• You need to be a registered member of Barbel Fishing World to post on these forums. Some of the forums are hidden from non-members. Please refer to the instructions on the ‘Register’ page for details of how to join the new incarnation of BFW...

Reasons for Barbel population decline

Ian, although a continued diet of high oil content will cause animals to get serious liver problems over years of continuous consumption i doubt whether barbel will eat just high oil content pellets, they should have inbuilt instincts to want and to seek out other bait and natural food too so i really cant see it being a problem, if t was a magic instant bait that hooks em forever bait companies would soon drop selling em because of loss of trade on other profitable bait.
if my memory serves me right it was being discussed by ray and others in the 70s about growths around the mouth area on the lea barbel and additional extra whiskers whilst study was happening there was also thoughts that water being recycled was returning into rivers containing female hormones and oestragen
partly from birth control pills and from hormone replacements could also be maybe causing changes in the barbels makeup and sex changes, at that time barbel was the main dominant species in the lea after kings weir so other species could have had similar occurrences but go unnoticed, all this was long before overstocked carp fisheries were up and running so also would have gone unnoticed, however at that time the amount of genuine spam (in the tin called spam) was probably the staple diet of lea barbel the amount going in was staggering and that was only judged by the hils of spam tins discarded
a lot of guys took theirs home for disposal, i aint no expert but remember the
discussions and findings well:)
 
John,
A recent EA study showed that on some rivers pellets make up 70% of a barbels diet. They have ways of telling from a single scale apparently.

That was the highest figure reported, most rivers were lower. Cant for the life of me remember which river it was that was highest now. :(
 
Returning to the concern over otters, the stretch of the Kennet I fish near Newbury has had its population of barbel decimated by our furry friends.

There are so many factors influencing the numbers of barbel and this thread has provided some excellent discussion, for which I thank you.


HUGO
 
I used to fish a fishery where there was a low density of anglers but, a high density of fish (barbel & chub) They are mostly all gone.
At the time of the furry friend invasion, those stocks declined very rapidly.
 
Crooky.
There sre many instances saying hormones added to effect sex change.

I don't think they injected them...!

I suspect it wasn't something they would announce.

Graham
 
Hi Graham,
I think your absolutely right about the affect of Pellets on Barbel and other species no doubt..
I was researching about human diet when I discovered some frightening facts..
For some years now certain vitamins have all but been eradicated from Animal feed which has been strongly linked to high Cancer rates in the Western World..
Anyway back to the thread, whilst doing this research there were many instances where growth hormones had been used to replace certain vitamins and indeed it was found that it changed hormones within Humans..So with that in mind considering Barbel are eating Animal Feed I would strongly suspect it would also alter their hormones..
Theres no way any Bait company is going to admit this, theres simply too much money to be lost and money comes before EVERYTHING in this world..
Good thread Graham..
 
I am afraid the problem is a lot deeper than people would like to believe..
Graham, you and others who question the problem are going up against multi-billion pound cartels..
These cartels control far more than you could imagine..;)
 
Craig you are right, and this is why the tea and biscuits approach of results by negotiation is flawed.....once we have something tangible, this has to be dealt with very robustly with the philosophy of accountability ringing in their ears, they hate that word, this is why, whoever takes this up i.e the BS, they must involve the Angling Trust, who, whether we like or not, have a voice and a platform......time will tell, there are those that talk the talk, but lets see who walks the walk...
 
Thanks Craig . Appreciated.

Lawrence. Initial signs are not that good.

In some areas less interest than even that.

I think the platform that BFW have illustrated through the survey and many comments is a valid one for concern. We shall see as you say.

All the best.

Graham
 
Well Graham we will see, you have proved that the consensus of Barbel angler's on a national scale have concurred what we have been saying for a long time, and during that time we were accused of scaremongering, now in fairness, there has been a turn around in opinions in certain quarters, but we will see where this goes, as I said.....but thanks to you at least we have the consensus of public opinion on our side now...
 
Craig Wood said:
I am afraid the problem is a lot deeper than people would like to believe..
Graham, you and others who question the problem are going up against multi-billion pound cartels..
These cartels control far more than you could imagine..;)
Click to expand...

I have seen all of Breaking Bad, if Walt can, we can.:rolleyes:
 
Lawrence, have you tried to talk to animal feed producers, you may well find they could be quite helpful if they understand why you enquire, only the real producers though not the sales, craig i cannot beleive that cattle and sheep in the eu/uk would be allowed to have growth hormones ect entering their systems ect , every beast or cow has to have a passport these days showing full details of everything about them and their family tree,
this is why you never see caponised chickens any more, because the hormone inserted into them caused other problems to humans
 
Hello John....we have to assume John that it could be pellets in their various forms, or it could be chemical pollution via the water treatment works, it could be the different additives they are now putting into the discharge i.e. Surfactants, or other causes....we have supplied the concern, which is substantiated now, its up to others to supply the reasons
 
All Animal Feed is Genetically Modified to cut out waste/costs to increase profit for Farming..
Basically the fish you buy to eat, in most cases are not from a Natural Enviroment and don't Eat Naturals..

Then the very same Feed used for breeding Genetically modified fish for the dinner plate, made its way into a Natural Enviroment..

Lots and lots of other factors are no doubt involved also in what seems a down turn in Barbel Stocks and indeed other species on many Rivers..

Look, how I see it, is this...

Unless EVERY ANGLER is prepared to NOT BUY A EA LICENCE, and Angling Organises itself to collect a CREDIBLE PERTITION and then MARCH to Whitehall to hand the Petition to Officials and make it OFFICIAL...Well, no one will listen..

I think most would agree that this will never happen...

Most just on this website would be too scared to support something like that..

Anglers are under some Illusion that the EA are there to help ANGLING..
 
craig, i work in the bitter sharp end of industrial meat production and slaughtering,i am regarded as being fairly knowledgeable about my trade,
averaging around 5-6000 lambs per day and up to 500 cattle per day full job, they walk in and come out sliced,diced and in poly trays ect, you,d be surprised at how much tiny detail the main retailers go through to ensure the quality and purity of their producers clubs livestock including exactly whats what in the feed mate, just think how much in cash a weeks productions worth, any rejection is financially horrendous, ie a lambs worth maybe 100 pound a beast butchered is around 800kg how much that in money is i cannot say and mean i cannot reveal.
and yes we,re all on the same side in bfw, look back in the archives mate, amazing how many have helped start off groups/organisations to help us fishemen:)
 
I think I must have missed something (huge). Is there any evidence that our rivers are now populated by sterile barbel, or is this all pure speculation?
I know our rivers are populated by otters, which obviously are not sterile.. but I've seen or heard of zero data in regards to sterile/triploidy/neutered barbel (or any other coarse fish i.e. chub, that might eat these 'demon' pellets)
I'm not suggesting that there ISN'T a 'hormone problem' within the UK barbel population, I'm just asking if there is ANY evidence that this particular problem actually does exist? Conspiracy theories are just that...theories, until proven.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top