Otters 2009

[camo]

Fortunatley i would go back to a consistent part of my thread that fisherman are basically good conservationists and work within the law by respecting the protection placed on the Otter.

If you believe the Barbel potential weight is only now being realised why was the record weight static for so many years at around 14lb and over the last couple of decades has jumped to in excess of 20lb. I regard the Barbel as one of the fittest and strongest fish yet at heavy weights they can be caught by Otters, it must be because they are slower and less fit.

[Lincs Yellowbelly]

Originally Posted by camo

Fortunatley i would go back to a consistent part of my thread that fisherman are basically good conservationists and work within the law by respecting the protection placed on the Otter.

If you believe the Barbel potential weight is only now being realised why was the record weight static for so many years at around 14lb and over the last couple of decades has jumped to in excess of 20lb. I regard the Barbel as one of the fittest and strongest fish yet at heavy weights they can be caught by Otters, it must be because they are slower and less fit.

Undoubtably pellets and boilies have played a part, so have cleaner rivers and the population of crayfish in most rivers these days, in fact i'd say crays are the maoin reason not only barbel but also chub and perch sizes have shot up so much in the last decade.

Anglers in the main are great conservationists and without the habitats that we provide the state of many waterlife species would be a lot worse.

[camo]

Originally Posted by Lincs Yellowbelly

Undoubtably pellets and boilies have played a part, so have cleaner rivers and the population of crayfish in most rivers these days, in fact i'd say crays are the maoin reason not only barbel but also chub and perch sizes have shot up so much in the last decade.

Anglers in the main are great conservationists and without the habitats that we provide the state of many waterlife species would be a lot worse.

I agree rivers are cleaner than ever before, well that is they are as clean as they always was until last century. It was last century where intensive farming found such harmful pesticides and Farmers were forced to become more focused on producing for an ever demanding public.

I also agree with you about anglers (that they are conservationists adn they are a major reason for the river clean up) and I work with a particular fishery that has no fences a thriving Otter population and a good head of all species of fish. I started my own conservation as an angler and although i dont fish enjoy watching fish as much as ever.

As Chub and perch have grown to such size they have become more signifcant predators by eating larger prey, where as they would have focused on well grown fry they are now able to take dace and bleak for instance of breeding size. Crayfish massively reduce the amount of viable fish spawn, Mink are here to stay and Cormorants a problem. The Otter is attacked because it is an obvious target however it is the most balanced of the predators. An Otter is so territorial that i would see the benefit of Otters eating crayfish, displacing Mink and maintaining a lower density of predators as important for fish conservation.

There are many reasons why our fish are under threat but the Otter has a rightful place in balancing the eco system.