SHORE ANGLER
Words DAVID MITCHELL Photography HENRY GILBEY SEA ANGLER
FOR THE LOVE OF ESTUARIES
Overlooked by most people, estuaries are essential to sea angling. David Mitchell explains why they are so important and how they offer something for all types of anglers
F
or much of the population, estuaries are an irrelevance to their lives. Put simply, many people simply see these muddy, often smelly, landscapes as the point at which rivers empty into the sea, and that, quite honestly, is as far as it goes for them. Others may associate estuaries with pollution and the heavy industry of ports, like the Mersey, the Humber or the Thames. Whether it’s a tiny tidal creek or a mighty mouth of one of our biggest rivers, very few groups of people appreciate just how unique and how important estuaries are, and what role they play in our lives. However, there are some who do, and one of those groups is sea anglers.
species of fish, the grey mullet, is a specialist in living in the brackish waters of estuaries and it’s anglers who have paid most interest in the presence, or absence, of these notoriously wily fish. If it wasn’t for anglers, and grey mullet were to disappear from Britain’s estuaries, would anyone else notice, or even care?
SUPERHIGHWAYS
FISH FACTORIES
For one thing, the creeks and intertidal mudflats of estuaries and saltmarshes are essential for providing habitat for the fry and juvenile fish of many species, such as bass, mullet, gilthead bream and flounder. Much of this habitat has been lost over the years leaving fewer places for the fry of these fish species to hide from predators, feed, and grow before heading into open water. Less available habitat leads to fewer fish.
8
8-11 Estuaries 607 V2.indd 8
NURSERY GROUNDS
Many species, such as bass, use the open water of estuaries as nursery grounds where the juvenile fish shoal up and feed before heading into the open sea. Designated Bass Nursey Areas have been around for decades to protect juvenile bass for just this reason, and it was anglers who were instrumental in making this happen. Another
Estuaries play a role in the life cycle of many fish species which migrate either from freshwater to the sea to spawn (such as salmon or seatrout) – or vice versa – (such as silver eels and sturgeon). Either way, as they travel along their watery breeding highway, their passage through the estuary is an essential part of completing their lifecycle. Netting, barriers (such as barrages), and pollution can all have an impact, something anglers know all too well.
GATEWAY INTO ANGLING For many of you, the introduction to angling may very well have been catching an eel or a flounder from your local estuary. In all probability, the reason for this is their accessibility – both from the shore and boat –
SEA ANGLER ISSUE 607
17/02/2022 12:53
