Hmmm. Seems to me that the newsreader wittered on about how the magnificent otters have 'fought their way back against all the odds'...almost as though they had overcome the worst that man could throw at them....with no mention of the fact that at least a sizeable proportion of them owed their very existence to the restocking programme.
I doubt there is one thinking person here who seriously believes that the claimed reason for the otters return, the 'Clean up of our rivers', and subsequent 'return of prey fish in numbers' is either generally true or significant. The DDT and other toxins usually blamed for the demise of otters in the 70's may have largely gone, but we are still a long, long way short of a healthy, pollution free river system. I seriously doubt that our waterways as they stand are capable of supporting the large population of otters predicted in this news item over the long term, especiall if eels do follow the Dodo into extinction as expected.
That may even be percieved by some as being to the general good, in that if the furry focus of the general publics 'aaaah' factor is eventually...and very 'In yer face on telly wise'...seen to be tear jerkingly suffering, then said good souls will force a
genuine environmental clean up. Hopefully so...but bare in mind that they didn't do a lot about its first time around
I would imagine that most people, whether anglers or not, can think of nothing better than that our environment returned to a state where a healthy and ballanced stock of fish AND otters was possible...but I for one aint going to hold my breath while I wait for that situation to come about. I guess that otters ARE here to stay, or at least for as long as there is food to support them, which probably means that our fishing will now go into a steady decline. Some of the very large rivers will undoubtedly withstand the pressure much better and longer than the smaller fisheries, but time will tell I guess.
Is that fair? I honestly don't know. Would otters have spread and eventually achieved their present numbers without mans intervention? Or has the artificial acceleration of this process initiated another 'monument to mans meddling' in the making? I don't know the answer to that, either.
So...I now intend to take the selfish viewpoint....I just hope that the otters now present in small but growing numbers in the little rivers I fish will be unable to eat the barbel fast enough to stop me 'avin a few', before my health forces me to hang my rods up anyway
Cheers, Dave.
