50,000 fish!
Last August, a company called Salveson Fox Hydrosurveys carried out a fish survey at Chasewater.
Using a combination of an echo-sounder and a specialist net (seine net), the team worked out how many fish are currently living in the reservoir.
From their findings, the team estimates that over 50,000 adult fish live in the reservoir, including roach, perch, pike, ruffe and tench. They also estimate that between 300-400 premium quality fish live in Chasewater
The majority of fish live in the north east and eastern parts of the reservoir. A healthy number of young fish was also seen during the survey.
Are the fish healthy?
As part of the survey, the team checked the health of a sample of 30 fish*. They all appeared to be in good health, with no signs of infections or abnormal parasites. Ten types of common parasites were found, which are in usual in still-water fisheries, such as Chasewater reservoir.
*All species of fish in the sample were health checked in accordance with the standard Section 30 health examination protocol. Roach, perch and pike were examined.
How are we going to look after the fish? Together with our partners at the Environment Agency and British Waterways, we’re putting the finishing touches to our plans for catching and moving the fish in Chasewater. We hope to start in February/March, and our plans will detail how we will catch the fish and where they will be put during the works. Watch this space for more news.
For a full run down of the work of the group, visit our Wildlife page.
What is going to be done about the many thousands of dead fish that are now in the canal basin, having found their way down there while water was being let out of the lake?
An Environment Agency spokesman has told us that the fish deaths are likely to be the result of the fish trying to escape a large number of predatory cormorants flying over the pool at the time. They have also said that a lack of oxygen in the frozen water could also not be ruled out.
Here’s what they told us about the deaths: The cause is difficult to ascertain, but may be linked to deoxygenated water under the ice in the canal. But it is more likely due to the fish suffocating in the pipe after trying to escape cormorants feeding on Chasewater.
Visits by agency staff confirmed the presence of the fish, but could find no problem with water quality and no obvious cause. Subsequent visits by fisheries officers have found many more small roach, and some perch, appearing in the canal.
These fish, up to 50,000, in number, seem to be coming from the feed from Chasewater – and all appear to have died at the same time.â€
With regards to what will happen to the fish, an ecologist from from British Waterways has told us:
“The fish were planned to be removed almost immediately, however the very cold weather made this impractical as the water’s edge was very slippy and unsafe, and many of the fish were trapped in the frozen water.
“Following consultation with the Environment Agency, it was agreed that the fish would be removed once the ice had thawed. However by the time the thaw took place, many of the fish had started to decompose and break up, making it very difficult to collect them in nets.
“The Environment Agency was kept informed throughout, and they agreed that it would be better for water quality, and generally less unpleasant, for the fish to be left in situ and for natural processes to take effect.”
Thank you for the reply, very helpful to know what’s going on.
Would be nice to see the fish moved just over the path into the swag where local people can still enjoy them, would save thousands in costs of moving fish miles away to stowe pool or somwhere silly like that.
Hi Luke,
I’ve just responded to a similar comment on the Wildlife page about fish, which I’ve copied below. Hopefully this answers your question too:
We are working closely with fish experts from Natural England, the Environment Agency and British Waterways to identify how we can relocate the fish from Chasewater. We have studied whether we could move some of the fish stock to Jeffrey’s Pool and Stowe Pool from the main part of the reservoir, but it is unlikely that we will be able to do so.
We are unable to move significant numbers into Jeffrey’s Pool because we need to build additional culverts through the causeway, which separates the pool from the main body of the reservoir. To do this work we will need to lower the level of water in Jeffrey’s Pool which will reduce its capacity for fish. The pool already has its own population of fish and adding more to a smaller volume of water, may lead to overcrowding.
Stowe Pool in Lichfield is a site of special scientific interest and is designated because of its population of white clawed crayfish, which we believe are also present in Chasewater. But because there is a risk that crayfish plague is present in Chasewater, we are advised that it is unlikely we will get permission to move fish from there to Stowe Pool.
We have not yet agreed with British Waterways the details of the fish rescue, but we know that bullhead are present, and we will be working with both British Waterways and with the Environment Agency to ensure that we rescue as many as possible. It is understood that bullheads are a robust little species, so we are confident that they will re-populate Chasewater quite quickly.
keep the larger fish and put them back afterwards !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As a local angler I’ve been very interested in Chasewater for years (even joined the boating club so I could do my own survey of the lake) and have been a part of netting team all over the West Midlands. What happens when they net lakes like this is they do have an interest in the fish but of the 50000 fish estimated to be in the lake their only concern is of the 400 to 600 premium fish they mention. These are the fish like specimen pike, catfish, large bream, and carp which they will sell on to fisheries all over the U.K. to the highest bidder. These fish will have a high price tag ’cause they have reached this size not by anglers bait but by natural ways and are priceless. I think that all these specimen fish should be put in the swag pool next to Chasewater along with as many of the smaller fish as they can get in there and kept in there till such time they can be re-introduced back to their natural environment where they belong. There are many people wanting to
know what monsters are going to come up in these nettings so please back me and lets keep these fish where they belong in Chasewater. I’m sure in a few years to come if they are put back Chasewater will stand to make a lot more money out of anglers that want to fish for these specimen fish than they will ever make from speed boats and the sailing club. Stick together its on your door step
we are meeting for photos which we are sending to lichfield mercury everyone welcome saturday 12 noon 27th
and to see if we can get these fish put back were they belong !!!!!!!!!!!
Hope this has some effect
Derek ****** thank you
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I hope to post a full response tomorrow. Cheers
derek just replying to your post and for any one else that is intrested in this subject as a nets man and also trainiee fish scientist i would like to make a comment due to your seemiingly bleak out look now yes these bigger fish will of corse be of great value and asset and maby the money that is made form the resale could some how be inevatably be turned round in to stocking the future head of carp the cats will not be returned because of it being a online fisherie and also a sssi now to do with your comments on the smaller fish these fish i should hope will be treated in the same way as would the larger fish and personaly when i go to this sort of job for my self i will take everything and try and re home at a price of corse now nettings will only give a 40 to 60 % of the stock and it will be up to rangers and memebers of bw to stay behind with back up tanks and transportation tanks for when the lake becomes suitable depth to be taking the rtest of the fish out by hand and if i wasnt living such a distance away at the present time i would volenteer to do so just summit for you to think about
also may i add in reply to ms thatchers comments that it is verry unlikly this would be better for water quality to let the fish decompose in such high numbers in such a small expanse of water baring in mind that this is of corse a canal system the resulting ammonia nitrates and suspended solids would in theory be dispersed but on a practicable note they would take longer to break down and disperse than some may belive anything up to 12 months if there is not a constant stream of water fed
on what basis are water quality checks beeing made daily weekly or monthly ??
Our plan is to capture the vast majority of fish. These will be rehomed by British Waterways at their expense. We are however checking water quality on a weekly basis and when it drops to canal level, there will continuous checks. We will be checking turbidity, conductivity, ph, do, and amonnia levels.