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Otter Petition

Robert Richbell said:
Hi Ian

the 3 fish taken in 1 swim was lower benyons, only 1 otter seen, the 6 dead barbel was up near Newbury, last time i was at upper benyons, a pike of maybe 10lb or so drifting downriver, no throat to speak of, looked very fresh, no guarantees it was an otter but is likely from the wounds.
Brimptom which used to have a big head of med sized Barbel its rare to spot 1 nowdays. Aagain up by Brimpton i saw a barbel in the water trapped by bushes, no throat to speak of. Not been out much for Barbel this year, last year on upper and lower benyons by autumn @60% of double figure Barbel taken by myself or people i fish with had varying degrees of tail damage, from small chunks missing to almost no tail. Previous to that i rarely saw a fish like that.
Thats why i would like to see scientific surveys to assess the impact and if required some method of control, i am not saying cull as i am sure there are other options as well.
Also seems to be a shortage of big chub but that more likely my rubbish fishing methods :)

rob
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Thanks Rob, you seem to see a lot of this, I cannot actually find anyone else who has actually seen dead barbel, lot's of stories but no evidence. Did you get any pictures of any of this?
I agree study would help, the problem is that if the study shows there is not a problem, anglers will dismiss it as not having been done properly, like other studies done.
 
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Ian, by all accounts you're a great bloke, but when it comes to otters you are like the spokesperson of the flat earth society ;)
 
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Graham Hunt said:
Ian, by all accounts you're a great bloke, but when it comes to otters you are like the spokesperson of the flat earth society ;)
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Let's not make it personal Graham. I am pro anglers and angling, was not going to comment on this thread and will leave it there.

(I hit edit instead of quote originally, hence your post says I have edited it, I have not)
 
Where I live, otters are a problem. Avian predation is also a problem, so ideally I would have liked the petition to include them as well - because current levels of fish removal are just not sustainable.

Do the people who introduced 'farmed' otters wherever they fancied (whether wild otters were established or not) pay money to the E.A. like anglers have to? No, they don't – therefore, as fee paying customers we have a right to voice our concerns especially when the natural balance of our waterways is being so disastrously affected.

There are many issues threatening our waterways - unsustainable predation and non-native species have both been discussed at great length on BFW and many other websites. If you are a sensible angler who genuinely cares about the environment you have a duty to speak up and not allow our rivers, lakes and streams become barren wastes where 'fish used to live'! I've signed the petition and will continue to fight for what I believe in whenever I can. I've been an angler since I was five - I’m over sixty now and would like to think that future generations will not be denied what I took for granted.

To most people, all water looks the same – it’s wet and glistens in the sunshine – true anglers however, can’t look at water without trying to see through that outer shimmering veneer and glimpse the magical world that lies beneath. Water without fish is a dead world – we anglers must be united and protect our fish populations – it seems that not many others are bothered!
 
Groundhog Day! https://barbel.co.uk/site/vbulletin/forum/barbel-talk/7448-otter-petition.html

A year has passed and here we are again. Same sh!t different day. If you are a sensible angler, who genuinely cares about the environment - don't sign this petition. It's ill thought out badly worded rubbish that will do nothing for the future of angling. If you really care about your river - join your local rivers trust. I've also been an angler since I was five - mid thirty's now and in that time I've seen rivers come back from the dead. In recent years I've enjoyed catching Chub, Trout and Barbel from a river that was once one of the most polluted rivers in Europe - incapable of supporting life so poor was the water quality. There are so many issues facing our river systems why waste your time and effort on a non starter like this? If you have evidence of illegal releases of Otters take it to the police - they have a wildlife crime division that can deal with it.
 
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Well, if nothing else, this thread yet again demonstrates the one thing that we are really good at. We must be world champions at squabbling and tearing each other apart, going for the throat at the slightest provocation. Much like otters I suppose :D

Cheers, Dave.
 
