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Dave Gladwell writes...Carp and other victims to Otter PredationCause for Concern! It may well be that because a substantial amount of the major food chain which comprises the regular diet of otters is depleted; they will ultimately face an unkind natural decline before long. The Environment Agency claimed in 2005 that only 3% of eels normally running into the Waveney up from the seas have survived a virus introduced in alien stock defined in the Wash. With the Cormorant listed in various publications as finding this amazing slippery nomadic creature part of their staple diet too, it is no wonder alternative sources of food are sought out by these two predators. Angling match results and excursions emphatically bear out the sad loss of eels. Hardly any eels are recorded in two year’s match results of the major local Clubs, with pleasure anglers noticing the decline too. The canny Otter has had to look elsewhere. Now that Commercial Fisheries are having to place electric fencing around their waters to protect their businesses, with tremendously valuable fish; that easily have a commercial price of £500 plus for a 15lbs to 20 lbs fish, the access to free food for Otters becomes even more limited. Where there is no protection or element of mechanical prevention towards entry, the Otter has ravaged and reduced stocks of carp, tench and eels so much that they have now denied themselves this food source at many locations. Angling Club waters such as Broome Pits, the Club Pit at Ditchingham and some of Earsham Gravels, (we can find pictures of victims too), fit into this holocaust wreaked upon angling paradises. Weybread Pits too has had visits. What is most upsetting is that they do not even consume all of the fish they catch, seeking more to enjoy the hunt and sample only part of the kill! The end result will surely be that with less to eat available, the female Otter will not produce the right amount of milk required to feed new cubs and is likely to become wasted and under nourished. The new Cubs will die early in their lives, and later both male and female of the species become weaker and debilitated, without proper or sufficient food. Then, it is likely to affect their fertility potential. Or. . . who is going to feed them out in the wild when they have exhausted the rapidly disappearing natural stocks? Remember these big fish being slaughtered have taken ten to twenty years to reach their size. The former famous Waveney 2 lb roach stocks have gone too. What a waste and a shame! It is small ponds too, for at Earsham, just 100 yards from The Queen’s Head Public House, down Marsh Lane on Boxing Day last year, Mr John Boothby saw tracks in the snow. Then watched the Otter get under the protective metal grill of his 20’ diameter pond and take fish. After three more visits and a fishless pond John sadly filled it in abandoning a life-time hobby! This occurence is not a one-off and right in a populated area, with the Otter so hungry it has had to overcome all its natural instincts and fears to feed. Of course in the rush of adrenaline to re-establish the Otter in East Anglia, probably alongside a very healthy pension scheme from the Trust, this major point of sustaining the “Development”, appears to have been completely overlooked and lacks forward planning. In addition to these pictures seven Pike between 8 lbs and 23 lbs have been found in a similar condition between Shipmeadow and Wainford Maltings.
Amazingly, just as I write on Monday 4th December, yesterday Ben Copeland of Hedenham was fishing Earsham Fen at dusk and playing a 4 lb chub. Beccles Harbourmaster John Davey reports his nephew had the 4 lb fish taken off the hook by a massive otter with an almighty swirl!
More of Mark’s photos of a 6 lb eel from Broome Pits too! How old was this creature originally from the Sargasso Sea. . . and what a waste to just eat the head? Bungay Black Dog Antique man Mick Sharpe provided this snap of a 20 lb plus fish destroyed by the Otter on the Falcon Meadow Bungay! Well done Phillip Ware did some one say? Dave Gladwell © Please note that views in our articles are those of the contributors Can you let us know by email if there are any questions you would like to ask Dave regarding fishing technique, equipment or any fishing tips. www.bungay-suffolk.co.uk
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