Fish 124 winter 2016

Edition 124 / Winter 2016

The Quarterly Magazine of Fisheries Management

SCIENTISTS AND ANGLERS JOIN FORCES TO STUDY PIKE IN THE NORFOLK BROADS Citizen science joins latest technology SONAR SO GOOD Sheds light on fish behaviour as never before IMPROVING THE UK’S SHAD POPULATIONS The elusive shad need help HOW WEIRS AFFECT FISH COMMUNITIES Two fish swim into a concrete wall. One turns to the other and says, “Dam.”

PLUS: THE FUTURE OF THE NORFOLK BROADS ELECTRICITY IN FISH RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT - THEORY AND PRACTICE

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Fish 124

Fish 124 Inside this edition 4

View from the Chair

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47th IFM Annual Conference

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Post Cards from the IFM Annual Conference 2016

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Scientists and Anglers Join Forces to Study Pike in the Norfolk Broads

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Sonar so Good

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Improving the UK’s Shad Populations

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How Weirs Affect Fish Communities

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The Conservation Column

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The Paul Coulson BLOG

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IFM News

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Breaking News

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Book Review

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Members and their fish

Editorial Team: Lawrence Talks, Steve Axford, Ian Dolben, Peter Spillett, Valerie Holt, Paul Coulson, John Gregory, Eamon Cusack

IFM ( Institute of Fisheries Management ) PO Box 679, Hull, HU5 9AX Tel: +44(0)845 388 7012

E-mail: info@ifm.org.uk. www.ifm.org.uk Find us on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter (@IFMFish)

Designed by POLAR 10. www.polar10.com Front cover: Trinity broads © Mike Page

The theme for this edition of FISH is fisheries in partnership from saltwater to headwaters, which was the title of our 47th IFM Annual Conference.

Held in the magnificent Assembly Rooms in Norwich, the Annual Conference was one of the best attended in recent years with over 150 delegates and ten trade stands. Huge thanks must be given to the organising committee for providing such an excellent, informative and memorable conference. Much of the inspiration for the conference was down to John Gregory, who was intimately involved in its organisation, and his untimely death was a great loss. The conference was dedicated to his memory.

As well as a superb range of presentations, a really interesting and instructive field trip to Hoveton Great Broad, the facilities, annual dinner and cake were excellent in the Georgian splendour of the Assembly Rooms. It was a ‘beautiful’ conference in the fine city of Norwich. To fully do justice to all the excellent presentations is too much of a task here, so what I attempt to do is to give a flavour of what was a very informative and diverse programme, which ranges from using drones to manage green crab fisheries in the South West to street lighting impacting on salmon populations.

Continuing with our Norfolk focus, Andy Hindes of Fishtrack, provides two articles on pioneering fisheries science in the Norfolk Broads. The first describes how visual implant tags (VI tags) and citizen science are being used to provide new insights into pike and the second shows how sonar is shedding light on fish behaviour. Valerie Holt in our Conservation Column then discusses the future of the Norfolk Broads.

Two Members of the Institute, Dr Peter Walker of RSK Environment Ltd. and Dr Chris Gardner of the South East Rivers Trust, look at options to improve the UK’s shad populations and describe how weirs affect fish communities, respectively.

If you have an idea for an article for FISH, please get in touch as Members’ contributions are always welcome.

Lawrence Talks - FISH editor fish@ifm.org.uk 3

View from the Chair

and taken an active part in helping to develop and implement the Institute’s policies to further sustainable fisheries management. He is a vice-chairman and Fellow of the Institute and a Chartered Environmentalist. I know David will do an exceptional job and he has the full support of both myself and the Council in continuing to develop and improve the work of the organisation.

We also see a change in our Finance Director, as Richard Noble steps down after having done a superb job for a number of years. His diligence and enthusiasm for the role have been greatly appreciated by all. Ian Dolben, who has been part of the backbone of the Institute for many years, is nobly stepping into Richard’s shoes and taking on this important leadership role.

Linked to this change, Paul Johnson takes over as Membership Director. Paul brings considerable experience and expertise as a member of Council, a leading member of the Ireland Branch, Fellow of the Institute and a long-standing fisheries consultant. Paul will be assisted by Iain Turner, our full-time Development Officer and Emma Keenan our volunteer CEnv co-ordinator and Secretary of the Welsh Branch.

The Institute is so fortunate to have such dedicated and capable people to call upon. We could not operate without the voluntary efforts of its members. If you would like to get more involved, please drop me a note.

Over the years, the Institute has paid tribute to some of its exceptional past members, who have contributed greatly to both the work of the Institute and to the development of sustainable fisheries management in their chosen area of expertise, through holding a Memorial Lecture in their name at our Annual Conference. Our first Memorial Lecture started in 1972 and was dedicated to the great William J. M. Menzies. Known as ‘Jock’, he was an Inspector of Salmon Fisheries in Scotland, As we enter another New Year, a year full of a world authority on salmon and the first President promise and new beginnings, the Institute also of the Institute. Another great of the fisheries begins anew, with January seeing the appointment world, Arthur E.J. Went, said whilst delivering the of a new Executive Director, David Bunt.

Menzies Memorial Lecture at the Institute’s Annual David has been involved in and passionate Conference in Norwich on 16 September 1975: about fisheries and the environment for over 30 years, working with the National Rivers Authority, “It is a great honour and a pleasure for me to be Environment Agency and now with Morpheus invited to give the Menzies Memorial Lecture, Environmental Consulting. As a member of the firstly because we are commemorating a great Institute since 1985, David has filled many roles man whom we all admired and secondly because

View from the Chair

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the New York Times wrote at the time of his death, Hugh Fish “Who made Thames so clean the salmon came back”.

In reviewing how we might remember John Gregory, Council has agreed to dedicate the next period of the Memorial Lecture to John in recognition of his immense work for the Institute and his long and dedicated professional fisheries career. I need say no more than to refer you to the After the War, on his retirement from the Civil excellent and warm-hearted obituary in our last Service, we saw more and more of him at scientific edition of FISH by our President, Dr Peter Spillett. and other meetings, where his influence was felt over a wide range of subjects. I had the pleasure Finally, in looking ahead, I would like to remind you of spending an afternoon with him in Fredericton, that this year’s Annual Conference will take place New Brunswick shortly before he died (1971) and in Belfast on the 10th to 12th October 2017 and is being hosted by our Ireland Branch. The call for a very pleasant afternoon it was. papers is now out, so visit our web site to find out Much of what we know of the natural history more. This is your chance to present your work, of Scottish salmon is derived from Menzies’ so what are you waiting for, get writing. painstaking research over a long period, and indeed, his reports on the movement of salmon Eamon Cusack along the Scottish coast together with those of IFM Chairman the late Knut Dahl and his collaborators, gave us new light on the problems of salmon movement in the sea.”

Following the death in 1999 of Sir Hugh Fish, who was a former President of the Institute, Council agreed to dedicate the Memorial Lecture to him. Sir Hugh was an inspirational leader and a dedicated environmentalist when it was unfashionable to be one. I had the pleasure of meeting Sir Hugh on a number of occasions at annual conferences, where he was always stimulating and humorous. After his war service, Sir Hugh read chemistry at Leeds University and then started his long and exciting career in water quality and fisheries. Working his way up through various positions, from pollution and fisheries inspector, river conservator, Chief Purification Officer, Director of Scientific Services with Essex and Thames Water, he became the Chief Executive of Thames Water Authority in 1978.

Sir Hugh combined a deep love and knowledge of science with good business management talents.

With these skills, he played a major part in the modernisation of the UK’s water industry. He also worked tirelessly to clean up the River Thames and return salmon to the catchment. His experience and observations on freshwater management and fisheries were sought around the world. Indeed

View from the Chair

I regard him as a personal friend. I first met Menzies in 1936 in Copenhagen where we were both attending a meeting of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. He was the senior British representative on the former Salmon and Trout Committee and I was a young student at the University in Oslo. I had been working on salmon scales and I had some fruitful discussions with him on the subject.

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47th IFM Annual Conference

47th IFM Annual Conference Lawrence Talks reflects on what was an excellent Annual Conference in 2016.

The theme for the Annual Conference was fisheries in partnership from saltwater to headwaters. Held in the magnificent Assembly Rooms in Norwich, it was one of the best attended in recent years with over 150 delegates and ten trade stands. Sponsorship was generously given by APEM Ltd., Morpheus Environmental Consulting and the Environment Agency.

loss. The conference was dedicated to his memory. As well as a superb range of presentations, a really interesting and instructive field trip to Hoveton Great Broad, the facilities, annual dinner and cake were excellent in the Georgian splendour of the Assembly Rooms.

It was a ‘beautiful’ conference in the fine city of Norwich.

To fully do justice to all the excellent presentations is too much of a task here, so what I will do is attempt to give a flavour of what was a very informative and diverse programme.

For the conference programme, abstracts and presentations please visit the IFM’s website: https://ifm.org.uk/events/national/ previous/47th-annual-conference-norwichoctober-2016/

Norfolk Broads

Professor Jacqui Burgess, Chair of the Broads Authority, opened the conference with some key facts about the Norfolk Broads, which is one of Huge thanks must be given to the organising Britain’s premier wetlands. The broads, which committee for providing such an excellent, are shallow lakes, were not formed naturally, informative and memorable conference namely: rather they were created in medieval times when Andy Sadler, Steve Lane, Andy Hindes, Chris peat was dug out to use as fuel for heating Bell, Chris Newell, Roger Handford, Ros Wright, and cooking. Over the centuries water levels Ian Russell, Barry Bendall, with the support rose, the peat diggings became flooded and of Paul Coulson and Iain Turner. Much of the were abandoned by the 14th century, forming inspiration for the conference was down to the landscape that we see today. Covering John Gregory, who was intimately involved in its 303km2, 63 broads, 200km of navigable rivers, organisation, and his untimely death was a great 2.7km coastline, with its highest point being 8

47th IFM Annual Conference

rivers mean to people, historical detective work and recognising what wildlife needs to thrive. Old maps, photographs, catchment walkovers and a detailed understanding of the • Conserving and enhancing the natural beauty, geomorphology and ecology of a river are all wildlife and cultural heritage of the Broads essential tools needed to work with natural river • Promoting opportunities for the understanding processes and do the right thing. and enjoyment of the special qualities of the Broads by the public

Strumpshaw Hill, which is 38m above sea level, it was designated as a national park in 1989.

The Broads Authority has three main purposes:

• Protecting the interests of navigation.

