Fish 127 Autumn 2017 sp

Edition 127 / Autumn 2017

The Quarterly Magazine of Fisheries Management

The Human Dimension of Fisheries Management Of Mahseer and Men and Raising the Profile of Mahseer Saving the ‘tiger of the water’

Saving the Caspian Salmon Blue Marine Foundation’s intrepid project manager, Rory Moore braved bullets and went fishing with a poacher

Giving Anglers a United Voice Mark Lloyd, Angling Trust CEO, describes how the Angling Trust is giving anglers a powerful voice

PLUS: Of fish and people Monitoring – how are the fish doing?

Shark Trust’s campaign to stop shark finning Charles Clover’s book The End of the Line

Expert hands for Expert hands for fisheries science. fisheries science.

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Fish 127

Fish 127 Inside this edition 4

View from the Chair

8

Of Mahseer and Men

14

Raising the Profile of Mahseer

18

Saving the Caspian Salmon

24

Of Fish and People

28

Giving Anglers a United Voice

32

Monitoring – how are the fish doing?

38

The Conservation Column

40

The Paul Coulson BLOG

44

IFM News

48

Breaking News

50

Book Review

52

Members and their fish

Editorial Team: Lawrence Talks, Steve Axford Ian Dolben, Peter Spillett, Valerie Holt Paul Coulson, 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)

Design: POLAR 10 www.polar10.com Cover: Stu Walker with huge Tor putitora from north India

The theme for this edition of FISH is the human dimension of fisheries management, which gives plenty of scope to consider man’s relationship with fish and their environment.

Following the Mahseer 2017 conference in Kochi, Kerala state, southern India, our first two articles by Dr Mark Everard, Adrian Pinder and Steve Lockett, highlight the cultural significance of the ‘tiger of the water’, the challenges it faces, some of the progress being made and how new approaches are being taken to connect with a wider audience.

Blue Marine Foundation’s intrepid project manager, Rory Moore then describes how he braved bullets and went fishing with a poacher in an effort to save the Caspian salmon.

Staying with an international focus, Dr Mark Everard reflects on how fish have shaped the consciousness of humanity throughout history and, most likely, prehistory and draws on the case of the Colville Confederated Tribes and the Grand Coolee Dam on the Columbia River, Washington State in the United States of America.

Anglers have been described as the guardians of our water environment, and Mark Lloyd, Angling Trust CEO, describes the origins of the Angling Trust and how it strives to give anglers a powerful voice.

Steve Axford, Fellow of the Institute, then discusses the challenges of knowing how fish stocks are doing.

To conclude the theme for this edition, our Conservation Column highlights the Shark Trust’s campaign to stop shark finning and our book review takes a look at Charles Clover’s book The End of the Line.

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

View from the Chair

View from the Chair

and is now looking at developing new position statements on a number of areas. These will include monitoring and fish health amongst others. Miran will be working with our Specialist Sections on these topics and would welcome your views. Indeed why not get involved in one The work of the Institute continues apace, of our Specialist Sections, fresh ideas and voices with many training opportunities, conferences, are always welcome. If you feel that area of workshops, etc., now available. To assist the fisheries management is not being addressed, Institute in its work I am delighted to announce put your hand up and get involved. Our Marine that Dr Ted Potter has joined our Council. and Estuarine Section is led by Steve Colclough Ted, as most of you know, has over 40 years’ (srcifm@gmail.com), Fisheries Administration experience as a renowned fisheries scientist, and Management Section by Steve Axford working mainly on the conservation of freshwater (steveaxford@madasafish.com), Fish and fish stocks and the sustainable management of Environment Section by Jim Lyons (jim.lyons@ recreational and commercial fisheries. He will environment-agency.gov.uk) and Recreation and make a great addition to the excellent Council Resource Section by Mike Lee (michael.lee@ members we have. environment-agency.gov.uk). The Fish Culture and Health Section Chair is vacant at present. Is this A strategy to increase membership and its benefits an area you would like to become involved with, under the leadership of Paul Johnston, is being if so, please contact David (david.bunt@ifm.org. developed. A new membership committee is uk ). In this edition of FISH the interesting topic of being set up, at present comprising: Emma the human dimension in fisheries management is Keenan, Karen Delanty, David Bunt and Ian reviewed, as it was during the plenary sessions of Dolben. If you are interested in being part of this this year’s 147th American Fisheries Society important group or have any views on this issue, annual meeting. please contact Paul Johnston (pauljohnston@ This year’s American Fisheries Society meeting btinternet.com). took place in Tampa, Florida and was again As you may be aware, Miran Aprahamian has an immense undertaking with 1,072 oral been doing sterling work as Policy Director presentations, 74 symposia, 200 posters, 96 trade 4

While you could find many fine presentations on topics of interest to most fisheries people at this meeting, I think the three plenary speakers this year were outstanding. Equally excellent were the opening remarks by Mayor of Tampa, Bob Buckhorn, who in a State where climate change is a bad word, is standing up for the environment.

Have a look at the last three minutes of his address on: https://vimeo.com/230535464 and follow this link to the other speakers also.

View from the Chair

stands and 1,600 delegates from 15 countries.

During the meeting the new President of the American Fisheries Society, Steve McMullin was installed. I was privileged again to represent the Institute at this meeting and in particular to foster our ongoing relations with two of the Society’s sections: Fisheries Management and Fisheries Administration.

found this challenging and would to say: “managing fish is easy it’s the people that are difficult.” Fulton and Adelman (2003) noted that: “fisheries management is 10% biological resource management and 90% people management.”

The human dimension isn’t all hard though. I have found it’s the people you meet that make fisheries management so enjoyable and worthwhile.

People are invariably passionate and share a common interest in fish; you make many friends; work colleagues are always keen to help you out, even though it’s not part of their work; anglers often lend a hand perhaps showing you the best place to access the river; and working with volunteers over a weekend to rehabilitate a section of river gives you a real buzz and sense that you have helped make a difference.

The human dimension of fisheries management, though has become more challenging over the years. Apart from the present situation where science is under siege, there are many elements of fisheries management to be considered. We now have a far more complex mix involved in the management of our fisheries. We have fisheries consultants who work for profit-making companies, NGO groups working on local projects, stakeholders who are now, through citizen science, more involved in gathering the data and more involved in the decision-making process. Furthermore we have the Government’s fisheries professionals whose job it is to make On the second day we heard from Dr Marah sense of all the data and information to develop Hardt, a fisheries research scientist and storyteller new policies. Not an easy task. What is clear at and author of the recently released book Sex in least to me is that we need professionals properly the Sea. Marah looked at the power of storytelling trained producing data and information that is and how to leverage the power of storytelling to correct and can be relied on. We need to provide better enable scientists to increase the impact of the stakeholders and NGOs with the necessary their work in the world. training to enable them to understand the data and its implications and provide systems where all Finally, there was a passionate speech from parties have a fair input into decision making.

Dr Jack Payne, University of Florida, who stated Managers and scientists must be willing to invest that: “Science today in America is under siege. time and resources and be willing to bend and There are forces at work which threaten to move incrementally to a goal to bring stakeholders undermine the practice of using evidence as along rather than being ridged and risk losing the the basis for our decision making.” Dr Payne group and not achieving the actions required by outlined some disturbing trends where scientists the scientific data. are subject to attack not just for their science, and how we must stand up and tell the story of At this time in our history, partnership is the only science to the greater public. way forward to achieve the desired outcome.

The first Plenary speaker was the renowned and inspirational Japanese fisheries scientist Katsumi Tsukamoto, who also spoke at the Institute’s eel conference in June. Katsumi has had a 40 year career in ground-breaking fisheries research. He spoke of his inventive detective work to locate and collect the first eel eggs in the ocean, which was not possible without the work of his team.

His realisation that research is not enough if the eel is to be saved led Katsumi to spread the word to the public, which he is currently involved with alongside his research.

As a fisheries manager, trying to bring all the elements of fisheries issues together, I always

Eamon Cusack IFM Chairman 5

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Of Mahseer and Men

Of Mahseer and Men

Hindu god Vishnu’s first incarnation as ‘Matsya’ – half man/half mahseer?

Of Mahseer and Men

India’s changing landscape of rivers and fisheries Adrian Pinder, Mahseer Trust and Bournemouth University Global Environmental Solutions, highlights the work to safeguard ‘the tiger of the water.’

The mahseers represent an iconic group of cyprinid fishes found throughout the fastflowing rivers of south and southeast Asia.

Characterised by their very large scales, the name mahseer is often applied to fishes within the genera Neolissocheilus, Nazaritor and Tor. However, it is the only species within this last genus ‘Tor’ which are considered to be the ‘true’ mahseers. They are often referred to as ‘the tiger of the water’ due to their reputation as the hardest fighting freshwater fish in the world. Within India, five species of Tor are currently known to share the country’s natural resources with a human population of >1.3 billion. This makes India the second most populated country in the world, accommodating approximately 18% of the world’s population.

