10 May 2025

The Exmoor Society The Waters of Exmoor Spring Conference: Friday 9th May

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Article, Articles, At the Waters Edge, Conservation, Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

The Exmoor Society

The Waters of Exmoor

Spring Conference: Friday 9th May

Arriving at Winsford in the heart of Exmoor my wife Pauline and I were delighted to find the Village Hall packed with attendees all assembled for this conference focussing on the waters of Exmoor. Amongst the crowd were many familiar faces all of whom I knew shared a passion for rivers. After coffee and cake we took our seats to listen to the speakers the details of which I have added at the end of this feature.

Kate O Sullivan, Chair of the Exmoor Society welcomed us to the venue and gave a brief introduction highlighting the overall concerns relating to our rivers and efforts and collaborations to address the many issues.

Professor Charles Foster delivered an evocative story of a salmons life journey from its birthplace in the headwaters of the Exe to the sea, to its distant feeding grounds of Norway and Greenland and then its epic and miraculous journey back to its home water. The tale was a master class in story telling captivating the audience without a power-point presentation. The story was punctuated by the multiple perils faced by the salmon at each stage of its life long journey. The complexities of a salmons epic journey were the perfect start to the day’s proceedings in effect setting the agenda to follow..

The salmons strive to stay alive is so strong from birth to death in a constant evolutionary stream of life that has endured for millennia that is today threatened by mankind’s disregard for the natural world.

Mark Lloyd Chief Executive of the Rivers Trust gave a passionate assessment of the state of the nation’s rivers. In brief too much, too little, too dirty, too hot and too little nature. The situation has accelerated since the 1970’s with extremes of temperature and rainfall. Agriculture, Abstraction and urban pollution from sewage outfalls etc all impacting and overlapping to exacerbate the issues.

Mark then highlighted some of the solutions and how working with nature can help to address.

Professor Alistair Boxall delivered a very concerning and thought provoking presentation highlighting the issue of pharmaceutical pollution of the National Parks. Sampling of water across National Parks showed high levels of pharmaceutical residue including paracetamol, metformin, caffeine, carbamazepine, gabapentin and fexofenadine. All commonly used by many in society and discharged into sewage networks that are not designed to remove them. The long term effects on our rivers are not yet known.

Professor Sir Dieter Helm delivered an economists perspective on a fresh approach to how we address the many issues using a catchment based approach. I found his delivery enlightening and inspiring as he pointed out the uncomfortable truth that we are all collectively to blame. He set out sensible solutions to the issues highlighting that what we do is not sustainable. Food production, sewage infrastructure we create the demand yet we do not want to pay. We need to rethink, design, polluters must pay and those who do not should be rewarded for their endeavours.

Question time was skilfully coordinated by Mark Lloyd who introduced the panel.

Each panellist introduced themselves highlighting their work.

Dr Rose O’ Neil talked about the vital importance of rivers that flow through National Parks.

Dr David Smith outlined the work of South West Waters dedicated team who look after the regions catchments and rivers. South West Water are large landowners and invest in invasive species control and many fish passage schemes. Upstream Thinking is one of the company’s flagship projects and focuses on the headwaters that are vital to a catchments overall health. David acknowledged the need for future water storage and told of collaboration between Wessex Water and Bristol Water with the planned construction of Cheddar 2 adjacent to the existing Cheddar Reservoir that will help to preserve Wimbleball for the South West region.

James Thomas delivered an extensive and passionate overview of the work being undertaken by the National Trusts Wetlands Team across North Devon. James explained the historic connections of landscapes to water and how working with nature helps to improve water quality, reduce flood risk, act as carbon storage, improves drought resilience, and boosts opportunities for wildlife both increasing abundance and biodiversity.

Toby Diggens talked enthusiastically and with infectious optimism for setting rivers free using descriptive illustrations and art work to portray the long term benefits of restoring natural meandering flow of rivers.

Toby Diggens talks of the benefits of setting rivers free

A Personal Perspective

Walking out of the Village Hall we were inspired by the passion shared by all the speakers to a receptive audience. The fact that so many came together on this beautiful spring day brings hope for the future.

