DAVE CHARLESWORTH FRESHWATER LEAD SPECIALIST N.R.W.
As an organisation our role is to protect and enhance our natural resources, including our fisheries and our wild birds.
Fish eating birds can already be legally controlled under licence from NRW. This is via a specific licence, for which the applicant needs to show evidence of the frequency of fish predation, the number of birds involved and that satisfactory alternatives have first been considered and implemented.
To develop our approach to licencing and control of fish eating birds in Wales, NRW set up the Fish Eating Birds Advisory Group, members of which represented a range of angling and conservation interests. This group developed a set of recommendations which NRW has considered and responded to. We are now progressing an action plan which is initially confirming or commissioning evidence around fish, the impacts of fish eating birds and the associated control methods currently used in Wales.
There has been significant research in the UK and internationally into the impacts of fish-eating birds, particularly cormorants and goosanders, on fisheries, and the potential strategies for mitigating and managing those impacts. We are working hard to ensure an appropriate and balanced approach - NRW has both a legal duty to enhance and improve fisheries in Wales and also to uphold the legal protection provided for the protection of wild birds (including cormorant and goosander), their eggs and nests.
Another release of information on the NRW website is that their plan of action will not be ready for implementation until 2025?
The expected further loss of fish to predation in the UK, during these next two years is roughly 292,000,000 million or maybe more!
Our stance on this within the 'Petition' remains.
IT'S NEVER TOO LATE OR WILL IT BE?
I'm asking the questions by looking at the situation following years of experience and of course common sense. It is abundantly clear to me that here in Wales we have a looming disaster of mortal proportions, created through years of mis-management, by those with the powers to deliver, within 'National Resources Wales', a situation that us Anglers and custodians of the Countryside are forced to follow.
Before 1981 the Anglers and custodians of our fisheries, rivers, lakes, canals, kept control over predation of our fish by 'Cormorants and Goosanders'. It was the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 that put a stop to this care that we delivered.
What has happened ? Our Rivers and Fisheries are quickly deteriorating to a point that we may find it difficult to protect them from a total collapse. There's not one singular reason for this deterioration, but many reasons become apparent when you examine the facts carefully.
One fault of extreme importance relative to this is the 'Avian Predation' of our small fish in our rivers, lakes, streams and ditches where they exist to recreate their being on an annual basis, the immature Salmonids and other fish including the Coarse fish, Grayling, and even Minnows from this predation now, leading towards their extinction, a situation we must not allow to continue.
Before 1981 there were only a few of these Cormorants inland and the non native Goosanders were small in number, because we were allowed to control them.. It is fair to say that our rivers and fisheries were teeming with fish of all kinds and received excellent attention by the caring fisheries orientated managers in the employment of the various authority's. What happened?
My belief is, that the 'Local River Authorities' throughout Wales were amalgamated into the 'Environment Agency' and then through to 'Natural Resources Wales', and the continuation of the expertise gained through years of experience in how matters were run, were lost, through wastage within natural retirements, and also using the warranted 'Water Bailiffs' of them days for investigating 'Fly Tipping' and changing some of their respective positions into that of 'research' for the benefit of those who were taking over within these developing organisations, whilst leaving the rivers and fisheries to fend for themselves. I wonder what happened to the funding that was ring fenced for fisheries purposes?. The Fishery Enforcement staff on our various river authority area's were for want of a better word, decimated, by what appears now to be the new managers who did not have the fisheries close to their hearts. The situation will become clearer as you read on and self evaluate.
Through hearing and reading in 2023, that 'Natural Resources Wales' were considering stopping the legal Rod and Line Salmon Angling in Wales, for a period anyway, because of the dire situation with fish numbers, estimated to be extinct in the next ten to twenty years, made me consider the facts. Were the powers in being needing more Salmon to lay their eggs and breed more to feed the ever increasing numbers of Cormorants and Goosanders?, so that they themselves could breed more to predate more on the diminishing stocks of Salmon and so on into extinction, maybe?.
In 2020 after a public enquiry the 'Anglers' were hit with a Byelaw to stop them removing Salmon from the Welsh Rivers and also Seatrout of over 6lb in weight, although the Anglers had been practicing catch and release for a number of years, due to them recognising the diminishing stocks of fish, which NRW had a record of through Fishing Licence returns. The Byelaw also had much pressure in other ways on the licensed Angler., why do you think this was happening? .
Predation by Cormorants and Goosanders continued and grew on an annual basis, whilst they had no hope of policing the Byelaw, leaving it against the conscience of each Angler. I wonder in and among all of this if there was a wish to remove Anglers in totality off the rivers due to the fact that other matters today and in the recent past had run away from them and their management strategy's, or was it a purposeful tactic? a question surely needing an explanation and answering.
How is it possible, whilst they had knowledge of the predation by Cormorants and Goosanders, that they could impose such Byelaw on the Angler whilst allowing the predation to continue?, they had knowledge of this dating back to 1986 from an article in the Trout and Salmon Magazine and various other 'Petitions' since 2000, one with 50,000 votes, pre social media days, another in 2018 with 55,000 votes which is still active, and another in 2020 still live, with over 1,300 votes, through to the present one in 2023, gaining in numbers daily. These in addition to various complaints by Anglers and Fishery Owners.