This number is forecast to continue to grow and to overtake China by 2022. Not surprisingly, India’s rivers, from the Himalayas in the north to the tropical rivers of the south, are under unprecedented anthropogenic pressure.

Indeed, extensive deforestation in headwaters, massive abstraction to service rapidly growing cities, and a penchant for damming rivers for power production and the creation of storage reservoirs, which lose vast amounts of water to the atmosphere through evaporation, have left some catchments with plummeting water tables, increasing contamination and poor resilience.

By exacerbating existing pressures, climate change is now presenting a direct threat to human life across large parts of India, through a combination of failed monsoons, subsequent drought and the drying of river beds. This means existing and long-running inter-state water-wars are only likely to escalate, driving further political and public tension between states. While this paints a gloomy backdrop for people and freshwater ecology in general, India’s mahseers are not necessarily doomed.

With the exception of the River Cauvery’s hump-backed mahseer, which is now known to be on the brink of extinction, populations of other species (e.g. T. putitora, T. khudree, T. tor and T. malabaricus), despite considerable local pressures, continue to persist in many rivers across the country.

Cultural significance of mahseer Mahseers have long been afforded saintly status as God’s fishes and revered amongst isolated tribal societies across India and beyond.

Paintings depicting large-scaled fish on Nal pottery from Pakistan, indicate an interest in ‘large-scaled’ fishes as early as 3,000BC and references describing sacred and masculine figures of ‘mahseer-like’ fish can also be found in Hindu religious scriptures, symbols, motifs, sculptures. The first avatar/incarnation of the 9

Of Mahseer and Men Crystal clear waters flowing from one of the River Cauvery’s tributaries in the Western Ghats (left) and the same river that has been subject to man’s influence just 20km downstream (right). This tributary historically supported the legendary hump-backed mahseer. Photos: A. Pinder, January 2017.

Hindu god Vishnu took the form of ‘Matsya’, symbolised as half-man/half-fish, with sculptures commonly found in ancient temples throughout India and a mythology with much in common with the Noah’s Ark narrative.

Exploitation Across India, beyond the boundaries of temple pools, mahseer, and fish in general, are constantly subject to illegal and non-sustainable harvest methods such as dynamiting, use of poisons and small mesh nets. Without doubt, the most effective measures to combat illegal fishing has been to provide subsistence fishers with alternative sources of income. A classic example is that of the Cauvery Fishing Camps established in the 1970s and operational until 2012 (see FISH, Autumn 2013 for background).

A young family feeding mahseer at a temple pool on the River Cauvery in south India. Photo: A. Pinder, January 2017.

This religious connection has led to the establishment of mahseer sanctuaries where huge numbers of fish congregate in pools adjacent to temples and are fed daily with puffed rice by worshippers. Some of these sanctuaries have been in existence for centuries and are safeguarded from exploitation through the social beliefs and sentiments of devotees from associated villages and temple authorities.

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A tribal fisherman gathering food for the village. This fisher in south India has been educated about the endangered status of mahseer and harvests only abundant species. Photo: A. Pinder, December 2015.

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Of Mahseer and Men

These camps accommodated paying recreational anglers from around the globe and operated a strict catch-and-release policy. As soon as local poachers realised the value of employment as gillies and associated support roles, they quickly realised that live fish were a valuable asset exceeding the one-time return of a dead fish, and vigilantly protected large sections of river from poachers. Similar examples exist in North India, particularly in Uttarakhand, with interests in the conservation benefits of catch and release fisheries now starting to propagate in other Indian states such as Madhya Pradesh and Nagaland.

Stocking for conservation Spearheaded by Tata Group in the 1970s, hatchery culture and widespread stocking of mahseer was introduced as a ‘quick fix’ conservation solution to combat dwindling stocks. Despite the good intentions behind these efforts, persisting confusion over mahseer taxonomy has resulted in the translocation of some cultured species of Tor beyond their native ranges and as consequence, some endemic species have suffered through competitive interactions. Only in the last three years, through the research and campaigning work of the Mahseer Trust, has this attitude of ‘fix it and forget it’ conservation strategy begun a transition towards researching the ecology and natural ranges of mahseer species, refocusing on determining and addressing the root causes of problems (e.g. habitat loss, blocked migration routes, pollution and over-exploitation). The culture of other food fishes, particularly carp (e.g. rohu, catla and common carp), is an essential component of food security in India. With the emergence of these fisheries, along with other invasive non-native tilapia and Clarias spp. catfish, being stocked into reservoirs nationwide, the inevitable escape and establishment of these species in Indian river systems places further competitive pressures on mahseer stocks.

Future prospects Despite the complex challenges associated with conserving these highly threatened fishes, the religious, cultural and recreational relationships evident between man and mahseer provide conservationists with some political leverage 12

to engage with a broad range of stakeholders from tribal subsistence fishers through to state governments with a responsibility for sustainable water and natural resource management. In January 2017, the Mahseer Trust formalised a working partnership with Tata Power and launched Kaveri Mission as an ambitious initiative to effect improved community-led river stewardship throughout the River Cauvery catchment. (The Kaveri is the local name for the anglicised ‘Cauvery’.) Using the critically endangered hump-backed mahseer as an icon of ecosystem health and the religious significance of the river as ‘Godess Kaveri’, the growing number of Kaveri Mission partners (including WWF, IUCN and Bombay Natural History Society) will deliver an ambitious programme of research, education and community engagement to reconnect all stakeholders with the river and, in doing so, work to arrest the extinction threat to its endemic and legendary mahseer. It is hoped that Kaveri Mission will offer an exemplar to be applied to other major rivers in India, providing linked benefits to fish, rivers and the people who depend on them. For more information visit www.mahseertrust.org

IFM support for Mahseer Trust Since 2015 the IFM has been proud to help support the excellent work of the Mahseer Trust.

Each year, all proceeds from the Annual Conference auction are donated to the Trust to help volunteers deliver research and outreach programmes which benefit people, rivers and the sustainability of fish populations across south and southeast Asia. If you are interested in finding out more about the Trust and/or supporting its work, please visit: www.mahseertrust.org.

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Raising the Profile of Mahseer

Kochi Q&A

Raising the Profile of Mahseer Dr Mark Everard, Adrian Pinder and Steve Lockett report back from the Mahseer 2017 conference and illustrate how new approaches are being taken to connect with a wider audience.

The Mahseer 2017 conference took place in the first week of April 2017 in Kochi, Kerala state, southern India. The conference was instigated

by Bournemouth University, the Mahseer Trust and Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS), bringing together a diverse international gathering of scientists, angling interests and conservationists sharing concerns about the protection of mahseer fishes across their broad Asian range.

The Mahseer 2017 conference Mahseer 2017 proceeded through a range of sessions, spanning an overview of the work of 14

the Mahseer Trust in bringing together crosssocietal and international interests in mahseer, and the status and taxonomy of mahseer species from India to Nepal, Vietnam, Malaysia, Bhutan and Thailand. The history and implications of stocking across India were reviewed, and the potentially significant role of catch-and-release angling in mahseer conservation was discussed.

The workshop then turned to the broader ecosystem service values of river ecosystems for mahseer and people, a conservation strategy for mahseer in a changing environment, and attempts to mitigate the impacts of hydropower dams. Later sessions then addressed aspects of

The conference was successful in bringing together participants from a diversity of countries: mainly India, but also from Vietnam, Malaysia, Bhutan, Thailand, the UK and Canada, with some people also active in Nepal and Laos. It also reached out beyond fisheries scientists and fishery department officers to include hydrologists, recreational anglers, conservationists, media interests and ecosystem scientists, including students, altogether creating a forum enriched by a diversity of views. This enabled creative discussion about how various scientific disciplines, government and NGO interests and activities could best combine to build a coherent mahseer conservation strategy.

Raising the Profile of Mahseer

mahseer breeding and culture and the important roles played by NGOs, with a specialist session on the use of acoustic telemetry.

Indeed, the social media campaign was a central aspect rather than a simple addendum to the Mahseer 2017 conference, attracting 20,000 viewers from 51 countries and seven continents.

This went far beyond live streaming – Adrian Pinder’s presentation on the ‘current status and conservation prospects of hump-backed mahseer of South India’s River Cauvery’ was the most immediately watched session, with 3,500 views by the end of the talk – with the addition of live interactivity with Mahseer 2017’s broad international audience.

During the month leading up to the conference, interested parties across mahseer range countries were able to submit questions for the expert panel to answer towards the close of the second day of the conference. The interactive Question Time session attracted 6,500 viewers within one hour of the session closing. Popular topics for debate included the impact of dam Innovative use of social media building on fish populations, and how to better A creative element of the Mahseer 2017 engage locals in conservation. Fish breeding conference was the inclusion of Question and and stocking has proven to be a highly-charged Answer sessions involving expert panels, with the and contentious area and, throughout both the additional innovation of providing social media presentations and Q&A, it was demonstrated that avenues for audiences connecting online to feed those both for and against wild fish introductions their considerations and questions to the panel. will need to have many more meetings before consensus can be reached, if at all possible.