With 8 million visitors per year and 11,000 licensed boats, it contributes over £500m to the local economy each year. 18% of visitors fish in the Broads and there is a supporting Broads Angling Strategy which aims to enhance fisheries and ecology, improve access, including slipways and all-ability angling platforms, and provide better information. To enhance the ecology and provide improved resilience to the impacts of climate change, coastal squeeze, sea level rise, flood risk, sedimentation and water quality issues including saline intrusion, the Broads Authority is undertaking with partners some pioneering shallow lake and river American Fisheries Society restoration projects. Their aim is to remove presentation tens of thousands of tonnes of silt every year to maintain water depths and create new reed One of the presentations that I look forward fringe and fen habitat. to most at the Institute’s Annual Conference, is the one by our sister organisation, the Sir Hugh Fish Memorial Lecture American Fisheries Society, and Randy Shultz, Mississippi River Fisheries Supervisor with the The Sir Hugh Fish Memorial Lecture was given Iowa Department of Natural Resources, didn’t

by Charles Rangeley-Wilson who urged the disappoint. It is the scale of the geography, importance of taking a holistic approach to which always impresses me, with the Mississippi catchment management that encompasses natural and human history, understanding what 9

47th IFM Annual Conference

Creating new habitat on a big scale

River being 3,734km long with a catchment of 2.981 million km²! By contrast, the River Thames is 346km long and has a catchment of 12,935km².

In his talk titled: ‘Upper Mississippi River Restoration: 30 years of progress through partnerships’, he highlighted the sheer scale of channelisation, embankment, lock and dam construction for navigation and irrigation, much of which was carried out by the US Army Corps of Engineers. By 1924 it was being highlighted that there was not much wildlife and fish refuge habitat left in the Upper Mississippi. In the 1930s the Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee was formed. Randy then highlighted the tension between different interests, and being America, intervention by lawyers. It wasn’t until 1986 that Congress recognised, through the 1986 Water Resource Development Act, that the Upper Mississippi was both a nationally significant ecosystem and commercial navigation system.

This has since led to a successful multiple-use, partnership-led approach to the management of the system, which has delivered substantial 10

on-the-ground ecosystem restoration projects – with interestingly enough the US Army Corps of Engineers doing much of the work.

By way of an example, the Capoli Slough habitat restoration project restored and protected river margin, backwater and waterfowl nesting habitat over 1,000+ acres, involved >290,000 cubic yards of sand, >63,000 cubic yards of fines and 62,000 tons of rock, and cost $9 million.

In his closing slide, Randy highlighted the power of forging alliances and partnerships, of public and NGO input, being open to consensus and an “all-in” attitude to moving things forward.

Unlocking the Severn for people and wildlife Mike Morris, of the Severn Rivers Trust, gave a fascinating presentation on the £19.4 million Unlocking the Severn initiative, which is the biggest project of its kind in Europe, with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (£10.8m) and EU LIFE Programme (£6m). Led by the Severn Rivers Trust in partnership with the Canal and River Trust, Environment Agency and

47th IFM Annual Conference

Natural England, this five year project aims is to re-open the UK’s longest river to all fish species, including endangered shad, salmon, eel and lamprey and reconnect communities with their natural, cultural and industrial heritage.

whether the River Severn’s fish populations respond positively to the improvements being made. Early monitoring of shad at Upper Lode weir using ARIS sonar, which was presented at the conference, indicates that shad can swim against quite high velocities if laminar flow and water depth are adequate.

South Esk Catchment Management Partnership Tony Andrews provided a really vivid overview of the South Esk Catchment Management Partnership, which was founded in 2003.

Partners include the Esk Rivers and Fisheries Trust District Salmon Fishery Board, Angus Council, the Cairngorms National Park Authority and Scottish Natural Heritage. Its purpose is to find ways of managing the river, its tributaries Twaite shad © Wye and Usk Foundation and catchment environment to benefit local communities and visitors to Angus. From the In the court of Henry 3rd (1207-1272), shad start it was recognised that angling tourism were highly prized and rivalled salmon and is an important driver of the economy and lamprey. Prior to the middle of the 19th century, that managing the fishery sustainably on a up to two thirds of all fish caught in the Severn catchment basis would bring benefits to other Estuary were shad. They all disappeared within stakeholders and users. three years of the installation of the navigation The South Esk Catchment Management locks between Worcester and StourportPartnership is recognised by the Scottish on-Severn in the 1850s. The last remaining Government and interest groups as a model twaite shad in the Severn Estuary are now for informal partnership supporting ecosystemthe only viable breeding population in the UK based planning and development. As a SAC and barriers to migration are the main issue (Special Area of Conservation) river in a rich impacting on the stock. farming and tourism area, priorities include Six key barriers have been identified on the sustainable fishery management, catchmentRiver Severn and River Teme: Powick Weir, wide flood management, eradicating invasive Knightsford Weir, Diglis Weir, Bevere Weir, Holt plant species, dealing with diffuse agricultural Weir and Lincomb Weir. Through providing fish pollution, providing public access, obtaining passage at these sites, 253km of river will be community support, complying with EC Habitat opened up. Planned approaches to improve Directives and protecting and improving the fish passage include: weir removal, the creation recreational fishery it supports. of a natural bypass channel, deep vertical slot Examples of work include: a salmon LIFE technical fish passes, an easement and funded project to fence off 26 miles of riverbank rock ramp. to protect it from overgrazing, a Pearls in To engage local communities and schools, Pearl LIFE+ funded project to restore river citizen science and learning events will be habitat, developing a management plan for organised, which will include a ‘Shad Fest’ and Montrose Basin, taking action on invasive nonat Diglis Weir it is proposed to have England’s native plants on a catchment-wide basis and first fish viewing gallery. promoting sustainable forestry practices. To guide this work a catchment management plan A comprehensive monitoring programme will accompany the project to evaluate the project’s was published in 2009. success, perhaps most critically to determine 11

47th IFM Annual Conference Sockeye salmon categorised by severity of injury Š Baker et al. 2013

these is that fish that encounter netting suffer increased mortality compared to fish that have not. The second is that impacts are related to Katie Sumner of the Environment Agency, the severity of injury. The review of evidence reviewed the impact of inshore sea fisheries indicates that the survival and reproductive (within six nautical miles) on migratory salmonids fitness of salmonids, which have encountered and proposed a number of measures to protect fishing nets, can be significantly reduced and these stocks. This work was carried out to measures to minimise the risk of incidental support the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation capture by non-target fisheries are an important Authorities (IFCAs) in their duty to manage sea component in efforts to conserve stocks. fisheries so that they do not impact upon other marine fauna, including migratory salmonids.

Evidence for protective measures

Protection measures for salmonids in inshore waters.

Why are protection measures needed?

The incidental capture of salmon and sea trout by fishermen targeting other species is not an offence but where they are caught, legislation (Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975) states that they cannot be retained and must be returned. The fate of these returned fish is an important consideration in determining the potential impacts of non-licensed fisheries on salmonid stocks. In some fisheries, immediate mortality of salmonids has been observed to be low (approximately 5%). However, there are growing concerns that this may underestimate the overall potential impacts by failing to consider delayed mortality, and other sub-lethal effects such as failure to breed, occurring days to weeks after release.

Whilst studies are often variable in their approach, there are two key findings consistently supported throughout. The first of 12

The existing protection measures consist of a mixture of physical (depth), temporal (seasonal) and spatial (geographical) restrictions on fixed netting activity. Existing protection measures for salmonids vary between regions. This may be due to over-riding local factors or due to a previous lack of evidence to inform management decisions. A review of evidence was undertaken to support best practice recommendations for protection measures.

Recommended physical measures A number of studies have looked to investigate the vertical distribution of juvenile and adult salmonids employing various tracking methods.

Whilst the number of fish in many tracking studies is small, collectively they provide evidence that adult and juvenile salmonids are located close to the surface (< 5m) the majority of the time whilst in coastal areas and undertake irregular, but frequent, deeper dives of short-

Recommended temporal measures The key migratory months for sea trout smolt are March, April and May and for salmon are April, May and June, with smolts being present in the estuaries and inshore areas for this period. No temporal protective measures are considered necessary for smolt protection in inshore waters based on the available evidence on likelihood of capture by non-target fisheries.

For adult Atlantic salmon – restrictions (combined with depth and/or geographical measures) during key migratory periods (April/ May through to October/November) would be most effective, recognising that fish are only likely to be present in inshore areas in the months prior to river entry.

For adult sea trout – an all year restriction (combined with depth and/or geographical measures) offers the greatest level of protection, as recognition should be given to the likely presence of sea trout, potentially from other rivers, over extended periods due to their more variable life history, including their outward migration as kelts. An exception to this may be the North East coast, where sea trout may undertake longer, more distant migrations.

47th IFM Annual Conference

duration. Consequently, a 5m depth restriction below which the headline of all sea fish nets must be set would offer the greatest level of protection for salmon and sea trout.

provided on what is known about the behaviour and distribution of salmon and sea trout within inshore areas should be considered alongside local knowledge on fisheries character, intensity and distribution in order to make appropriate risk-based decisions taking socio-economic impacts into account.

Discussions following the review highlight a number of challenges including: quantifying the scale of the potential impact of non-target fisheries, the interpretation of headline depth data and quantifying the socio-economic impacts of the recommended measures due to incomplete information on the location and nature of fisheries.

The review of evidence identified that there remains a paucity of information regarding the movement and distribution of sea trout in particular. Further research involving tracking, or the implementation of catch reporting by recreational anglers, would help improve knowledge about the species and inform future management actions.

Counting crabs from the sky Lauren Parkhouse of the Devon and Severn Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (D&S IFCA), illustrated how new technology is being used to survey and manage fisheries in challenging environments.