The problems that face our rivers are many and extremely complex. I have long held the belief that rivers are the arteries of the land. As an angler my connection with rivers has been life long and I have witnessed a dramatic and sad decline in my lifetime. I was able to share this story as we embarked upon a strenuous walk that took us to a high viewpoint that enabled us to view the beautiful valley of the river Exe.

Exmoor surely the star of the show…and top of the bill!

I bought the new book from Seven Fables by acclaimed author Robert Macfarlane who asks the question ‘ IS A RIVER ALIVE’ ? I look forward to reading this tome. But in answer to the question if we consider the entire planet a living entity then is it not sensible to consider the rivers as the veins and arteries that carry the planets life blood for water is vital to life on earth.

As we paused for lunch between the conference and our walk. I noted the martins swooping to gather mud from the stream, swifts swooping high above quaint thatched cottages their evocative screams of summer drifting through the valley and swallows those birds that are surely the true harbingers of summer. It was easy to be lulled into a sense that all is good. And yet I looked into the stream a tributary of the Exe and noted the sediment and algae in the stream and how this was far more pronounced below the ford where cars frequently drove through washing mud and oil from their undersides.

Above the ford the river runs clear its gravels less tarnished by sediment

A lady walked her dogs that splashed across the river potentially releasing powerful toxins designed to kill the ticks that are now prolific throughout the seasons, a result of infrequent winter frosts. The lack of rain throughout the spring reduces dilution of this toxic mix that enters the river. All is certainly not as it should be and the insidious invisibility is perhaps the greatest concern.

It brings hope that our eyes are slowly opening to the many issues and yet there are still too many in society who are either oblivious or turn the proverbial blind eye for it is convenient not to see.

On a final word many thanks to the Exmoor Society for all the hard work that is involved in hosting and organising such a thought provoking and informative event.

SPEAKERS PROFILES BELOW

Kate O’Sullivan

Chair of the Exmoor Society

Kate O’Sullivan has been chair of The Exmoor Society since September 2022, where she has concentrated on nature recovery. For many years she worked at the BBC as a science documentary producer, making films for the BBC-2 Horizon series and then at BBC Films. Since moving to Exmoor, she has worked on the family’s farm at Old Stowey to improve the pasture, hedges, woodland, and soil. She has a master’s in the history and philosophy of science from Imperial College.

Sarah Bryan

Chief Executive of ENPA

Sarah Bryan is the Chief Executive of the Exmoor National Park Authority. She has worked on Exmoor for more than 25 years, since joining the organisation as a Conservation Officer (Landscape) in 1992. She has used her roles to engage with landowners and land managers, forging strong partnerships with external agencies and partners, and leading key conservation and landscape projects. She has a degree in Environmental Science from the University of East Anglia, a second degree in Landscape Design from Manchester University, and is a Chartered Member of the Landscape Institute.

Professor Alistair Boxall

Professor, Environmental Science

Alistair is a Professor in Environmental Science in the Environment Department and Director of the NERC-funded ECORISC Centre for Doctoral Training. Alistair’s research focuses on understanding emerging and future ecological and health risks posed by chemical contaminants in the natural environment. Alistair is a past member of the Defra Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances and past Chair of the Pharmaceutical Advisory Group of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. He regularly advises national and international organisations on issues relating to chemical impacts on the environment and has published extensively on the detection, fate, effects and risks of emerging contaminants (including pharmaceuticals, nanomaterials and transformation products) in the natural environment.

Professor Sir Dieter Helm

Professor of Economic Policy at the University of Oxford

Dieter Helm is a Professor of Economic Policy at the University of Oxford and Fellow in Economics at New College, Oxford. From 2012 to 2020, he was Independent Chair of the Natural Capital Committee, providing advice to the government on the sustainable use of natural capital. Dieter provides extensive expert advice to UK and European governments, regulators and companies on his three specialist areas: Energy & Climate; Regulation, Utilities & Infrastructure; and Natural Capital & the Environment. In his book ‘Legacy: How to Build the Sustainable Economy’, Dieter looks at what the sustainable economy would look like and what it would take to live within our environmental means. Dieter is a Vice President of the Exmoor Society, a Vice President of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, and Honorary Fellow, Brasenose College, Oxford.