Hump-backed mahseer © John Bailey

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Raising the Profile of Mahseer

promotion of the Kaveri Mission project (with Tata Power involvement) taking a strategic view of measures to rebuild the much fragmented integrity of the Kaveri catchment. Lively debates also occurred concerning the role of hatcheries and aquaculture, both working for and against mahseer conservation, and updates on the genetic profile of mahseer across India.

Outcomes In addition to the wide international physical and virtual participation and co-learning achieved by Mahseer 2017, additional significant outcomes included sharing of progress earlier in 2017 on revisions to stocking policies of Tata Power, with Fans of Indian Mahseer (FIM: a 200-strong group of scientists, state Fishery and Forestry Department officials, and a select few anglers and conservationists) also reporting major revision to its conservation manifesto regarding stocking practices to protect endemic biodiversity.

Side-meetings and other interactions

It is also anticipated that Mahseer 2017 will result in changes to the IUCN conservation status of at least two species of mahseer. In addition, WWFIndia agreed to host a conference uniting WWF staff from all mahseer range countries. Various State Forest Departments across India expressed interest in working with the Mahseer Trust to build a ‘mahseer sensitisation’ programme for trainee officers. Furthermore, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh Forest Departments expressed their intention to work with the organising team to explore the development of recreational angling tourism opportunities as part of wider stock conservation measures. A key highlight of the conference was the unanimous agreement across international stakeholders to collaborate to facilitate effective conservation action.

In addition to the conference itself, Mahseer 2017 provided a focal point for a range of side meetings. Significant amongst these was a full day’s IUCN workshop with invited experts, considering and proposing amendments to the assessment of Red List status across all mahseer species.

Mahseer 2017 introduced significant momentum to the rapidly growing recognition of the need for active promotion of mahseer conservation, adding valuable and widely supported impetus to the journey towards safeguarding this iconic group of fishes in the face of daunting development pressures across its Asian range.

There were also breakout sessions between the organising team and WWF-India to investigate ways in which mahseer can be used as a freshwater flagship conservation species, and

For more details on Mahseer 2017 visit www.mahseertrust.org

Kochi audience

The social media campaign involved regular Tweets about current speakers, and also used the new Facebook Live feature to upload a selection of presentations as they happened.

Viewers from India were most engaged, with UK and Malaysia also providing large numbers of interested followers. Of great surprise to many in the room was the interest shown through social media by those from countries outside the mahseer range. It seemed that many eyes were focused on the conference, and a hitherto unseen audience had been brought to bear.

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Saving the Caspian Salmon

Saving the Caspian Salmon

Searching for the Caspian salmon

Blue Marine Foundation’s intrepid project manager, Rory Moore braves bullets and goes fishing with a poacher in an effort to save the Caspian salmon.

In 1953, the vast and imposing Mingachevir dam was built across the Kura River in Azerbaijan to create the largest reservoir in the Caucasus mountains. The reservoir produced hydroelectricity and provided for expanding agriculture under the Soviet State regime. It was also the first nail in the coffin towards the extinction of several species of anadromous (fish born in fresh water, spends most of its life in the sea and returns to fresh water to spawn) endemic fish, which could no longer reach the 18

cold, oxygenated spawning grounds, which they rely on for their survival. The sturgeon and salmon were stopped in their tracks.

64 years later I was standing over a flapping and jumping pile of what appeared to be brown trout (Salmo trutta) at a state run fish farm in the remote mountain village of Goygol in Western Azerbaijan and talking fish with Tahir, a retired ecologist and expert on Caspian salmon, one of the largest trout in the world. Tahir was regaling stories from the years after the construction of

Saving the Caspian Salmon

Caspian salmon samples at the Ministry of Environment

The poacher’s favourite trout fishing spot

the dam, when as a young biologist he would see the fish queuing up before the great wall with nowhere to go. “There were so many fish, you could walk across the river” he said, and of course the local inhabitants helped themselves.

“Are these fish what you remember as Caspian salmon (Salmo ciscaucasicus)?” I asked. “It’s possible, said Tahir, but these fish have never been to sea, have never changed their diet and have never had a chance to grow large and silvery so it’s hard to tell – we will have to compare the genetics.” “Compare the genetics to what”, I said – no one has seen a Caspian salmon in these rivers for decades”. “Don’t worry”, said Tahir “I took samples back in the 1960s and preserved them in formaldehyde – I think they are in the attic”. Brilliant!

At this point, the proud and committed farm manager, Ilham stepped in. “Look, these are Kura trout – I bought the stock from Russia 35 years ago. I breed them and release 100,000 into the sea and rivers every year. I also have rainbow trout and I release these into the Goygol Lake.” I asked Ilham if the trout were naturally spawning in the upper river systems and he said they were, but only in the winter months and only on the border of Nagorno-Karabakh,

a landscape occupied by Armenia with a violent history, widespread military presence and by default, inaccessible to poachers. The thought of being near a semi-war zone troubled me and the question of the provenance of these brownlooking, red-spotted trout left me mystified – the Caspian salmon must be a seatrout, but had we hung on to the original genetic strains?

On this note, we decided to call it a day and head upstream for supper. The Azeris pride themselves as great hosts and quite rightly so.

We feasted on rainbow trout (farmed) and grilled lamb by a mountain stream, surrounded by mountains home to wolves, bears, wild boar and a few rare Persian leopards.

The next morning I awoke energised and took an early morning stroll around the farm to collect my thoughts. BLUE’s project in Azerbaijan was designed to save five critically endangered species of sturgeon and one species of salmon from extinction and has been going well under difficult circumstances. Poaching was rife, enforcement low and habitats had been degraded under industrial pressure. We have already persuaded the authorities to ban the import of gillnets, cleaned up river mouths of 19

Saving the Caspian Salmon Lake Goygol, Western Azerbaijan

‘ghost nets’, developed plans for alternative employment in coastal areas and persuaded the Ministry of Environment to create the first marine reserve in the Caspian Sea to provide refuge for the last remaining wild sturgeon and salmon. It was going well but how on earth could we get these fish back to their spawning grounds – it was fundamental.

speciality was leopards and bison, but she was learning fast about fish. Afa spoke to Ilham, Ilham to Emin, our trusty driver and after a few hasty calls to the Ministry, we were given permission to head up to the Nagorno-Karabakh border. Nerves were tense as we drove into the hills passing armoured trucks, military camps and a convoy of aid vehicles flying white flags.

Firstly, I had to see where the trout existed, even if they were isolated from the sea. We charged into the mountains to find Goygol Lake. The lake was untouched and stunning beyond words.

All I could think to do was grab my fly fishing rod, wade into the water and clamber onto a solid looking rock, drenched and slightly selfconscious – no one had ever fly fished in the lake, in fact, I’m not sure that anyone had ever fly fished in Azerbaijan. I saw a few fish rise next to some bulrushes but I couldn’t catch one. After a few hours on my rock, I called it a day and waded back into the forest.

We found a perfect spot, where Ilham had seen the fish lay in the summer months. It looked the perfect upstream trout/salmon river, with fast, shallow rapids and deep pools overhung by granite cliffs and riparian forest. I fished the pool with every lure I could think of but the fish were either not biting or not there. The river was perfect – untouched, fast running, deep pools but it lacked the crucial ingredient for big fish: uninterrupted flow to the Caspian sea.

The lake was beautiful, but it wasn’t the spot for any self-respecting anadromous fish; I needed a river. I spoke to Afa, my colleague – a young biologist, born in Baku, educated at Oxford and employed by our partner NGO, International Dialogue for Environmental Action (IDEA). Her 20

Suddenly the sound of bullets was all around us and smoke grenades hit the ground. This was it, I thought – I’d pushed this one too far! Two trucks hurtled down the hill towards us and there was loud shouting. We had inadvertently driven into an area used by the young Azeri soldiers for target practice and were told in no uncertain terms to leave immediately. “Emin, drive for God’s sake – these men have machine guns!”

Saving the Caspian Salmon

Afa (IDEA) and Rory thinking about genetics

The Demirapara River, Gabala.

Looking upstream into the Greater Caucasus Mountains

The fishing was certainly over, so we retreated, heads down to the safety of the trout farm.

It was time to move on. Ilham was doing an admirable job rearing his precious trout, but I wanted to head towards Mingachevir dam. I knew of a few rivers that ran down from the Caucasus Mountains and joined the great Kura River below the barrier. We left early and drove across an arid plain for hours until I glimpsed the mountains that lie between Azerbaijan, Dagestan and Georgia. We were in 40 degree heat, but the mountain peaks were still showing patches of snow. We were greeted by several men driving various Ladas. One man stood out as I explained that I was here to try and find any sign of migrating fish. He was a big with a shaven head, no neck and a gun. I whispered to Afa, “Who’s that man?” and she whispered back that he was Rashad, head of the government’s anti-poaching unit. It made sense – I jumped into his truck and we set out upstream.