One such fishery is crab tiling, also known as crab potting, which is a method of collecting shore crabs (Carcinus maenas) for use as a For salmon - a total net ban in all estuaries of prized fishing bait by sea anglers. Like other principal salmon rivers (with or without physical crustaceans, shore crabs moult their shells at and/or temporal restrictions). intervals during their life cycle, during which they seek refuge from predators. Crab tilers exploit For sea trout – a total net ban (with or without this behaviour by providing artificial shelters physical and/or temporal restrictions) in all such as roof tiles, guttering, drainpipes, chimney inshore areas (potentially defined by a depth pots and tyres. Whist sheltering under the tiles, contour or distance from shore measurement), the crabs are in the ‘soft shell’ state i.e. the hard unless there is evidence that sea trout are not shell has been shed and the new shell has not present/vulnerable to local fisheries. yet hardened. It is in the state that the crabs are collected for fishing bait during low tide Conclusions when the tiles are exposed. This method of bait collection has been used throughout Devon for The recommendations identify the most appropriate protection measures for salmon and generations. sea trout based on the available evidence and Every four years, surveys are carried out to considered at a national level. The information determine the number and location of crab tiles Recommended spatial measures

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47th IFM Annual Conference

The use of drones and the production of geolocated images has a number of advantages. It allows for accurate positions and estimated numbers of crab tiles to be determined without stepping foot on the estuary, which is safer and requires considerably less manpower. For example, the last traditional Exe Estuary crab tile survey, which was conducted in 2012, took 17 officers and volunteers from the IFCA and various other organisations eight days, spread out over a period of four months to Drone flight plan complete. The current survey which is being carried out on the Exe has taken the on estuaries in the Devon and Severn IFCA drone operator six days, over two spring tides, district. These surveys enable D&S IFCA to with one IFCA officer spending the first day out assess the potential impacts of crab tiling on in the field with the operator. sensitive estuary environments, and to inform the development of appropriate management This work is only scraping the surface of what measures. In particular, crab tiles have the may be possible in the future for surveying potential to change habitat complexity, benthic with drones. 3D modelling may enable density faunal diversity and abundance, and bird calculations of shellfish and infra-red and multibehaviour over large areas. spectral imaging could be used for plant and habitat surveys.

Surveys are traditionally undertaken on foot in extremely challenging, muddy conditions, often in remote and hard to reach locations.

Behaviour of European silver eels at Now, however, the D&S IFCA is trialling the pumping stations and indirect impact use of drones.

of operation

The first trials were carried out on the Taw Torridge estuary in North Devon in September and October 2015. The surveys were carried out over a four-hour window at low water on spring tides to get the best coverage. Maps of potential crab tile areas were used to programme the flight paths by the drone operator. The drone then flew this pre-determined flight path at an altitude of 20m, recording the GPS track, and taking photos every few seconds to achieve a target ground spacing distance of 1 pixel/cm. These parameters were decided by the drone operator after a number of trial flights to ensure the crab tiles would be clearly visible in the images.

The images were then processed, overlaid onto Google Earth to give exact locations of the images and IFCA officers were then able to count the crab tiles. The results were then ground truthed and found to be accurate.

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Nicola Baker and Leona Murphy of the Hull International Fisheries Institute, gave a very poignant talk on the impact of pumping stations on eels.

Much of lowland Britain relies on pumping stations to drain catchments and manage water levels. Eels in these systems must pass through these structures during their downstream migration out to sea, en route to their spawning

47th IFM Annual Conference

grounds in the Sargasso Sea. Aside from injury or mortality during passage through pumps, the delays caused by these structures may increase predation risk, deplete energy reserves and increase susceptibility to diseases due to stress. The timing of downstream migration may be driven by pump operation, rather than environmental cues, as reported for rivers with a natural flow regime.

To better understand the impact of pumping stations on eels and to help with the development of evidence-based affordable solutions, eels were tracked through the Hobhole Drain in Lincolnshire, where the water level is controlled by two pumping stations (one with four axial flow pumps and one with three large mixed flow pumps). To study the eelsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; behaviour immediately upstream of the two pumping stations, a combination of multi-beam sonar (ARIS) and fine-scale acoustic telemetry was used. In addition, the numbers of eels that passed downstream through the two pump intakes and a gravity bypass channel were recorded to determine whether they could exit the river into the tidal river downstream.

The study found that the eels experienced considerable delays, and most retreated upstream when the pumps were in operation.

For the eels that passed through the pumps none were detected in the Wash.

The need to deter eels from potentially harmful routes and provide eels with an attractive and safe alternative is essential to ensure the potential spawning success of this species.

Based on the evidence of this investigation, operational changes to the pumping regime and installation of alternative routes could be the most effective mitigation measure for heavily modified systems.

ALAN (Artificial Light at Night): The behavioural responses of Atlantic salmon in freshwater.

William Riley of Cefas (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science) (Cefas) opened our eyes to the impact of street lights on salmon.

Modern broad spectrum street lighting, at ecologically relevant intensities, was found to

Satellite image NASA 2012

have a significant impact on the timing and behaviour of Atlantic salmon fry dispersal in an aquarium and on wild juveniles (smolts) migrating to sea from their natal stream. The synchronous nocturnal dispersal of fry and the diel timing of downstream migration of smolts are predator avoidance tactics. These life-history stages are of critical importance in the dynamics of salmon populations and any disruption could significantly increase predation, reduce fitness, and have a notable impact on recruitment.

The dose-response for both the delay and disruption effect on fry dispersal was not linear, with a triggering threshold of ALAN disrupted behaviour being apparent between 0.2 and 1.0 lux, and then little additional impact seen when the light intensity was increased further.

Given that a reduction in street light intensity below 1 lux is unlikely to be accepted, preventing riparian areas from being artificially lit is likely to be the most effective management option. However, any reduction in light intensity at a purposefully lit source will ultimately reduce the area affected by that light source.

In these investigations the Atlantic salmon was used as an indicator/ model species. However, other diadromous fish species that migrate through urban areas (e.g. sea trout, eel and lamprey), and freshwater fish that bury their eggs with subsequent dispersal of fry at night (e.g. brown trout and grayling), may be similarly impacted.

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Post Cards from the Annual Conference

Post Cards from the IFM Annual Conference 2016

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Post Cards from the Annual Conference

Scientists and Anglers Join Forces

Scientists and Anglers Join Forces to Study Pike in the Norfolk Broads Andy Hindes of Fishtrack describes how visual implant tags (VI tags) and citizen science are being used to provide new insights into pike in the Norfolk Broads.

Project concept

The initial phase of the project was to evaluate the effectiveness of catching and tagging pike with visual implant tags over time and then if this proved successful, the aim was to establish Unusual for fisheries, this project was conceived a wider tagging capture-recapture study that in a cafĂŠ, not a pub, in the fine City of Norwich anglers could administer themselves to evaluate following concerns that pike (Esox lucius) stocks the impact of angling pressure on pike stocks are in decline. Joined by Jon Currie, Chair within the Norfolk Broads. With no prior visual of the Pike Sub-Group of the Broads Angling implant tag studies having been conducted on Strategy Group and General Secretary of the pike to crib from, we were breaking new ground.

Pike Angling Club of Great Britain, and Steve Lane, Environment Agency Fisheries Technical The project was a collaboration between Specialist, there was a unanimous view that Norwich and District Pike Club, Environment action needed to be taken to better understand Agency and Fishtrack, with support from Pike the population dynamics of pike in the Angling Club of Great Britain.

Norfolk Broads.

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The project was to be undertaken on Sportsman’s Broad, which is part of the Trinity Broads’ complex of five interconnected broads within a shallow side valley of the River Bure in Norfolk near Wroxham, UK. By way of a backup, if it proved difficult to catch enough pike, Burnt Fen Broad was identified as a potential study area as it is a smaller private access broad. Initial results, however proved that the project could be run on Sportman’s Broad and Burnt Fen Broad was subsequently dropped.

Angler techniques Following an assessment of various techniques and their effectiveness in catching pike, a citizen science approach was adopted, with anglers being tasked to catch all the pike for the project. Anglers were free to choose any suitable method of catching the pike, apart from live-baits.

A dedicated ‘processing team’ made up of anglers was established to carry out all the post-capture processing. Days were often long, starting at dawn and working into the night.

On one occasion, Steve and I found ourselves processing fish at 11:30pm at night after a predawn start! Time and tide…

Scientists and Anglers Join Forces

FISH Spring 2016

with an additional mark being administered in the fin root to enable quantification of tag loss.

Project outputs Being ambitious, we sought further outputs from the study, such as population estimates through catch mark-recapture, gender ratios, growth performance, scale calculated growth versus actual growth comparison, angler catch per unit effort (CPUE) and, for good measure, environmental factors were also taken into consideration, which was certainly enough to keep us busy!

The catch mark-recapture work was undertaken in two stages, with year one being initial capture and year two being the subsequent recapture.

This then allowed various catch mark-recapture models to be used to estimate the pike population within the broad. To catch the pike there were six angling events per year and the number of anglers was recorded to provide catch per unit effort information.

Biometric data were collected for each individual pike, which provided data for the scale work and the comparison between calculated growth and actual growth.

Tag selection Why did we select visual implant tags? A review of previous work relating to mark-recapture methods discounted most conventional approaches and resulted in settling for visual implant tags. The fact that the tags could be readily spotted, was a key deciding factor, as we were relying on anglers to report recaptures. What did we find? Short answer, lots! Longer answer….

The primary tag was put in the pectoral fin ray 19

Scientists and Anglers Join Forces

Results The 12 angling events involved a total angler effort of 149 man-days. The results of all this effort was the capture of 522 pike of which 505 were tagged. The size range of pike caught was between 366 and 960 mm (mean 613 Âą 4 mm).

The sexes of 504 fish were determined, with the overall sex ratio being 1M : 1.4F, this ratio being significantly different to 1:1 (P< 0.01). Using scales to age the fish, male and female ages were estimated to be between 2-9 years and 2-11 years respectively.

Tag retention

Recapture The recapture rate was 19%, with no individual being recaptured more than once. The average time between capture and recapture was 265 days. The longest recorded readable tag was 1036 days after it had been tagged, which was a large female of about 23lbs. This points to good long term survival following initial capture and tagging by anglers. Both the recapture rate and long term recaptures support our experience that mortality from the methods used to capture and mark the pike was low and unlikely to bias catch mark-recapture estimates.

Of the recaptured fish, 98% had their sex determined, with the sex ratio being female biased (1M : 1.6F). Perhaps unsurprisingly, females were significantly larger than males (P<0.01).

Overall the tag retention rate was 96%, of which 53% retained both tags. Despite that no extant data could be found on retention rates in Northern pike. This study compares favourably with data trolled from the literature, where the closest comparison was with tiger muskellunge (Esox lucius x E. masquinongy), which showed a tag retention rate of 92%, though this was a laboratory study conducted over 28 days, whereas ours was field based over 730 days.

Most of the tag studies in the literature with fish >500mm tended to be salmonid based, with none relating to pike.

Population Catch mark-recapture data provided estimates of the population by number and density. Two methods of population estimate were employed, which produced estimates varying between 846 pike with an abundance of 15.4 fish.ha-1 and 756 pike with an abundance 13.7 fish.ha-1.