Toby Diggens

Landscape Architect

Toby is the founder of Digg & Co. Studio, an ecological landscape practice which focuses on large-scale nature recovery projects and ecosystem and landscape master planning. He is also on the committee of the River Exe’s dedicated habitat and in-river restoration and improvement group – RETA (River Exe and Tributaries Association). Toby and his team oversee and design projects where ecological uplift, enhancement and revival are core principles. Their work spans river restoration, farm and estate designs and urban projects which prioritise wild self-willed systems to proliferate with people at their heart. He lives near Exmoor, where he and his wife Bella holistically graze 500 acres of mixed natural farmland and wilderness with their herd of pedigree Red Devon’s.

Professor Charles Foster

Writer and academic

Charles Foster’s books include Being a Beast (a New York Times Bestseller), Being a Human, Cry of the Wild, and The Screaming Sky. He is a Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford.

Mark Lloyd

CEO, The Rivers Trust

Mark Lloyd read Geography at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford and then completed a Master’s in Environmental Water Management at Cranfield. He founded Thames21 in 1994, a charity cleaning up London’s rivers, which he led for 11 years. He has since been CEO of a number of angling and conservation organisations before taking up his current role in 2019 as Chief Executive of The Rivers Trust, the umbrella body for the rivers trust movement, which comprises 67 independent charities in the UK and Ireland employing over 550 staff. The Rivers Trusts work in partnership to restore wild, healthy, natural rivers, valued by all.

Dr Rose O’Neill

CEO, Campaign for National Parks

Dr Rose O’Neill is Chief Executive of the Campaign for National Parks, the independent charity dedicated to the National Parks of England and Wales. Founded in 1936, Campaign for National Parks brings together a campaigning collective of organisations, including the Exmoor Society, and individuals from all walks of life united in a common cause: nature-rich National Parks for everyone. In previous roles, Rose was principal social scientist at Natural England and headed the rivers programme at WWF-UK. Rose has a Master’s in geology and a PhD in environmental science. Rose lives just outside the South Downs National Park and loves exploring its chalk streams with her young family. She is a trustee of Wessex Rivers Trust and a member of Natural England’s Landscape Advisory Panel.

Dr David Smith

South West Water

David is South West Water’s Natural Resources Team Manager. The team of over 20 leads SWW’s work on species, habitats, biosecurity and Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS), fish and eels. It also delivers Upstream Thinking, SWW’s flagship catchment management programme. David has worked in the water industry since 2010, leading on peatland restoration, catchment management, and biodiversity, and he previously worked as a farm advisor and an ecologist for National Parks and led the Exmoor Mires restoration Partnership. David is an ecologist from a farming and horticulture background, with a D.Phil in peatland regeneration in Northern Ireland. He has co-authored publications with research partners at Exeter, Bristol, and other UK Universities on peatland restoration hydrology, water quality, greenhouse gas modification, and vegetation changes.

James Thomas

National Trust, North Devon Riverlands Team

The Riverlands Team are working across four portfolios at Arlington Court, West Exmoor, Hartland, and Woolacombe. They are restoring significant areas of wetland habitat across North Devon. This is being done by identifying areas where drainage and modification of watercourses have had a detrimental impact on the environment, and working closely with natural processes to allow the hydrology of the land to function more naturally. Working with partners at a landscape scale, a multitude of opportunities are being explored to maximise gains; from simple measures such as creating new ponds and scrapes to increase open water, strategically blocking land drains and drainage ditches to expand wetland habitat, all the way through to wet woodland creation and floodplain reconnection and resetting the land through innovative ‘stage 0’ style techniques. These measures will all combine to hold water across a wide area for longer, thereby improving water quality, reducing flood risk, acting as carbon storage, improving drought resilience, and boosting opportunities for wildlife, increasing abundance and biodiversity.

