Central Midlands Fisheries and Biodiversity Team Quarter 3 report

Central Midlands Fisheries and
Biodiversity Team Quarter 3 report
October to December 2013
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We are the Environment Agency. We protect and improve the environment
and make it a better place for people and wildlife.
We operate at the place where environmental change has its greatest impact
on people’s lives. We reduce the risks to people and properties from flooding;
make sure there is enough water for people and wildlife; protect and improve
air, land and water quality and apply the environmental standards within
which industry can operate.
Acting to reduce climate change and helping people and wildlife adapt to its
consequences are at the heart of all that we do.
We cannot do this alone. We work closely with a wide range of partners
including government, business, local authorities, other agencies, civil society
groups and the communities we serve.
Published by:
Environment Agency
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© Environment Agency 2011
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All rights reserved. This document may be
reproduced with prior permission of
the Environment Agency.
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Contents
1. Water Framework Directive 4
2. Salmon Action Plan 6
3. Angling participation 7
4. Permitting and consents
12
5. Monitoring 14
6. Incidents, engagement, advice 22
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1. Restoring rivers through the Water
Framework Directive
Work continues collecting and interpreting fish and habitat data for
the rivers in Central Midlands. Each year the classifications are
reassessed based on new information collected during the previous
12 months. The table below shows water bodies that have
deteriorated in classification since 2009 and now require a more
detailed review. Desk based reviews have recently been completed
and plans to undertake detailed walkover reports to identify reasons
for failure and deterioration of local fish stocks are being planned.
WB ID
WB Name
GB104028046680 River Penk from Source to Saredon Brook
GB104028052700 Henmore Brook Catch (trib of R Dove)
River Penk from Saredon Brook to River
GB104028047120 Sow
Warslow Brook from Source to River
GB104028052910 Manifold
GB104028052930 Blake Brook from Source to River Manifold
River Trent from Ford Green Bk to
GB104028053320 Causeley Brook
GB104028058030 River Manifold from Source to Blake Brook
GB109054039820 Nethercote Bk - source to conf R Stour
GB104028046690 Carlton Brook from Source to River Sence
GB109054044150 Rains Bk - source to conf R Leam
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L&W Team
Trent
Dove &
Blithe
Failing
Element
Fish
Fish
Trent
Dove &
Blithe
Dove &
Blithe
Fish
Trent
Dove &
Blithe
Avon &
Blythe
Tame and
Anker
Avon &
Blythe
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
Fish
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2. Salmon Action Plan
Stocking of salmon from the Environment Agency Kielder hatchery
has been part of the River Trent Salmon Action Plan for 15 years. In
that time we've introduced more than 2,000,000 salmon.
To inform future fisheries management decisions, we are working
with Exeter University to try and establish the origin of the Atlantic
salmon population in the River Dove catchment.
Understanding whether current populations are derived from
stocked or naturally occurring populations will help determine the
success of the stocking programme.
The picture below shows typical juvenile Atlantic salmon and Brown
trout from the Dove catchment.
Genetic markers can be ascertained using non destructive
methods, not affecting the health of individual fish. Genetic
fingerprints can then be compared with previously collected salmon
population data.
Data will be held by the Environment Agency and used by the
fisheries technical team to make informed decisions about future
stocking plans.
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3. Angling participation
We continued to collaborate with our partners Get Hooked on
Fishing to provide coaching for young anglers in Bourneville and
Coventry. This quarter, 42 boys and 4 girls learned how to fish with
a 4m whip, plumb the depth, put bait on the hook and loose feed.
Now the children can hook, play and land fish, identify the species
and unhook and return fish safely.
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We have delivered a project with Astwood Bank Angling Club that
helped fund the replacement of 16 platforms. The old platforms
were in a state of disrepair and the club approached one of our
Fisheries Officers for advice and guidance regarding funding.
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As part of the West Smethwick Park partnership we have installed 6
angling platforms accessible to all and carried out a stock
assessment to inform a future fisheries management plan.