This is the first time that an estimate of pike numbers has been made in a Norfolk broad.

Growth Scale growth data versus incremental growth was undertaken in part to validate scale analysis and also as a method of aging fish where there

20

Scientists and Anglers Join Forces

FISH Spring 2016

Further growth related analysis confirmed that the resident pike had recovered from previously poorer growth performance in 2006 and that food sources were not limiting.

The end bit..

In conclusion, this study demonstrates the validity of using anglers as citizen scientists to generate a strong dataset for a pike population study in a water body of high habitat complexity. From 522 is considerable uncertainty surrounding the ages captured fish, tag retention rates, population estimates and age and growth rate analyses of larger individuals. Incremental analysis was from scale and mark recapture data, using data were completed, providing new knowledge on this population. It demonstrated the high utility that was independent from each other. What of using visual implant tags for the long-term did it all mean? A general pattern emerged, which showed that scale data tended to elevate study of pike and the substantial benefits that estimates of growth rates and increments when can be gained when anglers are incorporated into study designs and sampling programmes. compared to the actual growth data collected It also demonstrated that if you wish to engage in the field and females had faster growth with pike anglers, you have to get up very early! trajectories than males.

21

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Call for papers 48th IFM Annual Conference “The Big Fish” Belfast, 10th to 12th October 2017 The Institutes 48th Annual Conference will be held in the Hilton Hotel, Belfast, from Tuesday 10th to Thursday 12th October 2017.

The “Big Fish” will provide a forum for discussion and a great opportunity to connect with the Institute and other fisheries professionals working in all aspects of fisheries management in both the freshwater and marine environments.

Continuing professional development is an important aspect in any discipline. This event will provide access to contemporary fisheries management practices. Networking opportunities will be provided throughout.

The organising committee would welcome submissions under the following subject areas: – Lake fisheries management – Governance and enforcement – Telemetry and tracking – Angling development – Eel management – Transitional and coastal fisheries – Genetics – Monitoring and management of habitat impacts and invasive species – Barriers to fish migration – Catchment management including flood risk planning and management – EU Directives

All abstracts should include the following information in this order: – Title of the paper – Authors’ full names with presenter’s name highlighted – Affiliation and country of origin for each co-author – Full address of the presenting author – Email address of the presenting author – 100 – 200 word abstract on the paper’s content – Preference for an oral or poster presentation

The conference organising committee will review all submissions. If requests for oral presentations are oversubscribed a poster presentation may be offered instead.

All submissions and enquiries should be sent directly to the conference organisers at ireland@ifm.org.uk No presenting author should submit more than one oral presentation request, but may submit multiple poster presentation requests.

Closing date for submissions – 31st May 2017

Sonar so Good

Sonar so Good

Sonar so Good Andy Hindes describes how Fishtrack along with Steve Lane and Jake Reeds of the Environment Agency are using sonar to open up new insights into fish behaviour on the Norfolk Broads.

Fish have the ability to make liars out of most of us. So how can we better understand fish?

Fisheries science may sound unnecessarily complex and impractical to the uninitiated, but the reality can be somewhat different.

Most fisheries scientists would agree that in order to try to understand and evaluate their chosen subjects, an open-minded approach and a degree of practical application to the problems thrown up by our aquatic friends would be high on the list of attributes. Since fish have the ability to make liars out of most of us most of the time, any help we can get is usually much appreciated.

Advances in new technology can certainly help and here the use of high resolution multibeam sonar is opening up new insights into fish behaviour.

Fast forward to the present day and the result is high-end technology used throughout the oil and gas exploration and construction industries that can be used to spy on fish movements and behaviours.

Determining diel movement of fish communities in online lakes is always going to be a big ask, particularly where those movements interact with a riverine environment. Conventional methods usually involve interrupting fish movement via interception in the form of nets, traps or physical capture through electrofishing.

Although they may be suitable for quantification of numbers moving etc. they invariably interrupt

Sonar from US Navy to spying on fish movements The technologyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s origins began at the end of the 1990s when a bunch of academics were asked by the US Navy to develop a tool for identifying underwater intruders in dark or turbid conditions.

Hydroacoustic density distribution (ind. /1000m3) R. Bure 2004 & 2014 25

Sonar so Good

the natural movement of the fish through their capture and so prevent evaluation of behaviour.

Cameras also have limited applicability as they are subject to the adverse influences of turbidity and light conditions and are prone to algal growth impeding their performance. Their range too is usually restricted. This limits the current options for assessment just to sonar.

Where do the prolific Norfolk Broadsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; fish populations go?

Fig 1. Bream movements during early morning

indication of the scale of movement we found, by post processing our data and examining fish The Norfolk Broadsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; fish populations are length against length to weight regressions, in renowned for being very abundant, especially excess of 1.2 tonnes of bream moved within roach and bream. Using hydroacoustics, past work strongly indicated elevated fish densities in a 10 minute period during a single dawn movement phase (Fig. 1). These movements river sections adjacent to broads. showed activity ramping up to a peak with an The aim in this study was to use multi-beam average of 12.6 fish per minute crossing the sonar to identify the origins of these fish and beams. Movement at or close to dawn showed to attempt to determine their constituents. circa 1200 adult bream returning to the broad in To do this we established two fixed station about an hour. sonar assessment stations at key locations on Hoveton Great Broad, which would provide Generally we found movements building in information on the passage of fish to and magnitude and then dropping off again until the from the River Bure and access to and from next dawn or dusk event. Analysis is normally the broad. Both stations had self-contained through post-processing the acoustic data, power modules, which enabled them to run which can be time consuming. In order to autonomously for up to one month at a time. provide a more rapid assessment, we developed They were designed, developed and built a Rapid Echogram Assessment technique. in-house. Each station was set up to project Rapid Echogram Assessment has several across the channel so as to provide a full view advantages over conventional processing. The of the water column, the channel bed, any speed of analysis is faster than conventional obstructions lying on it and the opposite bank. methods and the visual result is useful in helping The resulting images showed any fish moving managers with little or no technical experience on and off the broad towards the river. The sonar stations were run continuously in order to to appreciate the magnitude of movement and hence the importance of the waterway to determine fish movements, identify any peaks fish behaviour and their lifecycles. The rapid and their corresponding times. assessment though, does come at a cost to detail. Situations where species, numbers and What did we find? biomass of fish are important to quantify still require full analysis to elucidate these attributes.

Bream exhibited a strong diel movement, which varied depending on the season. Key The echogram shows 10 minutes of fish activity, movements were around dusk and dawn, with >600 adult bream moving at a rate of involving 100s to 1000s of adult fish as well >1 fish/second-1 back onto the broad to rest as large numbers of juvenile roach. As an up during daylight hours. The far right hand 26

Sonar so Good

Adult bream bream returning returning the Adult to to the broad Broad

Time towards dawn

Juvenile roach moving backback to theto river Juvenile roach moving the

corner shows large numbers of juvenile roach (distinguished by their contrasting movement pattern) moving, rather surprisingly, back into the river after spending the night on the broad. Their presence on the broad was later confirmed by our other sampling methods with night surveys revealing an even distribution of juveniles in the limnetic zone during darkness.

This reaffirms the decision to adopt a multimethod approach to fisheries survey work on this broad.

Multi-beam surveys are traditionally deployed as fixed station set ups. This is largely true for both fisheries and industrial applications.

However, we are developing a method to deploy the equipment in a mobile situation, which we have called Mobile High Resolution Sonar Assessment. Early indications are that it will be an additional useful tool within the fisheries sector. Although we present no data here, we will show some additional benefits of deploying sonar technology in this way.

river

Echogram of fish movement

looking at benthivorous feeding and the effect of sediment re-suspension. Part of this work involved seeding sediment trays with chironomids and releasing bream in the flume to feed. The resultant pattern on the sediment trays bore a remarkable resemblance to that observed by the Mobile High Resolution Sonar Assessment method, which suggests that the initial findings and assumptions were correct.

Further work is ongoing.

Conclusions Movements of coarse fish within shallow lakes and broads are still relatively poorly understood, but this work illustrates some real progress in understanding. Our study shows that multibeam sonar is an effective method for observing fish behaviour, as the non-interventionist nature of the method means that observations are not biased by sampling method.

During our work we were able to determine fish movements between river and broad, which Whilst conducting limnetic surveys, the sampling illustrates the importance of interconnected habitats. By developing the application of the took in the bed of the lake or broad as well as technology through Mobile High Resolution the fish in the water column and it is this bed that was of interest. Pockmarks present within Sonar Assessment our work also showed promise in investigating foraging activity. the mud appeared to show a patterning that required explanation. It was conjectured that It’s finally fair to say that without the help and these were likely to be marks made by feeding expertise of Jake Reeds none of this would have bream. Indeed, those broads with a higher been possible. Accordingly, Steve and I are very presence of bream also had a higher incidence grateful. Jake, take a bow! of ‘feeding marks’. Fast forward a few months and through a joint project with Loughborough University we chanced upon a PhD student 27

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Improving the UK’s shad populations

Improving the UK’s shad populations

Twaite shad © Wye and Usk Foundation

Dr Peter Walker, member of the Institute and Principal Aquatic Consultant with RSK Environment Ltd. looks at options to improve the UK’s shad populations.

The elusive shad Shad are one of those groups of fishes that many fisheries scientists have read about but few have been lucky enough to have actually seen. During my time as an aquatic ecology consultant, I’ve been fortunate to work on projects which have allowed me to watch shad spawning in the River Usk, see huge numbers of juvenile shad congregating in back-waters on the River Wye and Usk during seine netting operations and even battle them on a rod and line (all under licence of course!). In fact, I have a pair of ‘fieldwork trousers’ that still carry a faint (and not particularly pleasant) aroma of the River Wye mud from Tintern, which became impregnated, apparently forevermore, during 30

seine netting surveys for juvenile shad on my very first consultancy fieldwork outing back in 2008.

The ‘mini-tarpon-like shad can be incredibly athletic (and indeed acrobatic when caught on rod and line!) and undertake significant migrations from the sea up to their spawning grounds in rivers. Despite their obvious athletic abilities they are not particularly good at surpassing in-river obstacles, especially those which have a plunging flow rather than streaming flow, and they are exceptionally sensitive to any type of physical handling. So extreme is their delicate nature, that I used to joke with colleagues that, “if you as much as look at a shad it’ll keel over and die!”, which

Improving the UK’s shad populations

technically straightforward option and often the capital expenditure for designing and installing nature-like bypass channels means they are not employed as often as some might desire.