Their stance on this is, that they arranged a 'Culling Licence' to control this Avian Predation, well that was the belief initially, but today looking at it, was it a smoke screen by them? when you evaluate the situation with the 'Licence' and the attached 'Conditions and Rules'.
The trouble to initially obtain a Licence and it is plainly obvious that it is based to protect the 'Avian Predation' rather than to protect the 'Fish and Fisheries' is incredible, given that they are charged through an Act of Parliament to maintain and improve the fisheries, is a fact, let me explain.
An example which I have to hand is a Licence obtained by the 'New Dovey Fishing Association 1929 Ltd', in 2021/2, no other application followed by them as it had become obvious that there was no point, it would have been a massive paper exercise with no positive outcome.
A complex form of many pages completed and submitted which prompted a reply 'Have you tried scaring tactics', answer in the affirmative, 'Yes', next letter 'Which way did they go upstream or downstream' reply, 'Downstream', next letter, 'You have not submitted the result relative to your last licence, your application is placed on hold to await this result, with a week or so between each letter. Was this an attempt to dissuade applicants from applying?. Result of 2020/21 submitted and a few weeks later the Licence arrives. Restricted in more ways than can be believed. The Goosander and the Cormorant breed far more annually, than the licences issued, allow to be culled, it's a fact.
2 Cormorants and 3 Goosanders
Between November 2021 and March 2022 only
Only 1 Cormorant and 1 Goosander per month up to the total number licenced.
They can only be culled when there are 2 or more together and they are actually predating at the time.
Only 12/16/20 bore shotgun can be used and no lead cartridges.
Culling is only allowed in conjunction with the wearing of bright clothing and shouting to scare at the same time, or using blank shotgun cartridges.
Many other restrictions exist, including the rescinding of the licence if the rules are not adhered to.
Considering that the range of these shotguns is maximum 40 yards to be effective, there would be little hope of any kind of a cull, the licence is fairly and squarely prepared to protect the predators, and supports my previously expressed view of a 'smoke screen'. Where was the common sense within the decision to issue such a license? do they believe that predation does not take place between March and November in each year.
Well, scare them to move them to predate on other parts of the river or even another river or brook or lake nearby. The River Dovey catchment is over 300 miles in total and has several roosts of Cormorants and Goosanders either in the catchment or nearby, roosts of up to 50 Cormorants, more than one exists, and within a short distance away on a sanctuary can be up to 200 Goosanders at a time on it.
The situation is out of control which prompted me to prepare the 'Petition' to gather support to see if there is a possibility of getting matters in order before it is too late. The situation is deteriorating and when you consider that the Cormorant population has increased by 60% and that each hen Goosander breeds on average 12 chicks annually, it is believed that today there are 20 thousand of them in the United Kingdom and neither have a County or Country boundary, the Goosander can eat between 10 and 30 small fish daily, lets say an average of 20 every day amounts to 400,000 less fish per day, 146,000000 million in 12 months, there is no hope for our rivers if predation at this level continues, this is not the fault of the Angler or Fishery Owner.
Let us also consider the fact that the 'Goosander' is a non native bird that is predating on the food source of our native birds, the Kingfishers and Herons, the competition between them is already showing a decline in our native bird population. The Cormorant is a sea bird, having bred so much under the protection of the 1981 Act that some have, and are now establishing themselves inland. These also eat small fish and larger fish, and are starting to take over our native Heronries, pecking at the roosting trees that are hundred of years old and killing them by removing the leaves and all growth underneath dying and decaying with their droppings, you should approach one to see, the stench is un-forgetible.
In addition to this consider that the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is 42 years out of date and in need of altering to suit the needs of other wildlife, our native fishes and native Herons and Kingfishers. There are far more of these predatory birds here today than there was in 1981. Into this equation there is also the consideration of 'Natural Resources Wales' responsibility to maintain and improve the fisheries under their watch, a bit of a headache when you consider the dilemma they find themselves in, working one Act against the other, whilst within their present stance likely to run the fishes into extinction, how has this been allowed to develop?, its mind boggling.
Approximately 10 years ago now, National Resources Wales closed down all their fish hatcheries throughout Wales, including the Private Hatchery on the river Dovey, which cost them nothing to run, again, roughly at the same time as they finalised decimating the strength of the warranted fisheries enforcement staff, I wonder why?. I have the belief now that the fish bred and reared at these hatcheries helped to feed the ever growing numbers of Cormorants and Goosanders, of course when these hatchery fish were absent the wild fish were the only ones on the predatory menu, and their numbers started to diminished very rapidly. Nothing to do with the licence paying Anglers, but with the mis-management of those charged to maintain and improve. What is their perceived eventual goal in this, I ask you?
The 'Petition' is not about killing all the Cormorants and Goosanders, but about putting the matter on a level footing to control them to bring our rivers back to a sustainable level, common sense has to take precedence and prevail here. Where are National Resources Wales here? Are they now in the circumstances, fit for purpose?. I believe that we have a situation of an imbalance also between Scientific Evidence and Common Sense and the old saying rings true, 'Too many cooks spoil the broth'. I will leave it to your judgement.
The 'Petition'
Gwilym Hughes