New survey of Severn fish stocks

16-Jun-2010

We are asking anglers fishing along this stretch of river for their help to enable us to develop a picture of the stocks of fish and how far anglers come to fish there.

Anglers may be approached by Environment Agency officers for information about their catch and their day’s fishing.

We will be asking them:

• where they have been fishing that day and for how long
• what coarse fish they have caught and how many, including the species and size
• how long it has taken them to catch the fish
• what methods they used to catch the fish

We are also interested in knowing where anglers travel from to fish on the River Severn so that we can develop a picture of how far people will come to fish these waters.

Fisheries Officer Chris Bainger says “Electro-fishing, our usual method for establishing fish stocks, is not effective on the River Severn as the river is too big so we are asking anglers for their help in establishing how well stocked the River Severn is along this stretch. The information will be used only to allow us to get a picture of how many coarse fish live here and how far anglers will come to fish these waters.

“Don’t be surprised if you meet our Fisheries Officers and, if you are approached, please give them as much information as you can so that we can ensure that coarse fish stocks in the river meet the needs and expectations of its anglers now and in the future.”

The survey is expected to continue for at least the next twelve months and is part of our work to improve river quality under the Water Framework Directive.