It was immediately obvious from the state of the rivers that the season was just too dry and the rivers too low to even dream of finding fish, but Rashad had another idea. The head of the anti-poaching unit called, of all people, the local poacher and together we tore off the road into a dust ball in order to go and meet this poacher and so find the best spot to catch the fish. I thought that this would be an appropriate moment to broach the particularly sensitive poaching issue. Rashad warmed up and spoke freely about the problems he faced in his role.

Poachers came on land, came by boat, came over borders, came at night, some local, some foreign, some armed, some children – it was an insurmountable issue to tackle with sixty men, all part time. “Give me 500 men, 20 boats, vehicles and guns and I will solve the problem.”

We left it there.

We met the poacher (name unknown) and he guided us through acres of parched farmland to an oasis of poplar trees. It seemed improbable that trout were here, but he assured me that this was his favourite poaching spot. He also mentioned that it was the wrong time of year to catch these fish – something that I had feared before I left London. However, I could hear water and we snuck down into the valley to find a small waterfall and some lovely pools. I could see that this spot had potential, but on this day, in the middle of a heatwave, neither I nor the poacher were able to tempt a fish from the depths of the pools.

21

Saving the Caspian Salmon

Mingachevir dam, built in 1953

The Mingachevir dam as seen from space (or an aeroplane)

Fly fishing a likely looking pool on the Kurakchay river

Fish sold as Caspian salmon on the black market

Juvenile brown trout 22

Saving the Caspian Salmon

Rory setting up his fly fishing gear at Lake Goygol

overcome barriers by swimming up a series of low steps. Once they are around the dams, we need to ensure that there are suitable gravel beds for spawning and enough water in the streams to facilitate fish movement (i.e. managing withdrawal for agriculture).

3. Human: We need to allow these fish to migrate upriver by continuing to remove the gillnets and increasing protection in certain areas. Rashad’s anti-poaching unit needed support and alternative livelihoods should be developed to reduce the need for locals to take these protected fish.

As we travelled to another fish farm, my attention returned to the genetic issue. Had millions of brown trout (Salmo trutta) been released into the Caspian, were they breeding with Caspian salmon in the wild and, if so, were the descendants fertile? Only genetic comparisons could tell. To confuse the situation even more, the brown trout in the next farm looked completely different to those great fat red-spotted fish under Ilham’s supervision. These fish were silvery-green with a few dark spots – more like a sea trout but the farm manager assured me that they were fed on a similar diet to Ilham’s and that they had certainly never been to sea and back. It was time to go home – we said our goodbyes to our crew of enforcers, poachers, fish farmers and mountain guides and set out for the metropolis of Baku.

The next morning, I scrubbed off the trout scales and dust, put on a fresh shirt and went to the government’s offices to debrief the Director of IDEA and the Ministry of Environment. Diagnosis of the situation was threefold: 1. Genetic: We need to identify Salmo ciscaucasicus – we had Tahir’s picked samples and I had heard that these fish were still naturally spawning in the Terek river that flows from Georgia through Russia to the Caspian. Once we had identified the species, we could set up a special aquaculture unit to breed a genetically diverse stock.

2. Physical: We need to bring in experts from the UK and the US to get these fish around the dams. There are several ways to do this including ‘fish ladders’, which enable fish to

We all agreed, shook hands and I promised to return in the autumn. As I flew out over the Greater Caucusus mountains, I peered out of the window and caught a glimpse of the Mingachevir dam. It was hard not to marvel at this mammoth example of Soviet engineering – this dam wasn’t going anywhere, but one must never underestimate the determination of a plucky charity and an anadromous salmon to overcome large obstacles in order to reach their goals.

Blue Marine Foundation ‘BLUE’ exists to create marine reserves and establish new models of sustainable fishing.

We rely on political influence, diplomacy and our agility as a small organisation to drive conservation gains. This has yielded results beyond our expectations. BLUE’s work is now global, from massive marine reserves in the UK Overseas Territories to shellfish restoration in our local waters, conserving grouper populations in the Maldives to protecting Aeolian Islands’ waters. Our sustainable fishery in Lyme Bay, hailed as a win by both conservationists and fishermen, has established a powerful blueprint. Our small, dynamic team has helped to protect 4 million km2 of ocean. In today’s uncertain political landscape, it is up to marine charities like BLUE to show the benefits that marine conservation can bring in terms of food security, the fortunes of small-scale fishers and our shared environment.

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23

Of Fish and People

Colville Business Council with some of the hereditary ciefs and older members of the Colville Confederated Tribe

Of Fish and People Dr Mark Everard reflects on how fish have shaped the consciousness of humanity throughout history and, most likely, prehistory.

Fish are much more than food Fish have featured as key elements, often as staples, of our diet. For some cultures, they are sacred, as for example the first avatar of the god Vishnu taking half-man/half-fish form, a powerful part of the observance of the protection of fishes and other wildlife in Hindu temple pools across India. The requirements of fish have formed the basis for pollution control legislation across the world. In the USA, sunfish have been harnessed in the fight against terrorism by computerised 24

monitoring of their behaviour when placed in tanks through which water abstracted for public supply is passed.

Several of my books, particularly Fantastic Fishes: A Feast of Fishy Facts and Fables (Medlar Press, 2012) and The Little Book of Little Fishes (Medlar Press, 2008), relate many aspects of these wider cultural values and dimensions.

Beyond our food, our exploitation of fishes ranges from the making of candles and fertilisers, pearls and animal feed, to roles in weather

Seining salmon Columbia River

forecasting, and for weapons and household needs. The economic might of the aquarist and aquaculture trades is significant, as too is that of angling and ecotourism markets.

The case of the Colville Confederated Tribes and the Grand Coolee Dam Articulating these diverse, often elusive yet frequently culturally relative and significant values in economic terms is often difficult. However, the case of the Colville Confederated Tribes is instructive about the scale and diversity of values, and the importance of not overlooking them.

The history of the Grand Coolee Dam in many ways exemplifies the hubris of the early wave of large dam construction. There had been vigorous debate during the 1920s concerning initial proposals to build a dam on the Columbia River in the US state of Washington. One faction favoured an irrigation scheme with a gravity canal for relatively local irrigation, while the other promoted a high dam and pumping scheme generating significant hydropower as well as serving as a piped source for the substantial body of stored water. Initial construction started in 1933 of a ‘low dam’ 88 metres (290 feet) high to generate electricity without an associated

Of Fish and People

Palouse Colville family

irrigation scheme. However, after visiting the construction site in 1934, then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt endorsed an increase to the scheme to create a ‘high dam’ with a 168 metre (550 feet) crest height, generating electricity including sufficient to pump water into the Columbia basin for irrigation. This proposal was approved by the US Congress in 1935, with dam completion and commissioning in 1942. The dam was extended in 1974 to increase energy production.

As with many large dam schemes, the names of the powerful were indelibly printed on the scheme: the Grand Coolee Dam holds back a reservoir named the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Lake. The dam scheme undeniably fuelled growing industries in the American Northwest.

However, as was and remains almost ubiquitously the case with large dam schemes from the US to India, Africa and China, the ‘collateral damage’ of dam construction, filling and operation for neglected communities and ecosystems was almost entirely overlooked.

Filling of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Lake forced the relocation of over 3,000 people, including significant numbers of Native Americans whose ancestral lands were substantially flooded.

Neither did the Grand Coolee Dam include fishladders, also lacking on the Chief Joseph Dam built downstream between 1949 and 1955 and subsequently extended. The net result was that none of the salmon formerly common in the river system were able to pass up river. Essentially, salmon stocks were extirpated above these dams.

Not only were the homelands of the native Americans and Canadian First Nations in the Columbia River basin inadequately considered, but so too was the significance of salmon for their livelihoods and traditions. Production of salmon and other fish had been the centrepiece of the area’s indigenous economy and culture.

Consequently, the Colville Confederated Tribes filed a suit against the United States in 1951.

Initially, this was not dealt with seriously. It was only with the rise and successes of the American civil rights movement that resolution was achieved.

Finally, in 1978, 27 years after the claim had been filed, the Indian Claims Commission ruled 25

Of Fish and People

Mark Everard with book Dams and Development

Grand Coulee Dam

that the Colville Confederated Tribes were entitled to full compensation for all income losses associated with the Grand Coolee Dam. As part of the settlement, the US government provided US$66 million as historic compensation, also including annual payments of US$15 million to offset ongoing reduced income opportunities.

In 2017 terms, these values are the equivalent of $US247million and $US56 million. Although monetary terms can never compensate for lost cultural value – the two underpinning value systems are inherently incommensurable – the quantum of damages is illustrative of the magnitude of value of native fish stocks as a centrepiece of indigenous livelihood and traditions.

