Attack of the Otters

I was sat on the sofa last night and Monday night TV was somewhat uninspiring, so I had a look through my Sky planner and saw that I had an episode of Country File recorded. I remember my dad pointing me in the direction of this specific episode, as there was a piece on the current Otter population, and the affects that it’s having on fish stocks in our water ways and commercial fishery’s. On my way to work this morning, I was mulling over the points that were raised during the program, which has led to this week’s blog topic.

From the 1950’s up until the 1970’s the British Otter population was in a drastic decline. This decline is very closely linked to the introduction of Organochlorine pesticides that were being used in seed dressings and other agricultural chemicals. By the late 1970’s Otter numbers were so low, they were classified as an endangered species. A survey conducted in England between 1977 and 1979, concluded that only 6% of sites examined, only had evidence of Otters being present.

Towards the end of the 70’s the use of Organochlorine pesticides had been banned in most developed countries, after the World Health Organization prohibited the use of such chemicals. This had an enormously positive affect on the Otter population in the UK. Coupled with the work that was carried out between the Environmental Agency and the UK Otter trust by releasing 117 captive bread Otters across the UK, by the mid 90’s the Otters number were flourishing.

It’s wonderful that the population of Otters across the UK has recovered and some, but at what cost? Angling is the most participated pastime in the UK, with specimen Carp Fishing leading the way. To anyone who fishes on a regular basis, knows the risk that Otters now pose to fish stocks is huge. Despite their fluffy appearance and association with Henry Willimson’s much-loved children’s book, ‘Tarka the Otter’, they are vicious hunters. You only need to search ‘Otter attack on fish’ into Google, to see the devastation that these cute looking animals are having on fish. One of the most renowned examples is the loss of ‘The Big Lady’, which held the British Barbel record, at a whopping 21lbs, in 2013. Reports suggested that this fish was pulled from the River Ivel, Bedfordshire by one of our whiskered subjects, and destroyed, with the remains of the ‘Big Lady’ being left on the riverbank.

This situation can be likened to that of the culling of Rabbits in the 60’s and 70’s, where Rabbit populations became so dense, it was having a detrimental affect on farming and the cultivation of crops, leading to a financial implication for farmers. As a form of population management, Myxomatosis (AKA Myxie) was introduced into the wild to help reduce the population of Rabbits. I’m not for one minuet suggesting that this extreme approach to population management should be adopted with Otters. However the same as Rabbits, Otters are now creating problems, which could possibly have a huge financial impact on businesses such as commercial fisheries.

There are two types of commercial fisheries, there are those that are owned and managed by individuals who have deep pockets, who can afford to purchase large stocks of fish, to various different weights. Then there are the smaller, more family run fisheries, that may not have the financial clout, for whom it’s taken years, most probably, decades to grow their fish stocks and develop the fishery.

Then you have the fish famer, an example is Simon Scott, owner of V.S Fisheries. One of the biggest Carp farms in the UK. Scott can command anything from £250 for a mid double, and upwards of £600 for a 20lb plus Carp. If an Otter was to infiltrate a fish farm or any form of fishery, stocks could be obliterated in a matter of weeks, putting people out of business. Even if a fishery were to lose just one or two of its prized assets, the attraction for specimen carp anglers would diminish, resulting in fewer anglers visiting the venue.

There are ways that farms and fisheries alike can safe guard their stock by installing Otter fences. But this comes at a cost. However the question I ask, should the fishery owners have to foot the bill for the cost of installing such protection? As with running any business, there are always risks and sometimes investments need to be made in order to mitigate against them. But hold on…. wasn’t this thriving population of Otter created by the Environmental Agency and conservationist?

The army of anglers in the UK spent £23 million on rod licenses last year. Most of which goes to the Environmental Agency. I know that some of this money is put towards the management of Otters. However is enough being done? I would say no. Some form of funding should be made available to fisheries and fish farms to help with the installation of Otter fences. In addition the legislation surrounding Otter management need to be relaxed and more power given to fishery owners to allow them to manage Otter problems accordingly. Currently the law states:

“The otter is protected under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 (as amended), known as the ‘Habitats Regulations’. This is because it has declined throughout Europe during recent decades.

Under the Habitats Regulations, it is an offence if you:

• Deliberately capture, injure or kill any wild animal of an EPS

• Deliberately disturb wild animals of any such species

• Damage or destroy a breeding site or resting place of such an animal”

To summarise, there is nothing you can do if an Otter sets up camp on your fishery!

There are however a number of people who are now licensed, by the Environmental Agency, to remove Otters if they are causing problems. However across the entire UK, there are only 5 people who have the ability to do so. That is quite simply not enough, and more money needs to be invested in allowing more people to remove Otters from affected waters.

Anglers are ambassadors of the countryside and the large majority of the Angling community, respect the countryside, the animals and plants that its home to. As a result, we respect that Otters have the write to be a part of the ecosystem that the countryside provides, however there needs to be more done to manage the population before this wonderful pastime of Angling is damaged even further.