A year has passed and here we are again. Same sh!t different day. If you are a sensible angler, who genuinely cares about the environment - don't sign this petition. It's ill thought out badly worded rubbish that will do nothing for the future of angling. If you really care about your river - join your local rivers trust. I've also been an angler since I was five - mid thirty's now and in that time I've seen rivers come back from the dead. In recent years I've enjoyed catching Chub, Trout and Barbel from a river that was once one of the most polluted rivers in Europe - incapable of supporting life so poor was the water quality. There are so many issues facing our river systems why waste your time and effort on a non starter like this? If you have evidence of illegal releases of Otters take it to the police - they have a wildlife crime division that can deal with it.
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So are you saying you're a sensible angler and that anyone who signs the petition is not? Mighty big opinion of yourself there Andrew. You say you've been fishing for 30 years, does that mean something as I've been fishing for over 50 years and so what? Yes, we have seen the rivers come back from polluted shadows of themselves but we've also seen some rivers decimated by predators, the otter not least amongst them.

Its my belief that the Angling Trust actually contacted one otter sanctuary in Cornwall with regards to their unlicensed releasing of otters. The sanctuary had been stupid enough to brag on its website how many they had released, without having a license to do so. This was quickly taken down and no evidence remained.

If nothing else, if enough people sign the petition it will draw attention to the fact that otters do pose a threat to fisheries and that fencing, while not a viable option for river anglers, is the only option for enclosed waters. At present, the funding available for fencing is not enough and needs to be enhanced, if that happens, its a result.

We surely can't keep closing our eyes to what has become an issue for anglers all over the Country, (read previous posts to see this demonstrated) or we won't have a river worth fishing.

However, I do take David's point, lets keep on in the same old way, divisions and apathy will see us all fishing fenced off muddy holes in the ground before too long.
 
If we stopped pouring money in the coffers something might be done.icancelled my rspb because of their stance on matters like this.like the ea their attitude is I'm alright jack pull the ladder up
Albert
 
Andrew Boyne said:
Groundhog Day! https://barbel.co.uk/site/vbulletin/forum/barbel-talk/7448-otter-petition.html

A year has passed and here we are again. Same sh!t different day. If you are a sensible angler, who genuinely cares about the environment - don't sign this petition. It's ill thought out badly worded rubbish that will do nothing for the future of angling. If you really care about your river - join your local rivers trust. I've also been an angler since I was five - mid thirty's now and in that time I've seen rivers come back from the dead. In recent years I've enjoyed catching Chub, Trout and Barbel from a river that was once one of the most polluted rivers in Europe - incapable of supporting life so poor was the water quality. There are so many issues facing our river systems why waste your time and effort on a non starter like this? If you have evidence of illegal releases of Otters take it to the police - they have a wildlife crime division that can deal with it.
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Why waste time and effort on a non starter like this you ask Andrew. That is only your opinion. Not everyone views it as a waste of time and effort and you have no way of knowing it will be a non starter. Also, clicking a cursor on a submit button is not really considered that much effort to most of us, and neither does it take much time.

You also advise people to join their local rivers trust. How do you know how many people have signed this and are also members of their local rivers trust as well?
 
Perhaps when (not if) every river has been decimated by the predators then we might all be singing the same tune, by then it will be to late.
If the river you fish has not yet been affected enjoy it because eventually it will be.
 
Just out of curiosity if it ever happens ? Personally I dont think it will .
Where is the money going to come from to cull Otters ? .
Who decides which rivers need culling first ?

Who will carry out the culling ? Licenced trappers ? who will want paying ?
I cant see the goverment or EA paying ? and what sort of numbers of Otters to be culled are we talking about ?

You cull remove Otters from one stretch of river and in the future what if they return ?

And what happens when it goes public ? That the goverment has agreed to start culling Otters ?
 
I must be reading the wrong petition?

Where does it mention culling?

It doesn't, it just asks for otters to be controlled.
 
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