Shad in the UK There are in fact very few examples of such Shad are diadromous fishes, or more specifically bypass channels being used specifically to anadromous, meaning that adults migrate from aid shad passage. the sea up into rivers to spawn and juvenile fish Shad exhibit a preference for laminar, streaming make their way back downstream and out into flows, and investigations undertaken in France estuaries and the sea to grow. Two species of shad are known to occur in UK waters, namely have demonstrated that very few existing fish pass designs are suitable for shad. Turbulent the twaite shad (Alosa fallax) and the allis shad flow can easily disorientate shad and they also (A. alosa). Throughout their natural range both species of shad found in the UK have exhibited require vertical reference features and sufficient space for large shoals of adult fish to pass as a significant decline in numbers. Indeed, allis a group. shad are now thought to only spawn in the Tamar Estuary, with former strongholds in the Vertical slot passes have been used for Severn catchment no longer thought to support improving passage around structures for viable breeding populations. It has, however various shad species. These include a series been reported that there is likely to be a of pools separated by dividing walls containing spawning population in the Solway Firth area. a vertical slot that extends the entire depth of does of course make them a rather difficult species to work with.

The main reason cited for their decline is the presence of man-made barriers in rivers preventing adults from reaching spawning grounds, water quality issues, siltation of spawning grounds and entrainment, in particular of downstream migrating juvenile stages, at water abstraction sites. The potential impact of water intakes on shad has been recognised by the Habitats Directive, which requires adequate screening for all Annex II fish species (which includes shad) on Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) rivers and estuaries.

the pass. Shad require specific design criteria which includes a large slot size (≥0.45m) to accommodate shoals of shad. They also require a small headloss between pools (e.g. <0.2m) and all parts of the pass should be lit during daylight hours, preferably with natural light. Provided that the aforementioned design criteria are incorporated, then such passes can provide passage efficiencies for shad of >70%.

Shad screening

Shad are a challenging species generally and this is certainly the case when considering Options to improve shad populations screening protection at water intake sites.

Young-of-the-year (0+) fish are the group most Shad passage at risk of entrainment and as they migrate to the Removal of barriers is generally considered the sea they are typically only up to 6cm long, which ‘ideal’ solution from a fish passage, conservation is much smaller than salmonids smolts for which and river restoration perspective, but for a many traditional screens were designed to variety of reasons it is often not feasible and protect. A review of screening technologies has thus other options are needed. indicated that the best options for protecting shad include passive mesh / wedge-wire panels Nature-like bypass channels (or fishways) are or cylinders or vertical / inclined bar racks. often presented as a next best alternative Acoustic fish deterrent systems have been to structure removal in rivers and several used to deter fish from entering water intakes researches have claimed that the anticipated and they are best suited to protecting those ecological benefits relative to the costs for fish species that are considered to be hearing these types of schemes, render them one of specialists, including shad. In America, the most cost-effective fish passage solutions. ultrasound systems have been shown to repel Unfortunately this doesn’t necessarily translate shads and thus may be worth considering for into them being the most affordable or 31

Improving the UK’s shad populations

some UK sites. Shad are also sensitive to low frequency sounds, as are some other species requiring protection.

Experiments undertaken with juvenile twaite shad showed a response to ultrasound frequencies between 30 and 60 kHz at sound pressure levels of 190dB and 160dB in flume trials. However, in-river studies were reportedly inconclusive.

Habitat for shad

shad. Notwithstanding this, if water quality standards are improved to take into account the requirements of other sensitive species such as Atlantic salmon and sea trout, then these are likely to also benefit shad. Future research, though, should still attempt to determine shad tolerances for different water quality parameters such as salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen and suspended solids.

Conclusions

Trying to maintain and ultimately restore UK shad populations is a significant challenge to say the least. Nevertheless, sufficient knowledge exists for allis and twaite shad, or other shad species, to inform efforts within the UK. The priority has to be ensuring that these fish can reach their destinations, whether that Adult shad require access to deeper pools is spawning grounds, refuge areas or estuaries, where they can congregate prior to spawning. coastal waters and the open sea. This Such pools should ideally be located immediately downstream of spawning sites, but requires the removal of barriers or installation also at several locations throughout the reaches of appropriately designed fish passes and the screening of intakes. There is a need to of the river preceding this, to provide resting improve understanding of their water quality and places during the upstream migration. habitat requirements to identify any bottlenecks For spawning purposes shad require silt-free that then might impede recovery, including gravel to ensure that eggs do not suffocate. the availability of suitable spawning areas and In the Wye, Usk, Tywi and Teme rivers, twaite refuge areas for juveniles. In pursuit of this goal, shad typically spawn over unconsolidated gravel Natural England is researching shad habitat / pebble (and sometimes cobble) substrates requirements in the River Tamar and its estuary. where water depths are between 0.15 and 1.2m A significant milestone in securing the future (more frequently depths <0.45m) with relatively of UK shad, is the recent news of the Severn fast flowing water.

Rivers Trust’s successful £20m project Once young shad have hatched from their eggs, ‘Unlocking the Severn’, which is aimed at they need access to areas of reduced current improving shad populations. I’m hopeful that such as backwaters and back eddies where in the not too distant future, we might all be they can seek refuge from faster flows and feed reading about the remarkable recovery of twaite during their downstream migration. The salmon shad and the return of spawning allis shad in the croys, which are abundant along much of the Severn catchment and other catchments around length of the River Wye, provide many such the UK. refuge areas for juveniles.

Improving or at least maintaining freshwater habitat used by twaite and allis shad is essential to ensure the survival of these species in the UK. Though when considering habitat, care must be taken to ensure that all life stages are included.

Water quality for shad Several authors have reported on water quality barriers preventing shad from entering and moving up through and beyond estuaries, with most referring to dissolved oxygen concentrations as the overriding factor.

However, there is little information that can be used to define standards suitable for 32

Suggested further reading Aprahamian M.W., Aprahamian C.D., Baglinière J.L., Sabatié R. and Alexandrino P., 2003.

Alosa alosa and Alosa fallax spp. Literature review and bibliography. Environment Agency, Bristol (UK). 349pp.

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How Weirs Affect Fish Communities

Dairyhouse Before

How Weirs Affect Fish Communities Dr Chris Gardner of the South East Rivers Trust describes how weirs affect fish communities.

Over many millennia humans have deepened, straightened and modified rivers to support agriculture, development, navigation, water supply and power generation, amongst other priorities. This has had a profound impact on fish communities, which evolved in natural river systems. Fish are then left to respond to the environmental conditions that have been created.

Weirs and their associated downstream pools and upstream slow impounded reaches, can create deep water habitat that provides refuge areas for large adult fish, and are often popular fishing spots. However, weirs have a significant impact on the form and function, geomorphology, of a river, and its ecology, 34

including its fish populations, through habitat fragmentation and reduced connectivity, and degrading river habitat.

Habitat is fragmented with reduced connectivity Weirs fragment rivers and reduce their connectivity both longitudinally, up and downstream, and laterally with their flood plain.

This impacts on the movement of fish and other organisms separating them from habitats and resources that they may rely on to complete their life cycle. Weirs may not always be a complete obstruction to fish movement but they can cause delay and make fish vulnerable to predation. Fragmented habitats, by their nature,

How Weirs Affect Fish Communities

Dairyhouse After

are also less resilient as they can prevent recolonisation after pollution incidents and lower genetic variability, due to the restricted effective population size.

River habitat is degraded By the creation of an impounded reach upstream, river-like habitats become lake-like, as natural features like riffles are drowned out. This can lead to a loss of spawning and nursery habitat, which reduces recruitment and breeding success. Weirs impact on natural

river processes such as sediment and gravel transport, which can starve downstream reaches of new gravel and cause silt to settle out upstream. Rather than a dynamic, complex river habitat with pools, riffles, meanders and braided channels, weirs are often associated with degraded uniform deep, slow-flowing habitat, which is more akin to a lowland river. This then impacts on the riverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ecology.

Weirs also affect river water quality, altering temperature, suspended solids, dissolved oxygen and phosphate levels, amongst other parameters.

35

How Weirs Affect Fish Communities

These studies demonstrate how adult fish make use of different habitats at different times of the It is often thought that weirs only affect year. This is also true for juvenile fish, which need ‘migratory’ species such as salmon, sea trout to find cover from predators, safe areas to feed and eels. However, all fish migrate to some in and backwaters out of the main river current to extent, and all fish have life stage specific habitat avoid being displaced downstream. If any single requirements. Insight into these migrations habitat type is lacking, limiting or inaccessible, has notably been revealed through the use of there will be consequences for individual survival radio and acoustic tags in fish telemetry and therefore the population as a whole. Weirs tracking studies. often restrict populations to those reaches that Dr Karen Twine, of the Environment Agency, for have sufficient connectivity to enable life-cycle example, radio tracked 20 adult barbel (6-15lb) completion, with the availability of the most limiting habitat type being the controlling factor or in an 8.2km reach of the Great Ouse, which bottleneck for the population. was bounded by two impassable weirs, over a year and a half and found that the barbel utilised Flood resilience most of the river length available to them and made seasonal movements to spawning and During my PhD I re-captured three bream that over-wintering habitats. Similarly, Dr Martyn I’d been tracking for over a year and moved Lucas, of Durham University, radio tracked 31 them 35km downstream. They returned adult barbel (2-6lb) over 15 months in a 7.2 to their original point of capture within, on km reach of the River Nidd, a tributary of the average, two weeks. Other fish species have Yorkshire Ouse, and found the fish to be highly also been shown to have this homing instinct, mobile. They ranged over sections of river from which suggests that they are very aware 2-20km in length, and their movements were of their surroundings. Floods can displace associated with upstream spawning migrations fish downstream, and where there are no and downstream migrations to over-wintering barriers to their movement, fish will follow their habitats in the lower reaches of the Nidd and homing instinct to return to their previous area main River Ouse. Essentially fish will move of residence once the flood has subsided. as far as they are able to fully exploit the best However, if the flood pushes them over an available habitat. impassable weir they cannot return and as such the fish become displaced downstream.