The Native Americans and Canadian First Nations in the Columbia River basin are far from the only communities suffering serious adverse consequences from narrow utilitarian development of rivers for energy and water supplies, generally benefitting advantaged sectors of society and marginalising those lacking financial and political leverage. For a more exhaustive account, just look at the 2000 Dams and Development: A New Framework for 26

Decision-Making report of the World Commission on Dams or my book The Hydropolitics of Dams: engineering or Ecosystems? (Zed Books, 2013).

But legal resolution of the Colville Confederated Tribes’ claim represents a rare instance of recognition of the magnitude and diversity of values that fish stocks impart to indigenous peoples.

A reflection of values Consideration of these broader cultural values should, but lamentably does not consistently, feature in all water management interventions in both the developed and developing worlds, including their impacts on fish populations.

This isolated case should perhaps be a spur to decision-makers, reminding them of the quantum of potential liabilities when these factors are overlooked.

As a generality, we would all do well to reflect on the values we take for granted – or perhaps have allowed to slip through our fingers due to easy access to fishes through international food, aquarist and aquaculture trade, angling tourism and introductions – allowing the decline of our uncounted heritage of native fish stocks.

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Giving Anglers a United Voice

Giving Anglers a United Voice

Fitting new platforms at Eagle Pond, Lambeth, as part of a project made possible with a grant from the Angling Improvement Fund

Giving Anglers a United Voice

Mark Lloyd, Angling Trust CEO, describes the origins of the Angling Trust and how it strives to give anglers a powerful voice.

Angling is an ancient sport (pursuit/hobby/ religion – delete as appropriate) and throughout this long history it has endured waxing and waning threats from excessive regulation and the degradation of the fisheries on which it relies. To fight these threats, the vast and highly diverse angling community has from time to time set up organisations to represent the interests of its various sectors.

Multiple organisations The 20th century saw the formation of the Anglers’ Co-operative (later Conservation) Association, Salmon & Trout Association, National Federation of Anglers, National Federation of Sea Anglers, National Association of Fisheries and Angling Consultatives, Angling Trades Association, the Specialist Anglers’ Alliance and the Angling Development Board.

For fans of Monty Python, this was like trying to deal with the Judean People’s Front and the People’s Front of Judea for politicians and anglers alike! Each organisation was small and mainly volunteer-led, without the necessary resources to represent its respective sector’s interests. Government could divide and rule.

The Angling Trust’s Family Fishing initiative, in partnership with Get Hooked on Fishing

Formation of the Angling Trust and Fish Legal

operations and merged to form the Angling Trust – an organisation to represent all coarse, game and sea anglers in England (and now Wales).

This wasn’t a simple business, given the long history of the organisations and the different cultures and priorities of each of them.

There were attempts to bring these organisations together in the 1960s and 1970s with the National Angling Council and National Angling Alliance, but it wasn’t long before politics between the member organisations caused their demise. The formation of the Moran Committee in the late 20th Century led to the formation of another umbrella body – the Fisheries and Angling Conservation Trust, but its constituent organisations continued to operate separately, competing for members and limelight. Then in January 2009, with the exception of the S&TA and ATA, all the angling bodies wound up their

The Anglers’ Conservation Association, operating throughout the UK, changed its name to Fish Legal and for legal reasons remained a separate entity, but was joined in a close collaborative relationship with the Angling Trust, offering joint membership packages for anglers, angling clubs, fisheries, trade organisations, charter boats, coaches and consultatives. Over the past 8 years, we have jointly and separately recruited more than 1,700 angling clubs (with a combined membership of about 350,000 anglers) and a rather disappointing 12,000 individual anglers.

Membership subscriptions, fundraising, 29

Giving Anglers a United Voice

Working together an Environment Agency fisheries enforcement officer patrolling with West Mercia Police officers and a Volunteer Bailiff

Protecting angling and fisheries

Angling Trust’s Family Fishing initiative, in partnership with Get Hooked on Fishing

competitions and coaching now generate over £1m of revenue a year for the Angling Trust with the rest of its turnover being derived from a contract worth approximately £1m a year from the Environment Agency (with rod licence funds) and £400,000 from Sport England to deliver a wide range of projects to increase angling participation and support clubs and fisheries.

It has also created a single voice for all anglers that is now the single point of contact for the Environment Agency, Natural England, Sport England, government departments, and the European Commission (Angling Trust is a member of the European Anglers’ Alliance).

Protecting angling and the fisheries on which it depends involves a vast array of issues from abstraction reform to zander and, although the Trust now has much more capacity to make professional representations and campaign on many of these issues, it does need more resources and supporters to enable it to have the same degree of influence as the RSPB or NFU.

The whole greater than the sum of its parts By merging together all the functions of the predecessor organisations, the whole has undoubtedly become greater than the sum of the parts. The new, united body has successfully launched several new programmes and competitions to deliver its National Angling Strategy to get more people fishing more often. It has set up a Voluntary Bailiff Service (with nearly 500 volunteers), organised regional forums throughout the country, given advice to hundreds of clubs and fisheries about predation management and distributed nearly £1m of rod licence funds to angling organisations through the Angling Improvement Fund.

30

Cormorant Campaign launch

Campaigns The new professional approach has been successful in winning a number of campaigns to change policy and practice: cormorant control, bass netting, hydropower policy, salmon netting, a 3 rod licence for specimen anglers and stopping plans for a Severn barrage amongst the

Giving Anglers a United Voice

highlights. There are signs that the government may at last be moving in the right direction on agricultural pollution and abstraction reform.

The Trust also sits on numerous committees and groups on which anglers were previously not represented. This can mean hours of work for staff and volunteers, and few earth-shaking successes, but countless times we have been able to speak up for angling and fisheries, to ensure they are not forgotten when decisions are made.

Legal cases Fish Legal has more than trebled its legal staff capacity since the merger, and has won numerous compensation cases on behalf of its member clubs and fisheries (and deals with hundreds of advice matters every year). It has also fought some major battles in the High Court, such as winning a six year legal battle to make water companies – and all other privatised utilities – subject to the Environmental Information Regulations. It has had success with two judicial reviews of the Government (in partnership with the Angling Trust and WWF) and fought to bring a landmark legal injunction to stop a hydropower development on the River Trent. More recently, it fought and lost a judicial review (and an appeal) to try to and protect the beautiful Llyn Padarn and its declining population of Arctic char from ongoing sewage pollution. Although the legal cases were lost, costing us over £300,000, Welsh Water has now invested £6.5 million in new sewage treatment facilities as a direct result of our case.

John Swift, Jim Paice MP, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP and Mark Lloyd - lobbying at the Conservative Party Conference

The need for a single, united voice is greater than ever The impending exit from the European Union presents great challenges because of the threat to the implementation and enforcement of the Water Framework, Urban Wastewater Treatment and Habitats Directives (particularly with the new rules making it harder to take judicial reviews), and because Government and its agencies are unable to introduce new legislation due to the inherent uncertainty and a lack of space in the legislative timetable. However, there are also great opportunities through the forthcoming Agriculture and Fisheries bills to safeguard fisheries far better. The need for a single, united voice is greater than ever.

A powerful force to protect fish and fishing now and in the future The Angling Trust’s strategic programmes, professional representation and campaigns coupled with legal action at a local and national level by Fish Legal’s expert lawyers creates a powerful force to protect fish and fishing now and in the future. Our greatest challenge now is to convince more anglers to support our work by signing up for membership. www.anglingtrust.net/join 31

Monitoring – how are the fish doing?

Dominic Longley leads Environment Agency fish survey team on the Western Rother

Monitoring – how are the fish doing?

Steve Axford, Fellow of the Institute, discusses the challenges of knowing how fish stocks are doing.

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Questions

Detecting change

Whenever we are asked to monitor a situation in simple terms, we need to respond with more questions: What and why do you want to know? What do you want to measure? What sort and scale of change do you want to detect and at what spatial and temporal scales? What sort of answer do you want by when? How much confidence do you need that the change detected is significantly different from natural variation at spatial and temporal scales or has been introduced by sampling errors?

Monitoring is all about detection of patterns in the data collected that might be relatable to management measures. It has to be carried out at intensities and scales that are adequate to allow the patterns to be distinguished from the noise in the data. Fisheries data from site surveys are notoriously noisy, so we need to ensure that survey design enables us to discover a pattern with the confidence required.

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Monitoring – how are the fish doing?

Bullhead caught on the Western Rother

Survey design requires some prior information about the temporal and spatial changes expected and accuracy and precision of survey methods to be employed. Some information may already exist, some may be readily gathered, while other information needed may be impossible to gather in the timescale set for the data gathering, analysis and reporting or the budget and manpower needed.

If we are trying to detect change, a baseline needs to be set against which change can be detected. If the survey design is not based upon such information then detection of the pattern of interest may be impossible or lead to the usual outcome declared by scientists that more data are needed.

