The penultimate week….
September 29, 2009
Well I’m nearly there, not quite having covered everything I had planned but certainly getting close, and have covered the more important sites! It is amusing how much I was looking forward to the electro fishing season starting, and now I am quite pleased that the end is in sight. Once I have had a little bit of time off (with plenty of rod and line fishing – rain and river level permitting) I will then set about that task of data inputting and analysis.
Last week was another busy week, I am struggling to recall all of the sites we covered and where we got to on which day! We started by undertaking a series of surveys on Chipping brook, in part to help the Hodder consultitative’s sea trout project. Although we found no fin clipped trout juveniles, we found an excellent population of trout fry up towards the release ponds. Andy Blezard who is working on the project was not surprised by the lack of clipped fish as in the area surveyed the resident fish will hold their territory, and the clipped juveniles will drop lower and lower down until they find suitable habitat. This might actually be beneficial in making sure the released fish head to sea and return as sea trout. We surveyed a tributary of Chipping brook, which was absolutely full of trout fry and will be one of the best sites on the Hodder. Lower down on Chipping brook we saw a marked improvement of both Salmon and Trout, but quite excitingly we found a good number of Brook lamprey, both the Adults and the Juveniles, I even managed to get “nipped” by an adult!
Tuesday we were on Langden to finish off the last of this years surveys on the Hodder. We found the Langden to be in absolutely fantastic condition, including finding both Sea trout and Salmon ADULTS!
On Wednesday we surveyed the Stainforth Beck sub-catchment, we found improvements on last year, but still no salmon juveniles, and a lower than expected number of trout fry, this is certainly not due to water quality, as the invertebrate surveys have shown Stainforth to be near pristine. I suspect that the shallow gravel substrate with under lying bedrock result in higher than average redd washout. Later in the day we headed to Wigglesworth where we reported what at first look seemed to be slurry pollution, however we retracted this as we discovered that the source was a farmer cleaning his land drains, although not as harmful as slurry this kind of diffuse pollution can also be damaging, inhibiting invertebrate populations, smothering eggs, within the redds, and also causing increased mucus production on fish gills, which in turn causes higher mortality rates.
Later on that evening was the RFCA meeting, which was held in Read constitutional club this time due to the fire at the Swan & Royal in Clitheroe. Much was discussed and plenty of information was passed around, including a succinct but long report on the trusts activities and upcoming plans.
Thursday we undertook 2 quantitative surveys on Long Preston Beck, the results were interesting, but a little disappointing. The amusing (although not at the time) incident was running the trucks battery flat a mile down a good off road track, and in a place next to the river where no other vehicle could get to! Thankfully George Howarth from Baileys (our main contractor for river works) was nearby and after attempting and failing to make it down the off road track, we removed his car battery, took it on foot to the truck, managed to jump start the truck and then go and pull George’s Van out! A big thank you to George, as otherwise I had a long walk home!
Friday we surveyed Brants Gill in Horton on Ribblesdale with the Help of Ian Fleming who is the River Keeper for Manchester Anglers Association. We found a few Salmon fry but good numbers of trout fry, the most satisfying part was the discovery of salmon fry further up Brants Gill than last year, not far from where is emerges from the Aquifer!
One more week to go, an I am as I write this two days in, and feeling very very tired!
Comments
2 Responses to “The penultimate week….”
Got something to say?
Environment Agency news- Killer shrimp found in UK for the first time
- Record numbers of salmon and sea trout in English rivers
- Big brands sign up to low carbon diet
- Five weeks left to register for CRC
- Environment Agency begins search for environmental pioneers
- 50 days left to register for CRC
- Environment Agency urges farmers to conserve water following dry weather
- New ponds slowing loss of Britain’s strangest species
- Flood update: 20 July 2010 – 1530
- 9.5 million GBP bill for firms behind britain's most costly industrial disaster
Thank you jack for all the survey work you are putting into the Ribble catchment on our behalf and trust that in due course of time tthe knowledge gained will be for the benefit of our rivers and streams .
I would however be pleased to know the validity of your following statement and factual scientific proof you have for making the following statement “and the clipped juveniles will drop lower and lower down until they find suitable habitat. This might actually be beneficial in making sure the released fish head to sea and return as sea trout.”
Thus far I have not heard or read any convincing proof that this is so. For a number of years, of which you will be aware, a number of brown trout have been dye marked with the intention of discovering their movement . To date I have not heard of a single ‘seatrout’ returning with a dye mark. I have no doubt that seatrout and brown trout are of the same species scientifically. Just as we are all Homo Sapiens but my migrating to Austraiia for a few years does not turn me into an Aboriginee .I have heard people say that they have witnessed the brown and the seatrout actually fertilising on the redds. I haven’t. but have you any proof that any progeny of this happening has resulted in their survival or moreso these returning from the sea as a seatrout I have no doubt that some Browns do drop down to saline warer in which they find more sufficient food . These slobs whilst growing to a large size do not to my knowledge take on the livery of a seatrout Really all I am asking is whether or not you have any prove of what you are suggesting in that statement. If this statement is not factual and it is repeated often enough then in time it comes to be believed as fact, but not supported by proof.
I wonder Jack if you have ever read ‘The Life of the Seatrout’ by G.H.Nall ? where on page 83 of the same he describes with far better words than I can ever do. The differences of the two fish.
If you would care I will send you the extract for your deliberation.
Yours sincerely,
Derek Jebson
I too have read Nall’s excellent book, but you might be interested in some work I undertook for the Sussex Ouse Conservation Society. R. Ouse has a modest run of sea trout but no salmon. Internal examination of returning adult sea trout retained by anglers has shown that the population consists of one quarter cock fish and three quarters hen fish. We believe that this is because about half of the cock sea trout parr do not migrate to sea – instead they become ‘brown trout’, indistinguishable from the native brown trout in the stream.
Also, the EA has told us that they sometimes trap sea trout smolts in places inaccessible to migratory fish so it seems that ‘brown trout’ sometimes do migrate to sea.
So it seems that the proposition that brown trout might migrate to sea is more complex than the opinion given by Nall. There is evidence that this does occur sometime and the reverse, i.e. offspring of sea trout ‘reverting’ to brown trout probably does occur.
You might be interested in my scale reading studies on our website.