Dorset Stour barble research initiative

The Environment Agency has teamed up with Ringwood and District Angling Association to research declining barbel fish numbers in the River Stour’s Throop fishery.

Anglers at the historic Throop fishery near Hurn, Bournemouth, had reported a decline in barbel catches and the Angling Association approached the Environment Agency for help in finding the cause of the fall in numbers.

Significant habitat improvements have been made at the fishery over previous years to improve spawning areas and juvenile and adult habitat after dredging in the 1970s.

The three-year study began at the fishery in December, with the restocking of 200 two-year-old barbel.

The juvenile barbel, which were reared at the Environment Agency’s National Coarse Fish Farm in Calverton, near Nottingham, have been tagged with passive electronic tags, similar to those used to chip dogs and cats. These chips are individual to the fish and will hopefully last for the entire lifetime of the fish.

Environment Agency fisheries officer Jim Allan, said: “Using pit tags in this way gives us a great opportunity to monitor the barbel movements over a number of years, and give input back to the club.

“Anglers can scan the fish they catch and track their movement. The data will provide valuable information on the validity of stocking and longer term information on growth rates and survival.”

December was a good time to introduce the fish into rivers, as it enabled them to acclimatise to their new surroundings, ahead of their spawning season in the spring.

The project has been joint-funded through the Environment Agency Fishery Improvement Programme, which reinvests rod licence income to improve or develop fisheries and increase understanding of fisheries management.