In the last five years, the Barbel Society has funded, or part-funded,
the following projects, supporting both habitat work of real conservation
value, and positive research into barbel and barbel fishery management;
Stocking of the River Dane; following pollution of the river, the BS made a
grant to a local club to help establish barbel populations.
Stocking of the River Aire; the BS made a grant to a small club to help improve
barbel populations on the river.
Stour Barbel Project; in partnership with local clubs and the EA, the Society
raised over five thousand pounds towards habitat improvement works on the
river, involving the reintroduction of gravels, and construction of fry bays.
Work on a weir at Throop was recently completed, with the help of 2K from the
Barbel Society, and further works are planned.
The EA and the BS placed 9000 small barbel into the middle reaches of the river
in the last three years as part of the project.
A further 1000 barbel were stocked into the Stour in 0ctober 2012, and plans
for further fry bay construction are in hand for completion in 2013.
Arborfield Weir Project; the Society provided several thousand pounds worth of
gravel and materials to support this EA led Award winning project on the River
Loddon.
Bransford Project; The Society worked in partnership with the EA and
consultants to skylight a stretch of the Teme near Worcester, bringing
life-giving light to the river, as well as providing improved bank stability.
Unstable willows were pollarded and coppiced, and woody debris placed in the
river, along with planting of fresh willow pollards to retain bank collapse.
Funds from the BS were also utilised by the Severn Rivers Trust for other
habitat works on the Teme. A second phase of this work is planned for 2013.
St Patricks Steam Project; the Society paid for a fish survey and report on
this Thames tributary, and will support the resulting habitat works.
Bournemouth University Research Projects; the Society has funded a major piece
of research work, which involves a review of all current barbel research work,
and also some tank experiments into competition between barbel and other
species, both of which have now been published. The University is also carrying
out a scale reading study, using scales provided by the EA and BS members. This
study will be the largest of its kind, and will provide information on growth
rates and population structure for many UK rivers.
A database of all available barbel-related research is to be compiled over time
by the University.
More work is being carried out in partnership with Queen Mary College London on
barbel diet, which will involve further analysis of scales and this will use
complex techniques to establish the proportion of natural food, angler’s baits
and crayfish in barbel diet.
The analysis of the scales for the barbel diet research is being carried out in
early 2013, with a report expected in the autumn.
Growth rate analysis work on the Teme, Kennet and Hampshire Avon has already
been completed, and scales from barbel on the Trent and Severn are being
collected next season for further study.
The Society has committed funding over the next three years, 4K per year, in
support of a PhD project at Bournemouth University which builds on the work of
Karen Twine on the Great Ouse, but will involve work on more rivers, and will
look at current populations and the factors affecting barbel recruitment, as
well as more work on barbel diet and spawning habitat.
Barbel and gravels; the Society is helping to fund a PhD student at Southampton
University researching the effects of barbel foraging on gravel mobility and
structure.
River Cherwell Project; the Society has worked in partnership with the EA and
The Wild Trout Trust, providing funding to provide instream cover for fish on this
Thames tributary, in the form of large tree trunks, woody debris and live
hanging willows.
Hampshire Avon habitat works; using funds raised in conjunction with the Avon
Roach Project, the Society has removed redundant iron pilings from the river,
and has several thousand pounds earmarked for further habitat improvements.
Consent has been given to construct a fry bay for the benefit of coarse fish
fry of all species, and this will be completed in Summer 2013. Further work is
planned on the Avon, in partnership with the Avon Roach Project and the Wessex
Chalk Stream and Rivers Trust, all supported by the Environment Agency and
local fishing clubs.
River Lea stocking support; The Society is funding the stocking of 400 small
barbel into a sidestream of the River Lea, in order to monitor their spread and
survival and to help boost the local barbel population. The fish will be
stocked in Autumn 2013.
Barbel Society Handling Code; with help from film maker Hugh Miles, the Society
has produced a DVD to help educate anglers in the safe handling of barbel,
which will be provided free to clubs, tackle shops and other outlets, as well
as online and on Youtube.
All these activities require funding, which has been provided in the past by
the generosity of major tackle manufacturers, tackle shops, fishing clubs,
Barbel Society members and the angling community.
Pete Reading July 2013
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