Stillwater Barbel - The Facts
1. A total of 38 species of barbel have been recorded in Europe with only one (Barbus barbus) in the U.K. It is the U.K. species which requires clean, flowing, well oxygenated water (Lelek, 1980 Huet, 1959) with a gravel river bed to reproduce (Balon's 1975, 1981, Baras, 1994).
2. The Environment Agency in their good practice guide to Freshwater Fisheries state that is dubious practice to deliberately stock barbel into habitats where they are expected to live on a catch-and-release basis while being very unlikely to be able to spawn successfully.
3. Barbel (Barbus barbus) are widespread in the river systems of our country and are easily accessible to the angler. There is no need for stillwater stocking of these river fish.
4. There is justifiable fear that stocking small barbel into commercial stillwater fisheries creates a demand leading the unscrupulous to take large barbel from the rivers to the detriment of the river anglers and the barbel themselves.
5. Fish farms that breed barbel and grow them on for stocking do this in semi still water but all require some method for increased oxygenation (Ibbotson 1994).
6. There is no published scientific information which recommends the stocking of barbel into stillwaters, or which claims barbel thrive and grow big in stillwater.
7. Barbel require conditions to spawn which cannot be found in stillwaters (Ibbotson, 1994) and naturally sustaining populations of barbel in stillwaters are not possible.
8. Barbel are less tolerant of high water temperatures and low oxygen levels than stillwater fish such as tench and carp. The lethal concentration of oxygen is almost twice as high for barbel than it is for tench. (Ibbotson, 1994).
9. In 1896 and again during the 1960's a few barbel were introduced to the Dorset Stour and the Hampshire Avon where they multiplied and thrived to produce a barbel mecca. In 1956 Angling Times introduced 509 barbel to the River Severn and we now have over one hundred miles of prime barbel fishing. A few barbel were also introduced to the River Wye, the Bristol Avon etc. and some northern rivers such as the Ribble, Dane and Weaver. They have thrived in all these rivers.
10. More barbel have been stocked into stiliwaters than all the above mentioned rivers put together. These stillwater stockings are frequently repeated, as the only impact they have is to increase the mortality rates of the stillwater fishery.
11. Barbel are great wanderers in rivers, often moving several kilometres in a matter of days (Hunt & Jones, 1974; Baras & Cherry, 1990; Lucas & Batley, 1996) in order to seek suitable conditions when changes in water temperature, flow rates etc. occur and also to suit their seasonal needs. Barbel cannot do this in the commercial stillwaters.
12 Commercial stillwaters do not provide the correct habitat for barbel to thrive not just the water quality is in question but the overhead cover is usually missing.
13. Copp & Bennetts (1996) reported a significant decrease in the abundance and size of barbel in a reach of the River Lee after the removal of some 30% of the bankside vegetation.
14. After removal of all the bankside vegetation and instream branches from a stretch of the River Teme all the barbel moved to other areas. Stillwater barbel have little choice - they have to stay, until they die, in conditions they would not normally tolerate.
15. Several case studies of the effects of impoundment of river sections containing natural barbel populations exist. In all cases, with the onset of stillwater flow conditions barbel populations declined appreciably. (Fernando & Holcik, 1991; Juradja & Penaz, 1994; Juradja, 1995; Lusk, 1995; Penaz 1995, 1996).
16. Thousands of small barbel have entered Trimpley reservoir via an inlet from the River Severn yet Trimpley is not full of large barbel! If only 10% of them had entered a suitable habitat there would have been a barbel explosion.
17. Barbel are stocked into commercial stillwaters without any thought for the fish themselves but for financial gain - greed!
18. Barbel spend most of their lives on the riverbed and in stillwaters they have a greater risk of parasites in these conditions.
19. The potential for recapture is far greater in stillwaters than it is in rivers and barbel will experience increased stress when frequently caught and more so at spawning time by being unable to spawn in stillwater conditions.
20. Continued exposure to poor water quality and lack of water flow will affect the survival of individual barbel - they will die.
Many thanks to the Barbel Society for supplying the above literature.