During my PhD, I tracked the movements of 80+ adult common bream (4-7lb) over four years in a One concern anglers and fishing clubs 40km reach of the Lower River Witham, which is sometimes have about weir removal, is that a very uniform fenland river in Lincolnshire. During club waters are often only a few hundred yards the winter the bream were tightly shoaled and long and they want to keep ‘their’ fish in ‘their’ relatively immobile in a deep tributary off the main water. Weir removal presents a risk that the fish river and moved only short distances, about <5 may move to another section of river, free range km a month, up and downstream. In the spring, fish! However, if at the same time as removing however, they became much more mobile, moving the weir, improvements are made to degraded on average 30km a month, and used the entire habitats this should enable the river to support length of the river available to them. One individual more fish in the longer term. moved over 120km in a single month! At this time they were visiting shallow tributaries off the main Drought resilience river, before using these for spawning in late May and early June. After spawning, they then spread A common misconception raised by anglers out and spent the rest of the summer in the main and members of the public, is that weirs delay river foraging, moving on average 20-30km a river discharge and therefore make the river month, up and downstream. In the autumn they more resilient to drought. Weirs do hold back moved back upstream to the deep tributary for a quantity of water in the upstream impounded the winter. This fascinating yearly pattern was reach; however on the river catchment scale observed throughout the study. this is generally a very insignificant amount,

Migratory fish? All fish!

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In the event of drought, rivers tend to dry from their upstream end first. Impounded reaches upstream of weirs can and do provide refuge areas for fish during droughts; however these can be short lived and can deoxygenate quickly due to accumulated silt if there is no freshening flow, which can lead to fish deaths.

In response to a drying river, fish will naturally move downstream, using the river’s flow as a means of navigation. However, if the fish encounters an impounded reach upstream of a weir, and there is no flow going over the weir, due to the drought, there will be no flow cues for it to navigate by. In this situation, the fish will be inhibited from moving any further and will not be able to locate the exit. If no weirs exist, in the same drought situation, fish will move downstream seeking deeper fresher water for refuge in the lower reaches of the river and once the drought has broken they will move back upstream to their previous haunts.

When I worked in Dorset, there was a winterbourne stream (a stream that only flows when the aquifer is full, usually in the winter months), a tributary of the Dorset Stour, which had a number of weirs along its length. Every winter the stream would flow well and fish, usually trout and grayling, would enter the stream to spawn. By summer, however, the springs that fed the stream would stop and the river would begin to dry and the weirs would trap fish in isolated reaches. This would then necessitate a fish rescue by the authorities and local residents to move them back to the main river, and despite the best of efforts, a number of losses were reported every year. Weirs, perhaps counterintuitively, actually reduce a river’s resilience to drought and can cause fish kills if fish become trapped in upstream impounded reaches and aren’t able to move naturally in response to their changing environment.

How Weirs Affect Fish Communities

unless the weir is tens of metres high (i.e. a dam to create a reservoir). Such impoundments do not slow the rate the river discharges at the catchment scale, they just store water in upstream impounded reach at the local scale and once this is full, the river flows over the weir at the same rate it enters the impoundment.

Addressing the impacts Removal of a weir should always be the considered as the preferred option. However, total removal is often not possible due to the way the landscape has developed since the weir was built. There is also a need to take account of the wishes of the land owners and river users, like anglers, who may value the weir and its effect on the river channel. Dependent on this, the next best option may be a partial removal, by lowering of the weir and/or the implementation of a fish passage solution.

This reduces the impounded reach and better connects the upstream and downstream habitats. Fish passage solutions include natural bypass channels, which are preferred as they create additional habitat, rock ramps and technical fish passes such as a Larinier.

The design of a fish passage solution needs to take into account the wishes of other river users (e.g. anglers), provide for both upstream and downstream passage, have sufficient attraction flow, be suitable for all sizes and species of fish through a wide range of flow conditions, be cost effective and not compromise flood risk. Scrutiny by the Environment Agency’s Fish Pass Panel and appropriate modelling of flood risk, will help ensure that the proposed fish pass meets best practice standards and gives all concerned (residents, deliverer and the regulator) the confidence to implement the scheme.

Conclusion The impacts caused by weirs are problems for coarse fish as well as salmon and trout. The principles may not be as well understood or as popular, but they are real.

Organisations like the Wild Trout Trust have been encouraging progressive thinking and educating game anglers in fisheries management and river restoration over a number of years now. Lots of great work is going on out there, which is having a real positive effect on stocks.

Coarse anglers need to take heed and follow this successful model, to ensure that our rivers support healthy coarse fish populations in the future.

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The Conservation Column

The Conservation Column

Sailing boat on the Broads Lawrence Talks

The area is managed by the Broads Authority but to achieve its objectives it works in close partnership with Natural England, Environment Agency, Broads Tourism, RSPB and the Norfolk The Broads are an iconic and unique low-lying and Suffolk Wildlife Trusts. Even with all these wetland area that covers a large tract of Norfolk from Norwich to the coast. Although appearing to bodies involved, there are threats to the area and a major one is the impact of climate change. This be natural water bodies, they were created from peat digging from 2000 years ago and subsequent is likely to bring wetter warmer winters and drier hotter summers and increase the likelihood of digging and rising sea levels to form the intricate storms and extreme weather. The latter could pattern of watercourses and lakes we see today. increase the amount of saline intrusion into the They are the largest protected wetland body in freshwater habitats, affect levels of siltation and England, enjoy National Park status and provide cause erosion of banks. habitats for a large variety of flora and fauna including one quarter of the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rarest species.

Natural England has recently published a These include the rare swallowtail butterfly, Norfolk document discussing the impacts through the hawker dragonfly and the bittern.

Character Area Climate Change Project. This

Valerie Holt discusses the future of the Norfolk Broads

The wetlands can be largely defined as fen, open water and grazing marshes, although the range of habitats does include carr woodland, heathland, dune, coastal areas and estuarine marshland.

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looks at the impacts on the natural environment as well as recreation, landscape and the historic environment.

• Ensuring existing habitats are conserved and enhanced to increase resilience • Adapting dredging depths to moderate saline intrusion and create fish refuges • Altering grazing and hay cutting regimes to reduce agricultural intensity on grazing marshes to moderate flooding of wildlife sites • Restoring river channels and blocking coastal drains to raise water levels • Creating new habitats especially brackish and inter-tidal • Restoring connectivity between river channels and their floodplain • Assessing visitor numbers and possibly restricting water-based recreation during periods of poor water quality Water quality has long been an issue in the Broads, mainly caused by an increase in nutrient loading due to intensive agriculture and increased boat traffic. There are now only five of the sixty three broads that have clear water and work is being undertaken to repair years of ecological decline. One such scheme is to remove small fish which devour the zooplankton. The latter have a beneficial effect by eating the algae caused by the high nutrient levels. However, this is only one area of proposed work. Others include phosphorus control from treated sewage, removing mud from the beds of rivers and lakes via a suction technique, encouraging environmentally sensitive agricultural practices and educating boaters about discharging sink waste water, antifouling of hulls and hull design to prevent excessive wash.

The Conservation Column

Amongst the actions recommended are:

The Broads is a very large area and is not controlled by any one body; there are private owners as well as large land holdings by the Wildlife Trusts and National Trust. Over a number of years, the Broads have been subject to pioneering restoration and habitat enhancement schemes.

During the Institute’s Annual Conference, we were lucky enough to visit one such scheme at Hoveton Great Broad, which has recently been awarded £4 million of EU LIFE+ and Heritage Lottery funding as part of the Hoveton Wetlands restoration project.

Led by Natural England, they will be working with the Environment Agency and the Hoveton Estate to improve water quality in Hoveton Great Broad and Hudson’s Bay; enhance access to the nature trail and create a new guided trail through adjacent marshes; raise awareness of the importance and value of the Broads; monitor the recovery process and share best practice guidance about the restoration techniques used.

Restoration of the broad will be achieved through a combination of sediment removal and biomanipulation, with the first phase of the lake restoration work involving the removal of approximately 55,048m3 of sediment from Hoveton Great Broad/Hudson’s Bay to achieve greater depth in both lakes. The sediment removed will then be used to create new areas of fen within the broad. This will be achieved by using geotextile tubes to create bunded areas, behind which more sediment can be disposed of. Fen vegetation will then be used to ‘cap’ the bunds and it is expected that fen vegetation will spread from this material out across the back-fill of sediment. As part of the project, investigations are underway to better understand the fish The area is heavily used by many recreational populations in the broad and the adjoining River users from cruising, canoeing and sailing to angling, walking and cycling. The area is also very Bure, see Andy Hindes’ article, Sonar so Good, in attractive to reside in, and planning restrictions are this edition of FISH. tightly controlled by the Broads Authority to ensure The Broads is a complex and expansive that local communities are allowed growth whilst landscape, which requires large catchment scale protecting the natural environment. restoration projects and it will take a lot of work Climate change will undoubtedly bring new and effort to ensure that the entire ecosystem species to the area and these could displace is conserved and enhanced and the effects of some of the extremely rare species found there. climate change are mitigated in the future.

It may also encourage invasive species to become established to join those already common, such as Australian swamp stonecrop and zebra mussels.

39

The Paul Coulson BLOG

The Paul Coulson

BLOG Norwich

The Institute’s 47th Annual Conference in Norwich was another very successful event for the Institute with one of the largest attendances for many years. The assembled delegates were treated to a wide range of talks, trade stands, a brilliant field trip and cake, lots of cake.

I would like to start by saying a big thank you to Andy Sadler and the rest of the Anglian Branch for their huge effort in putting together a cracking few days in Norwich. Without the help and enthusiasm of the branches our annual events would not be as successful or as locally relevant as they are.

There are many highlights from the conference: Andy Hindes’ shirt and Iain Turner’s terrible jokes are just two of them.

We started with a very moving tribute to John Gregory. As I mentioned in my last blog, it was initially John’s idea to take the conference to Norwich, and it was John and I who did the initial planning and venue tours. John would have been really pleased to see how successful the conference was and I’m sure he would have been thrilled to see such a wide range of delegates from across the fisheries spectrum in attendance.

The first two talks of the conference encapsulated the diverse nature of fishery management perfectly. Charles Rangeley-Wilson gave the Sir Hugh Fish lecture and his talk looked at holistic fisheries management and in particular the work of the Norfolk Rivers Trust. He covered the excellent project that the Trust has just finished on the River Nar. This SSSI chalk stream has taken a bit of a beating over the years and was in a sorry state.

The Trust has undertaken a number of restoration projects along its length and Charles highlighted a few of these during his talk. As with a lot of chalk stream projects, the use of green engineering 40

techniques was encouraged with machines lending a hand only where necessary.

Following Charles was Randy Shultz from the American Fisheries Society.

Randy is the Mississippi River Fisheries Supervisor and as you can imagine when working on a system as large as the Mississippi green engineering techniques just won’t cut it, most of the time. One of the major projects that Randy highlighted was the Capoli Slough Project.