Life is all about change and we need to adapt monitoring to make it appropriate to the changes we wish to monitor. For example, we know from 34

previous monitoring that some cicadas have a 17-year life cycle. If we can readily monitor their populations only by detecting singing adults, then we could waste a lot of effort with an annual monitoring programme. Similarly, pink salmon in Washington State rivers have an odd year life cycle, so why put in effort in even years?

Making such data available is essential for effective survey design. Yet fisheries data are often hidden away without analysis, or analysed and reported without indication of confidence in the reported patterns and conclusions drawn.

Large variable environments, mobile fish populations and our limited and changing abilities to detect the presence of fish, mean that the scales and effort required to collect adequate data by field survey teams often become impracticable with the budgets, manpower and time available.

Monitoring – how are the fish doing?

likely difference is undetectable against the confidence limits of these sources of variance, The importance of setting a baseline is often then you should not waste your time as the neglected when we ‘know’ that our project will results will be affected by both type 1 and type 2 make a difference. Monitoring costs time and errors. Even with a baseline of a suitable period, money, so could we use those costs to even probably of years, before the project starts better effect to benefit fisheries? Perhaps, but we and a true control site, it may well still be not need to persuade our funders that our knowledge worthwhile. For example, a test of design for an is based on sound science and that the outcome experiment to investigate effects on fish stocks can be compared with control baselines. Setting of removal of the coarse fish closed season in a a baseline is the crux of the matter for most river, showed that these would almost certainly monitoring. If we start with the hypothesis that be undetectable by monitoring, for the reasons the baseline is constant – a null hypothesis – noted above. then we can see if we can detect changes. In order to set a baseline, we need to be able to Big variations allow for natural temporal or spatial variance and variance introduced by sampling and express Are natural temporal or spatial sampling variations our confidence in this allowance. Then, if we a significant issue? For some fish species, the do detect change from this baseline, we may be variability in recruitment of year classes can be able to relate this to our project objectives. In enormous. A study of dace in the Suffolk Stour drawing conclusions from an analysis we need to indicated that numbers of young-of-the-year at check for type 1 errors, which are the detection the end of each year varied greatly (up to about of effects that are not present, and type 2 errors, 80 fold). Detecting effects on recruitment of which are failures to detect effects that are changes would need to be determined against present. In fisheries, we are often guilty of type 1 such variation. Species such as dace or errors, because we think we already know what common bream may roam as shoals over wide should be happening. areas, therefore temporal and spatial variation along with sampling variance in the numbers of these species caught in surveys are likely to be Getting the right scale very great and disguise effects of real changes Monitoring of habitat improvement achievements occurring. against objectives is a common requirement In planning of monitoring programmes we usually of project funding. However, the scale of such make some attempt at controlling the effects monitoring needs to be linked to the natural of temporal and spatial variations by sample temporal and spatial variation against which the improvement is to be judged and the variation due to sampling that will be introduced. If the Using angling catches to monitor fish populations

Importance of setting a baseline

after baffle installation and weir removal

35

Monitoring – how are the fish doing?

Damon Block measures fish on the Western Rother

36

the state of stocks and the environment in large water bodies and the sea.

Using the right method

Real science and fake news

The Water Framework Directive Fish Classification System 2 (FCS2) monitoring system can provide examples of where attempts at control of methods have caused problems. By specifying the use of electric fishing or seine netting to determine the prevalence and density of 23 species of fish in relation to environmental variables, it runs the risk of not detecting some of these species which are not readily vulnerable to the chosen method. Large, turbulent rivers with stony beds are unsuited to seine netting or even electric fishing except in riffle areas. On the Tyne, the apparent absence of dace caused a reach to be classified as of less than ‘good’ quality, whereas anglers’ catches showed that this species was present in good numbers. Citizen science along with expert review eventually prevented misclassification based on survey results by the official method, which could have diverted funds to fixing a non-existent problem.

In rivers we tend to base our monitoring on population abundance sampling to a greater extent than is done in other environments.

Perhaps this is accounted for by the excitement of fishing rather than the science need. Indeed, I found an example of survey data collected at great expense, which languished for so long without analysis that the dataset was burnt in order to tidy up the office.

The real science comes in the planning, quality control of data, data organisation, analysis and interpretation. Large, variable environments, mobile fish populations and sampling inadequacies mean that monitoring can easily generate unsound science or fake news.

So let’s see more fishing left to fishermen and more fisheries science being done by fisheries scientists in conjunction with fishermen.

The Water Framework Directive fish measure does not solely deal with species present and their abundance, but also signs of anthropogenic disturbance shown by the age structures of the fish communities and indications of a failure in the reproduction or development of a particular species. Coupled with growth rates, such data on size and age structures can give a good indication of the state of stocks and, along with catch records, are commonly used to indicate

Rather than solely using dedicated field survey teams, there are advantages to using catches of fishermen who operate over wide scales and can be organised to contribute via carefully designed surveys along with data quality control, which can be attained remotely using pictures and mobile phone apps.

Monitoring – how are the fish doing?

surveys at the same time of year and at the same location. Sampling errors are reduced by using similar equipment with a trained team and data quality controls in place. However, we make many assumptions about controlling sources of variations that may not apply in the instance of any particular time, location, team or equipment.

The effectiveness of such controls is rarely tested and consistency may result in consistent inaccuracy if applied inappropriately.

Shark finning by Andrea Marshall

The Conservation Column

STOP SHARK FINNING CAMPAIGN

Ali Hood, Director of Conservation, describes one of its key campaigns to stop shark finning.

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The Conservation Column

The Shark Trust is dedicated to securing a future where sharks thrive within a globally healthy marine ecosystem. To achieve this it strives to safeguard the future of sharks through positive change through science, education, influence and action.

catch several times as many sharks than they do tuna. Until relatively recently, this shark ‘bycatch’ was considered a nuisance, and sharks were cut loose and allowed to swim away. However, as shark fins have become increasingly valuable, fewer sharks are being released. Bycatch is often not officially landed at ports; therefore data on the Shark finning is the process of cutting off the fins extent of the trade are limited. Where figures exist, of a shark and discarding the body, often still alive, they suggest that Hong Kong is the world’s shark at sea. This wasteful and often cruel practice fin trading centre, accounting for an estimated is currently the greatest threat facing sharks, 50%-80% of all fins traded worldwide. The EU contradicting all principles of sustainable shark has supplied approximately one third of all fins fisheries management and conservation. imported into Hong Kong.

Tens of millions of sharks are caught each year The Shark Trust has successfully campaigned on for their fins - an upper estimate proposes that shark finning issues for over a decade and was the fins of as many as 73 million sharks are heavily involved in the adoption of the EU shark traded annually. finning ban in 2003. We were responsible for the Shark finning is illegal in many parts of the world including Europe but in most countries it is still legal to buy and sell shark fins. Furthermore, weak legislation and ineffective enforcement often undermines shark finning regulations.

While fins are very valuable, shark meat has limited commercial value, which encourages the exploitation of regulatory loopholes. Shark finning is rife with three to four times more fins being traded than can be accounted for in global fisheries statistics. The major source of demand for shark fins is the market for shark fin soup.

Most sharks grow slowly, mature late and give birth to a few large pups after a long gestation period. Consequently, shark populations decline rapidly when targeted by fisheries and recover slowly, if at all. Shark populations may continue to decline and some species may become regionally extinct. There are now 135 species of chondrichthyan (shark, skate, ray and chimaera) fish listed in a threat category on the IUCN’s Red List, with a further 106 species listed as Near Threatened.

UK Government’s enforcement of a ban on the removal of fins on all UK vessels in 2009, and, as a founder member of the Shark Alliance campaign, heavily involved in the review of the EU finning regulation that finally led to the adoption of a fins naturally attached policy on all EU vessels in 2013.

We continue to work with governments, industry and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) to tighten shark finning regulations and ensure compliance, whilst promoting the unsustainable nature of the fin trade: tackling both supply and demand.

Join the campaign and stop the unsustainable trade in shark fins.

Shark finning occurs worldwide and is most common in high seas fisheries, hundreds of miles out to sea. Oceanic fishing fleets target valuable fish such as tuna, using thousands of baited hooks on miles of long-line, and freezing their catch on-board. Unfortunately, long-liners often

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The Paul Coulson BLOG

The Paul Coulson

BLOG After the manic few months we had with the Renewable Energy and Fisheries Conference and the Eel Science Symposium, it was nice to have a semi clear diary for a few weeks; not that we weren’t busy of course, we just didn’t have any major international events to plan.

So what have we been up to?

