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John Bailey Barbel Society Ambassador

Lawrence Breakspear

Senior Member
The Barbel Society is pleased to announce that John Bailey, world renowned angler and author has become a Barbel Society Ambassador.
Steve Pope said; “ We are really pleased that John has become an Ambassador, he brings great gravitas to our organisation and we look forward to the future at a time when barbel populations are under threat from so many different quarters.â€
John says.." I have long been an admirer of the BS and its aims and objectives. I caught my first barbel 37 years ago and in all that time I do not think I have seen so many potential problems facing the species. I tell you this. The time for talk is long gone. There must now be action. We need more barbel stocking and more protection for small fish coming through. I am losing faith in the so called professional organisations to do any of this. To me, the BS is one of the few bodies that is not a talking shop and is willing to get down and dirty to actually achieve results. I'm proud to be asked of course but i will be a damned sight prouder if we do good things"

Steve Pope
Barbel Society
 
Hi men.

Hmmmmm , my old memory might be getting on a bit , but as far as i can recall both the BS and JB had their head in the sand over predation for many years , but put me right if iv got that wrong .


Hatter
 
Mark I'm with you on that but he has changed his tune. The following is taken from:
http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/john-b...ly-part-way-to-saving-our-fisheries-1-5148931


At a Wensum Working Group meeting last week, Rob Dryden gave an excellent summary of the EA’s attempts to rejuvenate barbel stocks in the Wensum. I have to précis, but between 2009 and 2013, 4,520 juvenile barbel were stocked at various sites, all electronically pit-tagged so their movements could be recorded. In essence, over the two or three years following each introduction, recordings of the barbel dwindled dramatically before dying out altogether. As Rob concluded, stocked barbel disappear totally after three years and leave no evidence that stocking works. I think it is fair to say that Rob has hunted for all sorts of good scientific reasons for this, but the fact remains the only one that makes real sense is predation. By that, I mean largely predation by cormorants.
 
I agree with Jason. It is a much more complicated situation than just otter predation. Fish stocks have been struggling for several decades as the impacts of extraction, pollution, eutrophication, over-development, sedimentation etc have combined to put extreme pressure on our rivers and the fish they contain.

Surely it must be better to have a reasonably high profile angler adding his weight to the argument than not? The Angling Trust may not be the best spokesman for angling interests but it is the only one we've got, so why do people keep sniping at it? Would they rather have nothing at all.....?


Dave
 
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