27 Apr 2025

FROTHY WATERS – OBSERVATIONS ?

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Articles, At the Waters Edge, Conservation, Game Fishing, Sea Angling, Sidebar | 0

Whilst the algae blooms witnessed along the coast are nothing new there are a couple of observations I will make. First the bloom often referred to as May bloom is earlier than normal and secondly the amount of surface froth is unusual and whilst large spring tides and a big surging swell have contributed I personally consider that this could be largely due to extensive run off from rivers into the Bristol Channel carrying worrying levels of enrichment from agricultural run-off and sewage overflows.

*Frothy waters off Lundy – Image courtesy of Predator 2 Charters*

There is increasing awareness of the many issues that impact upon water quality with considerable focus on rivers with many groups with environmental interests now joining together to campaign for a revision into how we manage our environment. This is certainly complex and requires extensive effort across government and society.

15 Apr 2025

The Waters Of Exmoor Spring Conference 2025

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Conservation, Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

http://www.lance-nicholson.co.uk

Next month you will find Seven Fables at The Exmoor Society and Exmoor National Park Authority Spring Conference. This year their focus is on rivers and among the invited speakers are nature writer Professor Charles Foster, Mark Lloyd ~ CEO of the Rivers Trust, Professor Sir Dieter Helm and Toby Diggens of Dig & Co.

17 Mar 2025

THE TEIGN BOOK – A REVIEW

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Article, Articles, At the Waters Edge, Conservation, Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

THE TEIGN BOOK

THE STORY OF THE RIVER TEIGN RESTORATION PROJECT AND OTHER ASPECTS OF THE CATCHMENT

NEIL YEANDLE with photographs by Mike Rego

Rivers inspire with their unique histories as they flow through our green and pleasant lands and it is anglers who are amongst those with the deepest connection and passion. This is evident throughout the pages of the Teign book written by Neil Yeandle who has produced a very comprehensive and informative book on this fascinating and beguiling river.

Neil is a lifelong angler whose connection with the Teign commenced when he moved to the West Country in 1988. He became a member of the Lower Teign Fishing Association in 2001.

‘As a keen sea trout angler, he soon fell in love with the Teign, although night time angling and work were never a great combination. After setting up a business Partnership, and later his own company in 1988, he was fortunate enough to be able to retire in 2011, leaving him more time to pursue his passion for angling. Neil has served on the Lower Teign Fishing Association for many years and as secretary of the Teign Angling and Conservation Association since 2013. He volunteered to write a book as part of the River Teign restoration Project and this is the fruits of his labour.’

Passion and dedication to the river Teign the environment and of course its fish are apparent throughout the pages of this book. I was encouraged to write a review of this book by Roger Furniss, Chairman of The Teign Angling and Conservation Association. I feel honoured to have been given this opportunity and as an avid collector of fishing books it was a task I relished.

The Teign book is far more than a fishing book for it delights and informs readers with an evocative story of the river and its tributaries. The full life and extraordinary cycle of salmon and sea trout is explained in detail and enhanced with the colourful illustrations of Robin Ade . The fascinating natural history and man-kinds impact over the centuries is fully documented as the Teign plunges from the rugged heights of Dartmoor to the estuary at Teignmouth.

The book contains a wealth of photographs taken by Mike Rego and many others donated by many interested parties. These images are a valuable addition to a rich and informative text.

I have yet to fish the River Teign though I have developed a close interest in the river after reading of its fish in several books and articles over the years. My wife and I have also walked the banks of the Upper Teign as it flows through the deep wooded gorge below Castle Drogo and stayed close to the river during a short break at Chagford during the summer of 2024. I glimpsed good sized trout lurking in the sunlit waters that had that beer stained colour that always adds a sense of depth and mystery.

*The steep and wooded gorge below Castle Drogo*

I also enjoyed some success whilst fishing at Fernworthy Reservoir at the head of the South Teign.

I have long held the belief that each river has a distinct and unique character undoubtedly influenced by its history and geological location. This belief was fully endorsed as I devoured the contents of this comprehensive account of the Teign. The stories and accounts of angling trips entwined with folklore and superstition add an entertaining and intriguing dimension to the book.