Well there is the small matter of the 48th IFM Annual Conference. As I write this we are still a couple of weeks away so I can’t say how well it went, but the programme and events look superb and the Irish Branch have done a wonderful job 40

in the planning. If the main programme isn’t enough to attract people we also have a dinner in the luxurious surroundings of the Belfast Harbour Master’s office, two field trips to Strangford Lough and the Lough Neagh Fisheries Co-Op as well as an Irish social in a local Belfast pub. I can’t wait to get there.

We have also been working on a series of new workshops on behalf of the Environment Agency.

The workshops will be stillwater focused and will cover a range of subjects from disease to predation and everything in between. The aim is to give the invited angling clubs and fisheries the

Whilst on the subject of training and the Environment Agency, we have recently enrolled our second cohort of Environment Agency staff on to our Award in Applied Fisheries Management. We now have over 30 staff doing either the full course or individual units. We have also recently added an additional unit on fish health and welfare; we don’t want the students to be relaxing too much!

On the road Mike Lee and I took the IFM Training wagon (also known as my car) on the road for a few days in August. We delivered two electric fishing training courses on different sides of the country. The first of these was for The Salford Friendly Anglers over in Cheshire and was followed by a course for the North York Moors National Park in Danby near Whitby. The practical site we used over in Cheshire was very interesting. We surveyed a section of the Mobberly Brook which the club ran as a trout fishery, and until recently had stocked with brown trout. The land around the brook was owned by a local farm and had no stock fencing to prevent the cattle from wandering down to the river wherever they fancied. As a result the banks were falling away and it was heavily trampled in quite a few areas. The fact it was also a very sandy soil didn’t help matters!

You could see before you even stepped foot in the brook that the bed was covered with a lot of sediment. After surveying the whole stretch, which was around 6-700 metres, we caught exactly zero trout and not a lot of anything else except for a couple of good eels and a few minnows.

The angling club was quite surprised that we didn’t catch any trout but it just went to prove to them that without the additional stocking the habitat just wasn’t right for them as it was. They had already done some work on improving the water and have a plan to improve the catchment as a whole. They also hope to get some funding to allow them to fence out the cattle.

The Paul Coulson BLOG

knowledge to allow them to manage their fisheries more sustainably. We will be moving around the country and will hold a workshop in each region over the next 12 months.

training themselves up to allow them to assess the success of the work they are undertaking on the Yorkshire Esk catchment.

This is the river that runs through Whitby and has a good run of mostly sea trout and the occasional salmon.

We delivered the training in the National Park visitors’ centre in Danby, which is on the banks of the Esk. It has a little feeder stream running through the car park, which is home to a couple of friendly eels. Apparently their favourite tasty morsels are pork pie, which are fed to them by the coach drivers who drop the school groups off. It was nice to see them happily tucking in to their bits of pie whilst eating our own lunch.

Totally Thames One of the highlights of the last couple of months was the weekend that Iain and I spent on the Thames with Steve Colclough. We attended a couple of events over the two days, starting with the Totally Thames event on the Saturday.

This was held at Bankside outside of the Globe Theatre. We donned our dry suits and pulled a seine net which helped us to collect a nice range of fish species for passers by to look at. We were alongside Thames 21 and the Thames Estuary Partnership and drew in quite a crowd through the day. The response from most people was firstly amazement that we had managed to catch anything at all and then surprise when we showed them sea bass mixed in with roach and bream.

It was the local Londoners who were most surprised, particularly the older folk who well remember when the Thames was a heavily polluted dump back in their childhood. I lost count of the number of times we had to tell people that ‘YES’ we did just catch them from the river, and ‘YES’ it was just down there behind us. As always with these events the children were fascinated and this helped to bring in their parents. It’s really important that we get the children engaged, that way they will learn to respect and love the river and hopefully protect it in the future.

On the Sunday we moved our tent further up the river to Kew where we attended the Thames Tidefest event. This was a joint event tied in with Following this we travelled up to the glorious North the Tidefest fishing match sponsored by Thames York Moors to train staff and volunteers from the Water. Again we covered ourselves in rubber North York Moors National Park. The team were and dived in (well delicately flopped at least) and 41

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The Paul Coulson BLOG

I have managed a couple of short sessions since then but haven’t managed to catch anything of note. The nights however are starting to draw in, and the weather has started to cool down, which means it will soon be time to dust off the size 24 hooks and tighten my number three elastic in readiness for the winter leagues and the canals.

I really enjoy my fishing at this time of year and hopefully I will be able to get out there and make the most of it.

Tight lines.

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

caught a nice range of fish for the locals to look at. Although the weather was not as kind, we still drew in a good number of people and hopefully got a few more children interested in the river and its fishy inhabitants.

If the highlight was a pleasant weekend splashing around in the Thames, the low light was the afternoon I spent walking around London with a nasty limp. This wasn’t because I had injured myself in some heroic deed but because I managed to tear the heel clean off my shoe crossing the road. I then spent the rest of the afternoon and train journey home trying not to show how wonky I was, whilst paying particular attention for any foreign objects on the pavement that may cause me an injury or worse seep through my shoe and soak my socks.

Family Time After a manic few months it was nice to have a couple of weeks away with the family as we ventured down to Brittany and the Isle of Wight for our holidays. I did manage to pack the travel rod and a small box of bits in the hope of sneaking the odd hour on the bank. However the opportunity never materialised as the two days I had time to

The Paul Coulson BLOG

go corresponded with the worst weather of the fortnight! The draw of nice cheese, beer and chocolate was stronger than the lake and driving rain, so I left the rod in the car.

IFM News

IFM News

Dates for your diary

Event

Date

Location

48th IFM Annual Conference “The Big Fish”

10th to 12th October

Belfast, Ireland

Diploma Field Course Weekend

21st to 22nd October

FSC Centre, Preston Montford

World Fish Migration Day

21st April 2018

More information: WFMD Flyer and the Getting started with WFMD

Thought for the day – the decline in fisheries management courses Iain Turner, IFM Development Officer, reflects on the decline in fisheries management courses.

During the 2015 Annual Conference in Plymouth, I listened to my colleague Paul Coulson give an excellent presentation about how children are losing connection with the environment and that this is likely to be a key reason for fewer students studying fisheries management.

Further to this, we are experiencing a decline in the teenage population, which is not due to bottom out for another couple of years; and schools, colleges and even universities are feeling the financial screw and are scaling back on what they offer.

Congratulations to Scott and Libby who have tied the knot In Libby’s own words: “We had an ‘Orchard and Estuary’ wedding - we got married in an orchard in our village in Devon with 19 members of our close family and friends (and of course our spaniel, Elver) on the 2nd September, which was a beautiful sunny autumn day. After the ceremony we took a minibus to Exmouth where we met our water taxis, which took us out to the River Exe Café for lunch. The café floats on a barge in the middle of the Exe estuary - halfway between Scott’s world on the river, and mine on the sea. In the evening we returned back to our local pub for a few pints of cider to finish off the day. It was a lot of fun!”

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In 2015 eight colleges in the England and Wales offered further education courses in fisheries management, now this number has sadly recently dropped to just five.

With colleges currently struggling to recruit students, some have chosen to cease offering fisheries management courses altogether.

Alternatively, some colleges are now offering fisheries modules as part of a wider and general environmental or wildlife course, though this is obviously less attractive to those who want to embark on a career in fisheries.

This alarming news means that there will be fewer trained people available each year to fill positions within the industry, but it also may signal that further courses will be pulled in the future.

IFM News

Personally, I don’t believe that the decline of new students studying fisheries management in the UK is solely down to the drop in the demography, rather I feel it is also about a lack of information being given to careers advisors, teachers and parents on what studying fisheries management can involve and lead to.

With my old teaching hat on, it never ceased to surprise me when meeting prospective students and their parents, how little they knew of fisheries management and the careers that were available in the sector. Obviously the internet has changed things over the past couple of decades, but there is still a huge void in the information available to students making career choices at school and I believe it is this that we must strive to address if we are to see a renewed interest by young people wanting to enter our profession.

Inspecting the catch

Flying the IFM flag on the River Thames

Training Report.

IFM Training continues to be increasingly busy and in demand. This year has been one of our busiest to date with record numbers of people attending one of our short courses or enrolling on a distance-learning course.

The latest intake for the IFM Certificate saw 24 new students joining the course and we now have over 50 active students. We are pleased to say that 10 more students passed the course after the June exams

Iain Turner, Paul Coulson and Steve Colclough on the banks of the River Thames

The next set of exams will be in early January and Pete will be in touch with full details shortly.

We will also be holding another field course weekend for the Certificate course on March 17th The IFM were present at the hugely successful and 18th. This will be held at our usual training Totally Thames and Thames Tidefest events held venue of the Rempstone Village Hall. Full details over the weekend of the 9th and 10th September are on the website. again this year. Steve Colclough, chair of the Marine and Transitional Waters Specialist Thanks as always to Pete Turner for his Section, was joined by Paul and Iain to man continuing hard work as the Course Manager. the stand over both days where they answered questions from hundreds of people about fish in The IFM Diploma has recently accepted new students and we now have 13 students enrolled. the River Thames. They provided seine netting The first event for the students is the annual field demonstrations on the foreshore and displayed course on October 28th-29th at the FSC Centre fish caught in tanks on the stand for all to see. in Preston Montford.

