Follow up to the Wandle Practical Visit

Great news once again from the Wandle. The E.A. have played a blinder and installed the fish pass that will give upstream access to the habitat enhancement scheme (see the next post but one below) above this previously impassable barrier. Now all that remains to put the cherry on this is to tackle a second barrier (by partial removal rather than by fish pass) and to get the "tweaks" right on the habitat works.

That just leaves the permissions to be obtained for phased re-introductions of wild trout parr in order to re-establish the self sustaining trout stocks of the Wandle (previous most recent record circa 1930). Can't wait. Well done to all involved (including us at the Wild Trout Trust :):)), at the E.A. and the Wandle Trust for the works on this partnership project.

Comments

Anonymous said…

The wild trout are already reproducing in the Wandle thanks to the Trout in the Classroom project which has been running for 6-7 years. Although the EA will not stock trout into the river, they do give permission for the release of trout as part of a major educational project. Our monthly fly monitoring kick sampling has found alevins in the river this year and they only way they could get there was naturally.
OBJohn

8 May 2011 at 08:05

Paul Gaskell said…

Thanks for the comment OBJ, I was delighted when Theo emailed the photo of the first "stream spawned" alevin last year. Our hope is that the sourcing of non-hatchery strain parr from a neighbouring wild river population will confer even greater survival and reproductive abilities compared to the Trout in the Classroom fish. On average, hatchery strain fish have only about 10% of the survival and reproductive success in a river compared to non-domesticated strains.

9 May 2011 at 03:14

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