This was a restoration project that had numerous benefits ranging from providing turtle nesting habitat to enhancement of backwater fisheries habitat.

This is where the differences between Charles and Randy are really highlighted. The Capoli Slough Project had a 14-year time frame and a total cost of $9 million. It utilised the Army Corps of Engineers and in total it used over 500,000 tons of material to build new islands, mud flats and wetlands, not a brushwood bundle in sight. There were, however, some similarities between the two projects, as both relied on engaging with a range of partners and local interest groups to get the work done and to maintain and monitor them in the future.

At the annual conference dinner we presented the IFM Training Awards for 2016, which this year included a new award in memory of Phil Hickley.

This award, which was kindly sponsored by the Environment Agency, was presented to the student who had produced the best project on the IFM Diploma course. The inaugural winner of the award was Edward Rush and he received his award on the night from Sarah Chare of the Environment Agency. Other winners included Lloyd Thompson for the Best Student on the IFM Diploma and Lizzy Brailsford who won the Certificate Course prize.

The conference ended with a brilliant field trip to Hoveton Great Broad. This was very kindly arranged for us by Andy Hindes and Steve Lane and supported by the Natural England team who manage the Broad. It was a very interesting day out, looking at the many different elements of the large-scale habitat improvement scheme, and also included a demonstration of pike tagging by a group of anglers from the Pike Angling Club.

The Paul Coulson BLOG

Future Events As you will have seen from the call for papers in this edition of FISH, this year’s Annual Conference will be held in Belfast.

Iain and I recently made the short hop over to meet the Irish Branch and to check out the venues and planning for the event. It was my first trip to Belfast and what a great city it is. I actually managed to get from my home in Hull, to Belfast, quicker (and cheaper) than a trip to London or Edinburgh on the train. This probably has something to say about the sorry state of our train network, but I won’t go into that here!

The conference theme this year is the “Big Fish” and will incorporate a number of topics from across the fisheries spectrum under this broad heading. There will also be the usual field trips, poster session and not forgetting the annual dinner. We will need to find a good Irish MC to follow in the comedy footsteps of David Bunt and Iain Turner from the last couple of years.

Before the Annual Conference we also have the small matter of two specialist events. The first of these is our 7th Specialist Conference, which will be on Renewable Energy and Fish. This will be hosted by the Welsh Branch and be held at the Coldra Court Hotel in Newport, Wales, on April 25th and 26th. This will cover everything from tidal lagoons to run-of-river hydropower. The details for the event will have been circulated before this edition of FISH goes out and we hope to see a few of you there.

Fish Health & Habitat workshop

Out and about I was very pleased to be asked by the Environment Agency in the North West to give a talk at their recent fish disease and habitat workshop. My talk was on sustainable fisheries management and concentrated on the principles of cropping not stocking and the importance of good habitat. It was great to see how many of the local angling clubs were represented at the workshop and the positive relationship they have with the local Environment Agency fishery teams.

I also attended the first meeting of the soon-tobe-revived IFM Midlands Branch. As you may be aware, the branch has not been very active over the last couple of years due to a number of factors, however we now have a fresh injection of new members who are really keen to get things going again. If you would like to be involved in As you will have also seen through my earlier blogs helping the branch please get in touch with Iain and the newsletter, we have a major eel event Turner in the first instance. Keep an eye out for planned for June. The 1st UK International Eel the branch’s first event, which will be held in the Science Symposium will take place in the Huxley summer.

Theatre at ZSL London Zoo on June 13th – 15th.

We have joined with ZSL and the Environment So I forgot about the wedding Agency to host this major event and to date we have over 20 countries represented, with speakers Many thanks to the eagle eyed amongst you for spotting that I didn’t actually cover Mike’s wedding covering a good number of the 16 species of in my last blog. Special brownie points go to Ian freshwater anguillids.

Winfield and my dad funnily enough, who were the Alongside the main programme we also have a first ones to pick up on my mistake. Cheers both. dedicated poster session, evening boat trip on the Thames and a closing reception in the aquarium at I know you have all been desperate to hear about the zoo. This will be the largest eel event ever held it so I should really go back to the big day. I was honoured to be asked by Mike to be his Best Man in Europe and is not to be missed.

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The Paul Coulson BLOG 42

and my brain immediately went into overdrive as to the funny stories I could humiliate him with.

However, what may be funny to a group of fishing/ Uni mates does not always go down well with the assembled parents and other close family members. I did, however, manage to put a couple of slightly censored stories together that raised a polite chuckle from the guests.

Mike and I have also had another round of the winter league on the East Yorkshire Ditch. We had a very good result with us both finishing well up in our respective sections, which put us back in contention at the top of the league at the half way point. Mind you it can all come crashing down with a poor match in the next round; can you tell I’m getting my excuses in already?

Mike’s bride Elizabeth looked stunning, and Mike and I had also made a special effort. Mike had even managed to scrub the ground bait from under his nails and tie his tie properly. It was a great day and I wish Mike and Liz all the best for the future.

I also managed to get out with my dad for a few hours of perch fishing. My dad managed to catch a couple of good ones close to 1 1/2lb whilst I didn’t. Even though I provided the rigs, bait and put him in the best swim, it was all down to his angling prowess apparently!

In between all these fun and games I have managed to actually get on the bank once or twice over the last few months. Mike and I had our annual trip chasing grayling on the West Beck.

Although we never managed to catch any of the big 3 pounders this time we did have five over 2lb with the biggest going to Mike at 2lb 10oz. These are cracking fish though the lack of smaller fish coming through does make us worry slightly about the future for the stock.

Hmmmmmmmm.

Tight lines.

Paul Coulson - Director of Operations Paul.coulson@ifm.org.uk 07960 939 836

IFM News

IFM News

Dates for your diary

Event

Date

Location

Certificate Course Practical Weekend

25th-26th March

Rempstone Village Hall

1st-2nd April

Rempstone Village Hall

Renewable Energy and Fisheries – Plugging the Gap.

25th-26th April

Coldra Court Hotel, Newport, Wales

Electric Fishing Training Course

20th-21st May

Rempstone Village Hall

Certificate Course Exams

10th June

Diploma Course Exams

17th June

International Eel Science Symposium

13th -15th June

ZSL London Zoo

48th IFM Annual Conference “The Big Fish”

10th to 12th October

Belfast, Ireland

IFM Award Course Practical Weekend

David Bunt – new IFM Executive Director The Institute of Fisheries Management has appointed David Bunt as its new Executive Director.

David takes over from John Gregory who sadly passed away last year.

David has had a long career in fisheries and environmental management, and an equally long association with the IFM. David joined the IFM in 1985 whilst at University, completing his BSc in Environmental Biology at Chelsea College, London. The following year he achieved a MSc in Aquatic Resource Management at Kings College, London before embarking on a career in fisheries and environmental management.

David started his career at the Welsh Water Authority in Bangor as a Fisheries Technical Assistant. He later joined the National Rivers

Authority when it was formed in 1989. From 1992 to 1997 he became the Fisheries and Conservation Manager for South East Wales and was responsible for rivers such as the Usk and Taff. A notable success was the closure of illegal salmon netting in the Severn Estuary, which saved about 10,000 salmon a year destined for the Usk, Wye and Severn.

David then joined the Environment Agency in 1996 where he held a number of positions managing teams in topics as wide-ranging as IT Services, Incident Management and, more recently, Waste Policy. From 2005 to 2008 he was Area Environment Manager for Dorset, where he was responsible for completing an innovative multispecies fish pass at Loud’s Mill on the River Frome in Dorchester.

David left the Environment Agency in September 2016 to become a self-employed environmental consultant. He is also Operations Director for the Sustainable Eel Group, an organisation he helped to found in 2010, which is committed to the recovery of the European eel.

43

IFM News

During this time, David has also been an active member of the Institute of Fisheries Management.

Early in his career he completed the Institute’s Certificate and Diploma courses and then became Training Secretary. In 1999 he became a member of the IFM Council and was appointed a Fellow of the Institute. In 2005 he achieved the award of Chartered Environmentalist. In 2008 he became Chairman of the Training Committee and in 2012 Vice-Chairman of the Institute. He has played a key role in organising several Institute conferences.

David said, “I am delighted and honoured to be taking up this position. I look forward to playing a pivotal role in helping the Institute to continue to improve its services to members, and to lead advances in sustainable fisheries management”.

Update on IFM Environment Agency training course In 2015, the Environment Agency approached the IFM to consider modifying our Diploma course to train new fisheries staff on stillwater fisheries management. After a great deal of consultation and development by the IFM training team, the IFM Award in Applied Fisheries Management was created. The first intake of 18 students started the course in October 2016 and are progressing very well. A field course weekend is to be held at the beginning of April 2017.

Enrolment details for the next year of the course will be circulated internally within the Environment Agency shortly.

Branch news Scottish Branch and Wild Fishery Reform The Scottish Wild Fishery Reform process is ongoing. Scottish Government announced in their 2017 Programme for Government: ‘We will introduce a Bill during this parliamentary session to underpin new management structures and establish the foundations for a more secure and sustainable future for wild fisheries.’

Fishery management organisations in Scotland have restructured to engage more effectively with the reform process. At the November AGMs of the Association of Salmon Fishery Boards (ASFB) and Rivers and Fishery Trusts Scotland (RAFTS), 44

it was agreed to merge the two organisations into one body called Fishery Management Scotland (FMS). Fishery Management Scotland will represent regional management organisations during the transition process.

Scottish Branch IFM members are actively involved in the reform process, sitting on a range of committees and technical working groups, which have been set up with Scottish Government.

These include the Stakeholder Reference Group, with an oversight of the process, and technical working groups to advise on: regulatory enforcement; training and continual professional development; change management and transitional matters; a fishery management planning template; and promotion and development of fisheries.

Scottish Branch and recent changes There have been several recent changes to the Scottish Branch, all of which can be seen on the branch page of the website.

Lorraine Hawkins has kindly agreed to take on secretarial duties and Edward Rush has taken on the responsibility for running the bailiff training in Scotland. Edward has set up a new email address for this, which is: scottishbailifftraining@gmail.com All are very welcome to attend the IFM Scottish Branch AGM on 7 March 2017, 18.45pm at the Abbotsford Hotel, Dumbarton. Full details are on the branch page of the website.

