Update 14th September.
OUR NATIVE BIRDS ARE UNDER THREAT FROM THESE 'PREDITORS' THAT ARE DECIMATING THEIR FOOD SUPPLY, WE NEED BETTER CONTROL OVER THE 'CORMORANTS' AND 'GOOSANDERS' LETS PROTECT OUR 'KINGFISHERS' AND 'HERONS'
EXTRACTS FROM 'WESTERN MAIL' PUBLICATION
Article by Lord Carlile of Berriew CBE KC
Gwilym's father was a water bailiff for the Gwynedd River Authority. Father and son were keen fishermen and also avid protectors of the environment they loved. Since his retirement from the police Gwilym has devoted himself to fishing and the countryside. He is an expert. As such, with sadness and frustration he has witnessed a dramatic decline in fish numbers.
Why has this happened? A surge in bird predation has led to massive loss of fish from the rivers, lakes and pools of rural Wales. The responsible government officials have stood by whilst any attempt at balance between fish and predatory birds has been abandoned. The figures are stark. Prior to 1981 there were some cormorants and few goosanders. In 1981 both were given full statutory protection. Between 1981 and 2018 the goosander population rose from a few hundred to 20,000. Each one eats an average of 20 salmonid fish every day of the year, 7,300 per bird per year. They and cormorants take small and mature, large fish – Gwilym has photographs to prove it
(These are included at the end of the original Petition Document)
Some years ago a goosander, shot under licence, disgorged its last meal – 6 young salmon, 2 young trout and an eel. Predation on this scale is out of control.
The current licensing scheme for the whole of the River Dyfi catchment is a self-explanatory example of what has happened. It allows an annual cull of 2 cormorants and 3 goosanders. They can only be shot when actively feeding, and in groups of two or more. A scaring programme is wholly ineffective against the sheer scale of the problem. It barely touches the problem.
(If you have not already seen them, the full and inappropriate restrictions are recorded on the update to the Petition on the 25th August, the one with the Otter devouring a Cormorant )
In the 1970s the rivers of North Wales were teeming with salmon and seatrout. I used to prosecute poaching cases in places like Caernarfon and Dolgellau: the high number of poachers was proportionate to the number of fish. Since then, in the whole of the UK the rise of birds against fish has resulted in the loss of over 290 million fish over about 35 years. The fisheries have been decimated and appropriate control of the birds barely exists.
A Welsh advisory group was formed in July 2022, comprising interested ornithological groups as well as fishing conservation interests and independent experts. However, no definitive report is expected until 2025, despite the evidence being literally in plain sight. This is too slow.
(Promises were made from the Public Enquiry in 2020, which have not materialised, which is termed by some as kicking the can down the road, is this following on from the 2020 / 2022 advisory group meetings of a further kick down the road to that can ?? how many more of our very valuable small fish, the very fish required to mature to regenerate have been lost through predation alone in these delays in the 5 years ?, you work it out. Do the Powers in being really care about this??
Gwilym Hughes recently started a petition which already has gathered over2000 signatures. In previous years there has been a UK wide petition that gathered over 50,000 signatures, and in 2018 a Facebook page by Neil Cohen gathered over 56,000 expressions of support. No real attention has been paid to these public expressions of concern.
I support the RSPB and others who have done so much to restore security to bird life in Wales. The birds are often fine creatures, flying beauty; but the fish are native, remarkable and important creatures too.
(I totally support his view here).
Surely the time has come for my friend Gwilym and his like, the fathers and sons of the Welsh countryside, to be heard and hearkened to. A balance can be restored, in which the predatory birds in proportionate numbers can predate, but not at the cost of hundreds of thousands of salmon and trout. The will for the various interest groups to work together exists. Ultimately it is for the Welsh Government to produce an acceptable solution. It might be wise to start with my friend Gwilym.
I personally and on behalf of all who have supported the cause sincerely thank Lord Carlile CBE KC for his balanced and accurate view, and the 'Western Mail' for publishing it, also to 'FlyFishing and Flytying' for starting the ball rolling concerning the 'Petition' in their publication.
WHERE NOW? AND I PERSONALLY APPEAL TO YOU.
IT IS DOWN TO EACH SUPPORTIVE INDIVIDUAL TO MAKE CONTACT WITH ANYONE THAT CAN SUPPORT THE CAUSE THROUGH THEIR 'VOTE' ON THE PETITION,THIS IS A MUST, AS IT IS ALSO TO APPROACH THEIR AM / MP, WRITE TO NATIONAL RESOURCES WALES AND THE WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERMENT.
Thank you for your continued support
Gwilym Hughes.