Thousands of fish have found new homes in Cornwall and around the Plymouth area thanks to the Environment Agency’s annual restocking programme
This week Fisheries Officers have introduced more than 8,000 fish - including tench, bream, crucian carp, roach and rudd - into a number of fisheries across Cornwall and south Devon. The restocking will enhance angling opportunities and help fisheries to have sustainable and healthy fish stocks.
Fishing clubs across the counties benefitting from restocking include, for Cornwall - Bude Canal Angling Association , Roche Angling Club in mid Cornwall, and further west we are supporting Threemilestone Angling Club and Marazion angling Club. And as we would not want to leave out our Plymouth clubs, we are also delivering to Club Brunel, Plymouth and District Angling Club and Devonport Services Angling Association, all in and around the city.
Every year, the Environment Agency’s Calverton Fish Farm near Nottingham breeds coarse fish for release into rivers and still waters across England to help boost fish populations.
Sally Gallop, Environment Agency Fisheries Officer, said:
Restocking is done where numbers are low, have been depleted following a pollution incident or to create new fisheries and opportunities for anglers.
Winter is a good time to introduce the fish, as it enables them to acclimatise to their new surroundings, ahead of their spawning season which usually begins in the spring and goes through to the summer for some species. Fish also play a critical role in sustaining a river’s finely-balanced eco-system, so the wider natural environment will also get a festive boost.
You need a rod fishing licence to fish for salmon, trout, freshwater fish, smelt or eel with a rod and line in England. Get yours from https://www.gov.uk/fishing-licences.