Scottish Branch Chairman’s Report 2016 This has been another exceptionally busy year for the Scottish Branch of IFM. In 2016 the Scottish Branch ran two bailiff training examinations in March and December, at various venues throughout Scotland. A total of 30 candidates sat the examination. The highest mark was recorded

by Emily Iles (Tweed) who will receive the Roger Barnes memorial trophy for this achievement.

The 2016 Bailiff’s Conference was held on 4/5 March and was hosted by the Nith District Salmon Fisheries Board in Dumfries. The conference had 60 attendees and included some riverbank scenarios, Wild Fishery Review update and a session at Dumfries Police HQ on wildlife crime and police / bailiff collaboration.

IFM News

The IFM helped support a training workshop on the Tweed on enforcement issues relating to net fishing.

This looked at practical and operational aspects of netting practice and associated enforcement issues, such as coastal interceptor nets, trammel nets, gill netting and the operation of legal netting methods. An IFM fish tagging and telemetry conference was held in Edinburgh in June 2016 as well as scale reading and mapping workshops.

We have been collaborating with the Scottish Fishery Coordination Centre on a number of initiatives. An online training and events calendar has been set up at http://www.sfcc.co.uk which can be used to find fishery management training courses and events throughout the year.

IFM has been actively contributing to the Scottish Wild Fishery Reform process since the start of the Andrew Thin review in 2014. Throughout this time we have promoted the importance of evidencebased and sustainable management for Scottish Fisheries. We have also promoted the importance of investing in staff development and training.

Both of these themes are strongly reflected in the development of the National Strategy.

Beauly; and fish diseases training day. We would very much like to expand this programme and would like members to suggest and volunteer to host courses around the country.

Simon McKelvey Chairman IFM Scottish Branch

Midlands Branch rises again.

On 30th January the new and rejuvenated Midlands branch met at the Canal House in Nottingham.

Over ten people attended the first meeting, which is great news and there were lots of ideas and enthusiasm - maybe all committee meetings should be held in the pub?!

They are planning to utilise social media to gain interest and publicise their activities, so keep a look out for that on our branch pages on the website.

Their next meeting is scheduled for the 28th February at 4pm at the Canal House in Nottingham, where they hope to draw up a list of events and establish a committee. So do please come along.

The recent press release from Scottish Government It’s a great opportunity to make new friends, meet likeminded people and have some quality banter! shows a reduction in the ambition of Wild Fishery Reform and closes off some sources of funding.

Irish Branch Some aspects of the reform process will be progressed and the need for continued training Last month, both Paul Coulson and Iain Turner for fishery staff and for updating of fishery met up in Belfast with some of the Irish Branch to legislation remains. discuss this year’s annual conference. Over two For 2017, IFM members will continue to contribute days they made great progress and the branch is promising to deliver another fantastic conference to the various working groups associated with Wild Fishery Reform. These include; Management with lots planned for the three days. Belfast is a truly stunning city and I wholeheartedly recommend Planning, Law enforcement, Training/ CPD, that you put the dates of 10th – 12th October in Bailiff Development, Stakeholder Reference your diaries!

Group and National Strategy groups.

The burden of IFM involvement in these and other initiatives has been carried by a few committee members. We are keen to expand the activities of Scottish Branch and in particular to develop a programme of workshops and training events.

Edward Rush has volunteered to take on the role of co-ordinating bailiff training and Lorraine Hawkins has volunteered to help with administration.

Events planned for this year include: tree planting and upland habitat restoration on Deeside; a rod and line poaching workshop in Cromarty; freshwater pearl mussel training with Ness and

Membership Report My postman is currently groaning under the weight of renewal letters but if you still have not renewed – WHY NOT? You can do this: - -

-

Online at www.ifm.org.uk By post to 24 Heslington Lane, York, YO10 4LX By calling me on 01904 643148 and I can take your card details over the phone.

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IFM News

Paul Coulson joins a refreshed Midlands Branch

l

More than 100 systems installed

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EA Approved Best Available Technology in coastal waters

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New SILAS Technology combines Sound and Light for all fish species

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Easily retrofitted to existing intakes

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Suitable for all intakes including drinking water intakes, pumping stations and power stations

Fish Deflection Systems Fish Guidance Systems Ltd 7 Swanwick Business Centre, Bridge Road, Lower Swanwick, Hampshire SO31 7GB Telephone: +44 (0) 1489 880 420 Email: fgs@fish-guide.com Web Site: www.fish-guide.com

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17/09/2015 13:59

If you want more information on IFM activities in your region, please contact the branch secretaries through the email addresses below: East Anglia: Andrew Sadler andrew.sadler@environment-agency.gov.uk

Ireland: Art Niven Art.Niven@loughs-agency.org London & South East: Steve Colclough srcifm@gmail.com Midlands/Lincolnshire: Ryan Taylor ryan.taylor@environment-agency.gov.uk North West: Paul Coulson paul.coulson@ifm.org.uk South West: Iain Turner swest@ifm.org.uk

IFM News

Branch Contacts

- By direct debit â&#x20AC;&#x201C; there is a form which can be downloaded from the website and sent to me.

We have recruited 21 new members so far in 2017.

Welcome to: Registered: Sara Pflaum, Simon Johnson, Stuart Brabbs, Dan Horsley; Associate: Struan Candlish, Tim Taylor Affiliate: David Halliday, Ben Welbourn, Joe Bergin, Dougie Bullock, Sean Weller, Craig Hutton, David Cooper, Sam Dexter, Regan Skinner, Ross Sanders, Jamie Clayton; Student: Georgina Busst, Olumide Odeyemi, Glenn Wiseman, James Smith.

If you have any membership queries please contact me at members@ifm.org.uk or to the address above. Also, if you are unable to access the members section of the website, or need a password reset, please contact me.

Ian Dolben Director of Membership.

Southern: Iain Turner

iain.turner@ifm.org.uk

Scotland: Brian Davidson brian@rafts.onmicrosoft.com

Other contacts

Wales: Emma Keenan

For help with careers in fisheries, contact Careers Officer Mike Lee,

emma.keenan@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk

Yorkshire & North East: Mike Lee

michael.lee@environment-agency.gov.uk

careers@ifm.org.uk For advertising in FISH or on our website, contact Amy Turner, advertising@ifm.org.uk

47

Breaking IFM News

Dorado catfish © Michael GouldingWCS

Breaking News Extraordinary migration of giant Amazon catfish revealed The dorado catfish travels 11,600km from the Andes to the mouth of the Amazon and back, but is threatened by dams and mining.

The dorado catfish, which can grow up to two metres long, is an important source of food for people along the world’s longest river. It was suspected of making a spectacular journey, but a careful new analysis of the distribution of larvae and juvenile and mature adults has confirmed the mammoth migration.

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However, the scientists behind the new work warn that the building of dams, mining operations, and deforestation are threatening to break the giant fish’s epic life cycle.

The work is published in http://www.nature.com/ articles/srep41784

New Rod Licence changes The Environment Agency has announced a shake-up of rod licences, following feedback from anglers all over England.

Breaking News

The changes include a free rod licence for junior anglers which is hoped to encourage more young people to give fishing a go and secure the future of the sport.

Other moves include a rolling rod licence that lasts for 365 days from the day you buy it – rather than only running up until the end of March regardless of when it was bought.

The third change is one which carp and specimen anglers have long campaigned for: the use of three rods having just one licence, rather than needing two.

There are also some small increases to standard charges – for example, a coarse fishing licence has been raised from £27 to £30. This is the first time the cost of a rod licence has increased since 2010 and all additional income generated will all go back into improving fisheries and services for anglers.

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Do you know what fish this is

Paul trying the new system at the England Fisheries Group Meeting.

The new proposed system of purchasing your rod licence, apparently, is so simple that even our Director of Operations can manage it!

After much speculation Doug Herdson, former fish curator at the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth identified it as a Black fish Centrolophus niger. Doug now co-ordinates rare fish records nationally.

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Book Review

Book Review Electricity in Fish Research and Management Theory and Practice

By W.R.C. Beaumont

Graeme Peirson, Principal Fisheries Specialist with the Environment Agency reviews William Beaumontâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new book.

Use of electricity has been a keystone methodology in fisheries research and management for almost a hundred years.

Particularly, the use of electric fishing as a fish capture tool remains almost universal amongst government agencies and independent fisheries researchers and managers the world over.

Despite this, exactly how electric fields in water affect fish physiology is still not fully understood, and successful and safe deployment of electric fishing has to take account of many variables in the environment being fished.

William Beaumont has been an active researcher in fish ecology for over 40 years but in recent decades has devoted considerable time working with other fisheries professionals to further our understanding of electric fishing and in refining best practice: this book is a synthesis of this work.

Whilst successful electric fishing in any given situation can be delivered by following strict operational instructions, there is no substitute for a thorough understanding of what you are doing and the basic principles underlying it. This book helps the reader develop such understanding, stepping carefully through the potentially confusing and contradictory 50

influences that govern successful electric fishing, emphasising at all times the inter-relatedness of different components of electrical systems and reminding us of the compromise that has to be sought between high fishing efficiency and safety, both of operator and the fish being caught. Key principles are reiterated throughout the book, and the work is well-referenced from scientific and other literature.

The chapters on barriers and fish counters are good introductions to these types of equipment but refer the reader on to more specialised works and this book is commendable on the strength of its examination of electric fishing alone.

There are some shortcomings in relation to illustrations, which are described in colour yet appear in the book only in black and white, and equally some of the photographs I found too small and not sufficiently descriptive of the subject they were intended to illustrate. There are (as with even the most rigorously edited books) some errors that in some places could be confusing, and it is unfortunate that the last sentence in the final summary chapter has been inadvertently truncated.

However, if you are a leader of a team whose bread and butter work is electric fishing for monitoring, research or management, or a student setting out on a project based on fish capture by electric fishing, this book is essential reading.

Electricity in Fish Research and Management Theory and Practice Length: 192 pages RRP: ÂŁ75.00 Published by: Wiley-Blackwell ISBN: 978-1-118-93558-3

Fish and eel pass design, fabrication and installation, including full CAD capabilities Tidal gate fish passage mitigation, including design, fabrication and installation of bespoke dampers and spring retarders Fisheries assessments and surveys, including PHABSIM studies, electro-fishing, quantitative mapping, advanced quantitative experimental design, migration and barrier studies Fisheries monitoring and R&D, including pit-tagging, DIDSON/ARIS & camera monitoring, telemetry studies, field-based experiments and product development Fisheries impact assessments of hydropower installations and appropriate mitigation measures In-house civil construction design and project management

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Members and their FISH Simon Toms with a superb 24.5lb Chew Valley pike

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