of odd salmon – full details here. 

A speech by the Secretary of State for the Environment, George Eustice, yesterday contained a number of announcements, including this comment on beaver reintroductions:

‘After a successful release in Devon, we are now looking positively towards the reintroduction of beavers and further releases of this iconic species in England. Our consultation, to be issued later this summer, will outline our approach to this, and the management of beavers in the wild. We will particularly consider reintroductions where the benefits are clear, where there are strong partnerships and agreement from stakeholders. Our approach will acknowledge the potential of beavers as a keystone species whilst working closely with local communities.’

Check out our Beaver Resource Hub for information on beavers, their impact and management. WTT will, of course, be responding to the consultation and we will publish our response on the website.

A group headed by WTT founder and now Vice-President, Charles Rangeley-Wilson, has today (20 May 2021) published a draft Chalk Stream Restoration Strategy. Your views are sought. WTT will be compiling a response, though time is tight – deadline for submissions 15 June.

EA has just published its (annual) report on its monitoring of the fish populations in 2020, obviously impacted by Covid. It’s an interesting read. Accepting the vagaries of sampling fish in rivers, abundance of young trout and salmon was relatively low but looks like some really good news in the number of adult sea trout and salmon returning in that year to both rivers. The report discusses whether this might be linked to greatly reduced boat traffic in the English Channel, brought about by Covid.

Major work has just been completed by the Wild Trout Trust working with the Babraham Research Campus on 1km of the River Granta in South Cambridgeshire. The work, which was funded by the Environment Agency, aims to improve habitat for wildlife, provide a better view of the river for walkers and improve the ability of the river to cope with floods and droughts.

Photos of the project before, during and immediately after the work are available here.

Chris Chapman, Director of Campus and Facilities at the Babraham Research Campus said, “This work came about further to an Advisory Visit by the Wild Trout Trust, and we realised that we could work together for the good of the river. The Campus estate is a beautiful natural asset, which we are dedicated to maintaining, preserving, and enhancing. The river is a major asset which is enjoyed by those that work here as well as the local community. We are very much committed to taking care of this precious chalk stream and were very pleased to collaborate with the Trust to enable this work to go ahead.”

This sounds a bit odd, but it is true. WTT Conservation Officer Jonny Grey has been working with volunteers from The Conservation Volunteers (TCV), planting trees on rivers banks. 

In this blog post on the TCV website, he explains why trout grow on trees. 

This Panorama programme was really good to spread word to a wider audience, but, sadly, it wasn’t news to those of us working in rivers. Official statistics verify that recorded serious pollution events from the water industry have not decreased in at least the last decade.

WTT’s Conservation Officers offer a unique, national perspective on England’s rivers, spending as they do around 1000 professional days by and in the water: they widely see evidence of pollution of rivers, whether from sewage, agriculture or other industry. When we see issues, we report them to the regulatory agencies, we record them in advisory visit reports; in normal years, we offer an expert view directly to the Secretary of State and we join with other NGOs to inform policy makers. We encourage members to engage with their MPs to gain political support. It is a source of frustration to us and to anyone who cares about rivers that the EA, NRW, Ofwat and, by extension, Water Companies, are not directed by our politicians to treat water quality as a priority with the necessary investment in infrastructure and funds for enforcement of regulations.

Good river condition is a function of decent water quality, quantity and habitat. We make no pretence that our kind of habitat-focused work will solve the ills of a river running with pollution or too little water. But our kind of work is a great way to get local people practically involved in their river and get them started on a journey that in time sees them tackling those three vital components of a good river.

WTT Director Shaun Leonard will be taking part in the live panel discussion as part of the Sportfish Virtual Show. The discussion takes place 15.15 to 16.00 on Sunday 18 April.

The show takes place over the weekend of 17-18 April and features both live and recorded events with guests including Charles Jardine, Paul Procter and Tiggy Pettifer. 

The full programme is available on the Sportfish website, along with links to the Sportfish Facebook page and YouTube channel. 

A terrific project on the limestone Dunston Beck in Lincolnshire has put this arrow-straight river into a more natural shape, together with lots of floodplain features.

Work on the 3-hectare site has turned a former arable field into diverse floodplain wetland and meadow habitat allowing wildlife to thrive. The work was led by the Wild Trout Trust and involved collaboration between the landowner, Beeswax Dyson Farming, the Environment Agency, the Lincolnshire Rivers Trust and the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust. Not only will the project benefit fish species such as brown trout and aquatic plants and invertebrates, but the back channels and ponds will be great for bird species such as snipe.

Project manager for the Wild Trout Trust, Tim Jacklin said, “We’re delighted to have been involved in the development and delivery of this project along with our project partners. Creating more natural areas alongside our rivers and streams has so many benefits. As well as making them simply nicer places to be, it provides more space for water and better wildlife habitats, making our landscapes more resilient to climate change and boosting biodiversity. It will be great to see this site develop as the wildflower seeding and native planting becomes established.”