The fact that a rivers life spans millions of years is told within the pages and it becomes increasingly apparent how mankind’s hand has impacted in recent history. The key purpose of the Teign Restoration project is to raise awareness and engagement with the public in regard to the catastrophic decline of salmon and sea trout.

The sad story of salmon decline in the book is one that is replicated across the West Country and the Teign’s anglers have certainly shown determination to do all that they can to try and reverse this decline. The gathering of vital data over several years via walkover surveys, redd surveys, electro fishing surveys, river fly surveys, tagging projects, piscivorous bird surveys, in river works and temperature logging has provided an in depth knowledge of the rivers vital habitats and interconnected eco system. This data is used to channel effort into habitat improvement ensuring that work is invested wisely.

In addition to all of this work a salmon play, Our River Poetry competition and an exhibition at Castle Drogo have helped to engage with an audience far beyond the angling community.

https://www.medtheatre.co.uk/projects/river-teign-restoration-project/

The book is a celebration of hope for the future and how anglers and conservation bodies can work together. The Teign is a beautiful river its journey from source to sea through a vibrant landscape deserves to be told and this book gives a fascinating insight into a river as a living part of the land in which we live. After reading the book I am inspired to explore the rivers valley and maybe even search for those stunning fish that haunt its mysterious shaded pools.

4 Mar 2025

What’s the problem with Himalayan balsam?

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: At the Waters Edge, Conservation, Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

2025 Himalayan balsam Initiatives

What’s the problem with Himalayan balsam?

Himalayan balsam (HB) is a widespread and damaging invasive non-native species (INNS) which grows rapidly each summer in dense monoculture stands, especially along riverbanks, and shades out deeper-rooted native species before dying back in winter. Bare soil is left without perennial root structures to stop soil from being eroded and dumped into rivers as silt (one recent study suggests a rate of 10 tonnes per km per year). This smothers gravels, invertebrates and fish eggs, and threatens salmon and trout populations in particular.

HB infestations also cut off access for angling and other activities and worsen damage from other INNS (e.g. making riverbanks more vulnerable to collapse from signal crayfish tunnelling).

Look out for for further posts on DAA 2025 initiatives relating to Himalayan Balsam.

14 Feb 2025

Do you live in North Devon? Are you interested in the health of your local rivers?

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Article, Articles, Coarse Fishing, Conservation, Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

Do you live in North Devon? Are you interested in the health of your local rivers?

We are looking for new volunteers to join Westcountry CSI and become citizen scientists!

What is Westcountry CSI?

Westcountry CSI (Citizen Science Investigations) is a scheme established by Westcountry Rivers Trust (WRT) that involves monitoring the health of our streams and rivers, through spot sampling. We are organising a training event (delivered by WRT) to sign volunteers up.

The surveys are fairly quick and can take up to 15-20 minutes to complete. Once you sign up to the scheme online, you will receive free kit including phosphate test strips, a turbidity tube and a dissolved oxygen probe. As part of the project, volunteers are asked to take monthly samples at their chosen monitoring site and upload the results onto cartographer – a database managed by WRT.

The event details are included below:

Westcountry CSI Training Event

at Hatherleigh Community Centre

on Thursday 20^th March

from 10.30-12.30pm

If you would like to book a place at the event, please email [email protected] confirming the area you live and where you’d be interested to survey, if you have a preference.

For more details about the scheme there are plenty of resources available on the WRT website here: Westcountry CSI – Westcountry Rivers Trust (wrt.org.uk) or you can view the CSI Leaflet here: CSI Leaflet.