The partnership at West Smethwick Park is part of a much larger
regeneration project where we have already removed a culvert and
restored a stream which carries water into a feeder lake to a more
natural state for people and wildlife.
As part of the project we rescued the fish present in the feeder lake
so that we could remove a build up of silt. We used seine nets to
catch hundreds of fish including roach, perch and stickleback which
we relocated into the larger lake in the park that is fished by a local
angling club.
During the quarter we produced11 media briefs which were
published through Twitter, Facebook and press releases.
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4. Permitting and consents
During the quarter we were consulted on and commented on a
number of permit applications as follows:
PERMIT CONSULTATIONS Q2 2013
TOTAL
PLANNING APPLICATIONS
83
LAND DRAINAGE CONSENT
49
FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT JOBCARDS
15
CUSTOMER INFO REQUESTS
3
DISCHARGE CONSENTS
3
ABSTRACTION or IMPOUNDMENT
3
GROUNDWATER
1
WASTE
4
MOBILE PLANT DEPLOYMENT
6
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During the quarter we granted consent to 45 applications to
introduce fish and 46 applications to use instruments such as nets
and traps to capture fish.
The Fisheries and Biodiversity team actively protect and improve
fisheries and the wider biodiversity by influencing others.
For example, through planning we have secured natural bank
restoration and improvements to in channel morphology on
approximately 400 metres of the Platt Brook. These measures will
help to improve water quality and achieve WFD objectives.
The Fisheries and Biodiversity team has also been instrumental in
de-culverting approximately 200 metres of the River Stour in
Stourbridge. In doing so, a barrier to fish migration has been
removed and natural processes restored.
The 'Fins & Fur' presentation has been rolled out to internal teams
with the Environment Agency to help promote a wider awareness of
Fisheries and Biodiversity issues. Chief presenter, Tim Brooks said
"The interest in the Fins and Fur presentation has been
overwhelming and the feedback from other teams very positive."
Fisheries and Biodiversity continue to provide technical support to
FCRM and other internal teams through advisory visits and
protected species monitoring.
There was continuing input by Fisheries and Biodiversity staff into
the planning work for HS2 to ensure that the impacts on the water
environment are minimised and mitigated against.
5. Monitoring
Midlands Central’s 2013 core fish monitoring programme is made
up of a mix of routine, coarse, trout & eel and Water Framework
Directive sites (total of 69). Alongside this are local fisheries
investigations. The priority this year is completing our first cycle of
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WFD classification sites and preparing for our new Ecological
Status Indicator (ESI) programme that begins in 2014.
Fish Monitoring Programme Progress
Table 1: 2013 Core Fish Monitoring surveys completed between
01/10/13 and 31/12/13.
Water Body ID
GB104028052890
GB104028057780
GB104028052870
River
Manifold
Dove
Hilton Brook
Site Name
Swainsley, Dovecote Pool
Dovedale
Barton
Event Date
01/10/2013
03/10/2013
08/10/2013
Three surveys were completed in Q3, rounding up the fish
monitoring programme for 2013. Good populations of brown trout
were found at Dovedale, but surprisingly no grayling were caught.
The exact reason for this is unclear at present as healthy
populations of grayling have been caught at this site in the past.
A good population of grayling was recorded at Barton on the Hilton
Brook. The survey at Swainsley, Dovecote Pool resulted in healthy
populations of grayling, brown trout and minor species is
comparable to previous years.
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Fish Monitoring Methods
Electric Fishing: Is our main method of assessing fish populations.
A standardised methodology is used to allow consistent data
collection. Team size varies between three and five staff members,
depending on the size of survey site and equipment used. There is
an inherent difficult in trying to effectively electric fish large rivers.
Therefore, other methods are used to assess the status of fish.
Seine Netting: Was trialled this year in an effort to replace some of
our Principle Coarse Fishery (PCF) electric fishing sites on the main
River Trent. Nets are deployed and drawn in manually using a team
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of five to six people. Initial trials indicate that further evidence may
be required to assess fish population in these stretches.
Match Catch: These results are a useful tool to improve weight of
evidence in assessing fishery performance in larger rivers.
