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Barbel given a boost in the Great Ouse

The barbel population in the River Great Ouse at Harrold and Odell had a huge boost in June when we restocked the river with 6,000 juveniles.

When staff at our fish-rearing base at Calverton near Nottingham heard about the decreasing barbel stock in the River Great Ouse, and the downgrade of one of our foremost barbel rivers from a class ‘A’ to a class ‘C’ fishery, they got in touch with the area fisheries team.

“Because of a successful production year with high survival rates,” explains Nick Eyre from Calverton, “we were lucky enough to have barbel available on the farm for immediate stocking. These one-year old fish range in size from 50 to 90mm.”

Technical officer Paul Wilkanowski added, “Thanks to Calverton, we could restock 6,000 barbel and give the population a real boost. We take the decline in barbel populations very seriously and are fully aware many of the larger, older fish are nearing the end of their life.”

As well as the restocking at Harrold and Odell on the Great Ouse, we commissioned Hull University to do a three-year research study and make a longer-term management plan for the species. Commenting on the research, Paul Wilkanowski said, “This study is so important. It will give us the information we need to put together a management strategy for the entire species, to help protect barbel numbers in the future.”