The training event is funded through Devon Wildlife Trust’s Northern Devon Natural Solutions project and therefore, we are only looking for volunteers who can sample streams and rivers in the northern parts of Devon, although this can include anywhere in the Taw and Torridge catchments. For more information about the wider project, you can view the website here: Northern Devon Natural Solutions | Devon Wildlife Trust

9 Feb 2025

Trees for Salmon – Planting Day at Landacre Bridge

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Article, Articles, At the Waters Edge, Conservation, Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

Over the past twelve months or so I have helped introduce the film Riverwoods to audiences across North Devon. The film highlights the vital link between tree’s and salmon within complex ecosystems. So when I learnt that West Country Rivers Trust were holding a tree planting day beside the River Barle close to the iconic Landacre Bridge I felt that I should attend and join this effort to improve this environment for the salmon.

Those who follow my posts on North Devon Angling News will know of my dismay at the dramatic decline in salmon populations across the UK and beyond. I have been visiting the River Barle since I was a child when I would play in the cool clear waters fascinated by the minnows and trout that darted to and fro. Later I fished for Salmon inspired by the writings of previous generations who enjoyed an abundance hard to imagine today. Thirty years ago I walked the bank in late Autumn to glimpse salmon huddled in deep pools prior to spawning.

It is poignant to reflect upon the plight of Exmoor’s salmon an iconic symbol of the Rivers health and the wider indicator of our planets health. The river is in trouble these flowing waters that teamed with life are dying and it is up to us to reverse this trend.

Our son James works with the National Trust’s wetlands team across North Devon and joined me as a volunteer. We took photo’s as we planted tree’s that will hopefully be there in twenty years or so when our granddaughter can perhaps visit to see where her grandad looked to the future. It is my hope that salmon will still be migrating to the Barle then as they have done for thousands of years.

Many thanks to Dan Osmond (below) for his in depth account of the day below: –

Trees for Salmon – Planting Day at Landacre Bridge

There’s an old cliché that, ‘salmon live in trees’ but there is a deep and intertwined relationship between these fish and the vegetation that symbiotically supports both, not just the salmon. For trees, salmon bring rich nutrients from the sea up with their migrations to their spawning grounds. Numbers vary by ecosystem and health of salmon populations, but in some areas it has been observed that up to 70% of all nitrogen in trees comes from these migratory fish. This is reciprocated and for salmon, trees provide richer feeding opportunities through falling terrestrial insects and bolstering aquatic ecosystems with leaf and coarse materials for aquatic insects. Not only this, but trees provide resilience against climate change, through evapotranspiration and shading, vital in Southern England as climate threatens the already endangered Atlantic salmon. The benefits continue, as when trees succumb to the wind or are dragged in by beavers, the woody material aids natural processes in forming river stability and forming scours and complex habitat, all of which provides refuge for all different life stages of fish.

The view of the Barle valley from Landacre bridge is a treasured site for many local to or fond of Exmoor. This area is a site of Special Scientific Interest, both for the species-rich mire found within the floodplain but also for our friend the Atlantic salmon. The Barle is an area still supporting high numbers of spawning fish within the Exe despite declines across the catchment and has some of our highest annual electrofishing results for juvenile salmon each year. Despite the picturesque scene, this area is vulnerable, with high browsing from red deer and cattle leaving the banks bare of vegetation, and now showing signs of erosion that left unchecked would leave this very valuable area degrading further.

It was with this concern that we decided to step in with our ‘Trees for Salmon’ planting at Landacre Bridge. Supported by advice from Exmoor National Park Authority (ENPA), we set about a strategy of ‘applied nucleation’, whereby small clusters of trees are planted to act as a dense source of future tree recolonisation. This has the added benefit of small enclosures deterring deer from munching vulnerable young trees, the leading cause of the lack of vegetation in these parts. The work was funded through Natural England’s Species Recovery project and site visits and collaboration with their team allowed us to target our planting exclosures in areas that would not negatively impact the mire habitat but bring about an overall improvement in the long-term hydrology and habitat function at this location. Being such boggy ground doesn’t make the job easy however, with the team from Three Atop Woodland Services manually installing the tree protection exclosures, even through the worst of this winter’s blizzards. All of this was wonderfully supported by the enthusiastic permission and help of the landowner Jo, who has been watching and caring for the salmon in these headwaters for many decades.