Collection of this data may become increasingly important and an
integral part of our core fisheries monitoring programme. The data
collected will support seine netting and electric fishing data on the
River Trent and other large rivers. Match Catch cards are readily
available and should be returned to the Fisheries team.
HabScore Surveys: HabScore is a system for measuring and
evaluating the quality of salmonid stream habitats and allows us to
predict juvenile salmonid populations. Two Habscore surveys were
completed this quarter.
River
Manifold
Dove
Site
Wetton Mill
Dovedale
Fish Survey Date
05/09/2013
17/09/2013
Habscore Survey Date
18/10/2013
18/10/2013
Monitoring Highlights & Observations
Brown trout redds were recorded for the
first time on the River Sowe, at Baginton
Mill, near Coventry. This follows work
delivered in 2012 to remove barriers to fish
migration and improve water quality. The
redds were recorded just upstream of
where one of the weirs was removed. This
evidence clearly demonstrates how
valuable this project was.
19 salmon and 5 brown trout redds were
also recorded on the River Dove during a
walkover survey in December.
In partnership with the Trent Rivers Trust we have installed a fish
pass on the River Trent at Burton. In order to assess the efficiency
of the fish pass we have dye marked 1200 dace from our fish farm
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at Calverton and stocked them downstream of the fish pass. We
have asked members of the Burton Mutual AA and Coors AC to
report captures of dye marked fish and their location.
Tutbury Fish Counter
The Tutbury fish counter has now collected a substantial amount of
data since May 2013, and shows coarse fish migration between
May and July as the water temperature increases. Conversely as
temperatures drop from October to December, the salmonid
migration is captured as brown trout and returning salmon move up
through the River Dove to spawning beds.
In total 93 fish were counted using the fish pass at Tutbury between
Oct - Dec, 2013.
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Below are some examples of the infrared scans of individual fish
used to distinguish between coarse and salmonid species.
Example of positive ID salmonid scan, the adipose fin is clearly
visible, shape and size corresponds to expected salmonid body
shape
Example of positive ID coarse scan, body size and shape clearly
visible as coarse fish species, most likely pike
Some of the salmonid migration was missed due to technical issues
with the fish counter in early October. Allowing for this some data
was collected showing a returning salmonid population within the
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Dove. It is difficult to separate accurately to species level due to
infrared scans rather than video footage being captured during this
time.
Coarse species observed to have used the fish pass include:
barbel, roach, dace, chub, perch and pike. This confirms the
effectiveness of this type of fish pass for all species passage.
Below is an example of a screen shot of a perch swimming up
through the camera tunnel in the fish counter.
The fish counter is currently being reviewed to improve
performance and decrease maintenance effort. The Tutbury fish
counter will be increasingly important as we continue to monitor the
effect of concluding the salmon stocking programme in this
catchment.
Forward Look
The 2013 Core Fish Monitoring survey programme has come to an
end this quarter. The review of Midlands Central survey
methodology for larger rivers, including PCF survey sites is still
ongoing. The aim is to improve our weight of evidence and ability to
assess fish populations in these sections.
Next year the main part of the programme will continue to update
the Water Framework Directive (WFD) classification using the
Ecological Status Indicator (ESI) programme. This aims to establish
a new fixed network of sampling points and provide a complete
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baseline of ecological status, covering every river water body in
England.
The new Ecological Status Indicator (ESI) will improve future
confidence in our classification of status and reported statistics of
environmental change in river water bodies required by the WFD.
For further information regarding this report or site specific
information please contact Nicola Edgar (Senior Environmental
Monitoring Officer; Analysis and Reporting).
nicola.edgar@environment-agency.gov.uk
Tel: 01543404986
6. Engagement, Incidents and Advice
There were no major incidents during this quarter. However
fisheries officers attended two minor fish kills in their respective
patches. Advisory visits were made to a number of angling clubs
throughout the quarter.
Biodiversity officers continued to support other internal teams with
WFD guidance, best practice advice and mitigation requirements for
flood alleviation schemes.
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