These proved most popular and were a great talking point for both tourists and locals alike.

Andy Hindes continues his sterling work as Course Manager.

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IFM News

If anyone is interested in either of our distancelearning courses please get in touch with Iain Turner in the first instance.

We have also continued to develop and deliver the IFM Award in Applied Fisheries Management on behalf of the Environment Agency. We now have the second cohort of students enrolled and they are underway with their first unit on water quality as well as undertaking research for their projects.

Students of the year After the June exams we are able to decide on the students of the year for 2017 for both the Certificate and Diploma courses. The quality of the work and the results get better every year, which makes choosing the best students a difficult task.

The IFM Certificate Course Student of the Year for 2017 is Allison Stoklosa. Alison deserves a special mention as she works for the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia in the USA. She is interested in possibly working in the UK and took the course to improve her knowledge of the UK fishery industry.

The IFM Diploma Student of the Year for 2017 is Harriet Alvis. Harriet gained consistently high marks across the two years of the Diploma, as well as submitting an excellent project and is a worthy winner of this year’s award.

Midlands branch The branch continues to meet and discuss future plans and events, not least the important task of hosting the Institute’s 50th annual conference, for which planning has already started!

If you would like to get involved or find out more in this region get in touch with James Smith at: J.Smith7@lboro.ac.uk

Welsh branch Welsh branch plan to hold their AGM towards the end of the year, venue to be arranged, please see the branch page on the website for more information.

London and South East branch London and South East branch have their annual sherry evening on 2nd October at Fishmongers’ Hall in London, an event not to be missed.

The next event after that is the annual presentations of the research carried out by University of London postgraduate students, which is always a fascinating and informative evening.

They are also holding their AGM on the 6th December along with a talk on sturgeon in the UK by Steve Colclough; all are welcome. More information on these events can be found on the branch page of the website here: http://ifm.org. uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/A-2017-IFMLondon-Programme-Draft-29Jan17.pdf

If you have any training questions or requirements South West branch we would love to hear from you just email: training@ifm.org.uk South West branch are planning to hold their AGM alongside a presentation on the history of Paul Coulson the elver fishery on the River Parrett in Somerset IFM Training in Moorland village hall, date to be arranged, but likely to be sometime in November/December.

Again, please see the branch page of the website Branch news for more information.

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Irish branch

Scottish branch

The Irish branch have been working hard to host the 48th Annual IFM Conference this October in Belfast. Meticulous planning has been going on behind the scenes to ensure that this year’s conference is another fantastic success. With three packed days of fascinating talks planned and two exciting field trips, this year’s conference promises to be a cracker.

Scottish Branch is working closely with Fishery Management Scotland to develop bailiff training in Scotland. A new committee has been set up within Fishery Management Scotland to support the fishery law enforcement work carried out by the District Salmon Fishery Boards. Several members of this committee are also Scottish Branch members.

A practical scenario-based course was held this year with the help of Police Scotland. Bailiffs were given a range of scenarios to deal with in which they had to gather and preserve evidence and then produce an offence report.

Scottish Branch and Fishery Management Scotland have met with LANTRA to help develop a more flexible approach to apprenticeships, which could include elements of fishery management as well as other rural skills from sectors such as forestry and agriculture.

Branch Contacts 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

On the 2nd of November a course is to be held on Deeside at which IFM members can look at the programme of upland riparian tree planting carried out by the Dee Fishery Board. This will be very much a hands-on day with attendees building small fenced enclosures and planting native trees.

Midlands/Lincolnshire: Ryan Taylor ryan.taylor@environment-agency.gov.uk

On the 25th of November a fish trap open day will be held on the River Blackwater with the Cromarty Firth Fishery Board.

South West: Iain Turner swest@ifm.org.uk

On the 16th of December examinations will be held for the Scottish Bailiffing module.

Southern: Iain Turner

Scottish Branch are looking at developing new training events and workshops for 2018 which are likely to include further bailiff training and smolt trapping days.

Other contacts For help with careers in fisheries, contact Careers Officer Mike Lee, careers@ifm.org.uk For advertising in FISH or on our website, contact Iain Turner, advertising@ifm.org.uk

IFM News

Completion of the IFM Scottish Bailiffing training course and examination has for many years been a requirement for the warranting of bailiffs in Scotland. There is a recognition that this should be followed up by a programme of Continual Professional Development (CPD) and ongoing training to ensure that bailiffs acquire and then continue to demonstrate a high level of competence in core fishery law enforcement skills.

North West: Paul Coulson paul.coulson@ifm.org.uk

iain.turner@ifm.org.uk

Scotland: Brian Davidson brian@rafts.onmicrosoft.com Wales: Emma Keenan emma.keenan@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk

Yorkshire & North East: Mike Lee

michael.lee@environment-agency.gov.uk

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Breaking IFM News

River Frome caught Pink salmon

Breaking News Pink Salmon Update Over 200 non-native Pacific pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) have now been reported in England from the North East coast to as far south as the River Frome in Dorset. Many more have been recorded in Scotland and Ireland and there have been reports of fish spawning on the River Ness on the east coast of Scotland.

The origins of these pink salmon relate to stocking in the Barents Sea area from the 1950s until the 2000s and they are now widespread in Scandinavian rivers.

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Thousands of Atlantic salmon escape from fish farm into Pacific Reported in the Guardian, 24 August 2017, thousands of Atlantic salmon may have escaped into Pacific waters after a net pen holding 305,000 of the fish was damaged at a farm in Washington state, leading wildlife officials to call for anglers to catch as many of the fish as possible.

The fish farm’s owner, Cooke Aquaculture, said that several thousand Atlantic salmon may have ended up in the waters around the San Juan Islands after part of a net suffered a “structural failure.”

Breaking News

Escaped Atlantic salmon

Fishes of the World 5th Edition Fishes of the World is the indispensable reference featuring the only modern phylogenetic classification of the world’s fishes, fossil and extant. A true classic in the field, this new fifth edition gathers the latest findings from the scientific community to enable the understanding of fish diversity, family characteristics, evolutionary relationships, and more. New molecular phylogenetic results are assessed and integrated with sound morphological and paleontological evidence. The taxonomy includes both scientific and common names, anatomical characteristics, distributions, biological characteristics, and representative drawings for 536 families of fishes to provide a truly comprehensive resource. First published in 1976, this book has become the de facto reference for fish classification and diversity.

How to build your own fish refuge Have a look at a recently uploaded a video by the Environment Agency’s Andy Eaves and Dave Mackin on how to build your own fish refuge, which provides habitat for spawning and refuge from predators. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6QXnsibDZU&t=1s 49

Book Review

Book Review

The End of the Line: How Overfishing is Changing the World and What We Eat

By Charles Clover Review by Blue & Green Tomorrow

“Here is the world’s fishing industry laid bare, gutted and filleted for all to see: the greed, the folly, the waste and destruction. You will never look at a fish supper in the same way again.”

—The Economist The End of the Line: How Overfishing is Changing the World and What We Eat describes how modern fishing practices are destroying ecosystems in the ocean and how our methods will impact on us.

Author Charles Clover, former environment editor of the Daily Telegraph, argues that current global fish consumption is unsustainable, with many areas being subjected to overfishing. He looks at the industry from many different perspectives, from fishermen to chefs, across the world to examine what can be done to make the industry more sustainable.

The End of the Line is eye-opening and uses statistics and facts to demonstrate how unsustainable current methods are, such as the fact that 75% of the world’s fish stocks are now fully exploited or overfished. This is leading to some species being at risk of extinction in the next few decades, for example, the blue whiting has a sustainable catch of 1 million tonnes a year but Norway alone catches 880,000 tonnes each year.

The book is packed with information and insights that highlight the extent of the repercussions if we fail to adapt. Many people fail to make the connection between their eating habits and the impact on the world but End of the Line will change that.

The book was also made into a documentary of the same name, directed by Rupert Murray. The film builds on the book and clearly demonstrates why fishing should be controlled more tightly and how resources are being exploited.

Despite the stark message of the book it does offer suggestions of how different nations should engage with each other in order to achieve a sustainable fishing system. Clover argues that the government and consumers could take action to reverse the overfishing trend before it is to late.

The author is chairman of the Blue Marine Foundation.

The End of the Line: How Overfishing is Changing the World and What We Eat

By Charles Clover Published by The New Press; First Edition edition (November 13, 2006)

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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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+44 (0) 1803 866680

info@ďŹ shtek-consulting.co.uk

Members and their FISH Phil Rippon with 18lb Wolf fish from northen Norway

Do you have a picture of yourself with a fish?

If so FISH would like to hear from you.

Send your images to: fish@ifm.org.uk