River Welland Electrofishing Survey
An electrofishing survey will be carried out on May 9 on the River Welland by the Environment Agency
What: Electrofishing Survey
When: 10am Wednesday 9 May
Where: Welland Mayfly Fishing Club, Harringworth, Northamptonshire
Who: Environment Agency fisheries team and YOU!
The Environment Agency's fisheries team will be conducting its annual electrofishing survey on the River Welland * and we'd love you to come along. It's a great chance for you to see the type of work we do every day, find out why it's important, and even have some lunch on us.
Surveying is carried out annually at 21 sites along more than 90 km of the River Welland, from upstream of Market Harborough to the tidal barrier in Spalding, and forms part of a national monitoring programme - covering 2700 miles of watercourses across England and Wales. The results provide a picture of fish populations and help to show how healthy our rivers actually are.
Environment Agency staff will use electro-fishing equipment to catch the fish. An electric current is passed through the water to momentarily stun the fish enabling them to be caught easily in a net.
Length and weight are then recorded and scale samples are taken to determine age before the fish are returned unharmed back into the water.
Further downstream, sophisticated acoustic equipment is used that gives a picture of the numbers and sizes of fish over very long stretches of river.
The data from this survey will help us to detect changes in fish populations and identify areas of river that are good (or bad) for fish. The survey reports are useful for the angling community and help everybody understand the effect of flows, habitat and man on our fish populations.
Day's Itinerary:
10.00am meet at Harringworth road bridge
10.30am survey begins
11.30am fish measured and scales taken
12.30pm end of survey, Q&A and lunch.
Copies of the latest survey report will also be handed out.