With all that goes on behind the scenes, it was with relief that we were able to bring 1,500 young trees and a cheerful group of volunteers to Landacre Bridge on Sunday the 9^th of February – the sun was even shining! After some words about the importance of the area and purpose of the day from local angler, Ueli Zellweger, and able demonstration from the WRT tree planting ninjas, Jay and Rob; the group of 25 dispersed across the valley to put trees in the ground at the exclosures. A mixture of native broadleaf trees were planted in, with sessile oak, alder, rowan, blackthorn and hawthorn forming this future riparian woodland community. So able and enthusiastic were our volunteers that by lunchtime, hot leek and potato soup in-tow, all of the trees had already been planted! After some warm bowlfuls and more fishy conversation, folks made their way back on home and the truck was loaded to return to the yard, 1,500 trees lighter. Though the effects of the hard work will take time to see, I look forward to returning to seeing these same plants in a couple of decades and the opportunities that they provide for the river ecosystem. Against the ongoing declines in biodiversity, most evident in freshwater migratory fish of all vertebrate groups; the day offered a positive opportunity to put boots on the ground, get mud under the fingernails and do something about it. We hope for many more opportunities to do the same again and scale up these restoration activities to support our wonderful rivers.

Dr. Dan Osmond

Senior Fisheries Scientist

Westcountry Rivers Trust

27 Nov 2024

Wild Swimming – Don’t swallow the lumpy bits

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Articles, At the Waters Edge, Coarse Fishing, Conservation, Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

Many thanks to Richard Wilson ( Fish Rise) for once again sharing his thoughts with North Devon Angling News. Follow link below for more of Richards wisdom….

Wild Swimming

Don’t swallow the lumpy bits

All too often there’s conflict between wild swimmers and other river users, such as boats and fisherfolk, but not me. The swimmers seem a decent enough bunch of people, mostly of my generation, or thereabouts, and with whom I could comfortably share a mug of tea and some friendly chatter. Male and female, they are as polite as I aspire to be (that’s a compliment). Socialising would be much easier were they not wracked by uncontrollable shivering.

And given that these days there’s rarely a salmon to be seen, let alone caught, there’s no harm in letting a swimmer in. Rocks, dogs and wild swimmers can all stir up the fish and breathe life into a slumbering pool. For the swimmers, so far so good. I’m sympatico.

Where this gets really discombobulating is that word ‘wild’. There’s nothing remotely ‘wild’ about Britain’s rivers. Mostly they are little better than open sewers that allow farmers, our water companies and the few remaining factories to move, at zero cost, huge volumes of human and animal shit from source to sea – and after years of inadequate investment there’s a lot being shifted. So the only thing ‘green’ about our rivers and lakes is organic phosphate pollution and the vivid algal blooms that choke the redds with slime and suck the oxygen out of the water. And, depending on the type of algae, kill animals, fish and make people very sick. Wild swimmers, when clumping, talk about this and compare notes on who got ill, when and where. They’re all unwelcome notches on their back-to-nature experience of life in the ‘wild’. Which seems a counter-intuitive reaction to me. I’d just stay out of the water because it’s toxic.

This phosphate pollution is a global phenomenon. Eutrophication is killing lakes and rivers from Windemere in the Lake District to Chesapeake Bay in the US and back the long way round. It’s a universal by-product of humanity. Just about everybody everywhere can point to local examples.

The various habitués of our rivers respond to this in different ways. Salmon, for example, have mostly given up. They like cold, clean water so there’s a double whammy: pollution and climate change. In the UK, they’re now a Red List endangered species and while I’m doing my best to kick the decision down the road, I think my salmon fishing days are over. Here, and perhaps everywhere.

Thankfully, fishing humans have some watery advantages over salmon and wild swimmers. I approach a river in a rubberised hazmat suit, of sorts, that lacks only the helmet and gloves. Chest waders, waterproof jacket, decorative neckerchief that makes me daddy-cool and so on. And for at least a decade I have been very careful not to get my fingers anywhere near my mouth while in or near the water. I am mindful of the pensioner who recently went down with sepsis after falling into the ‘pristine’ chalk stream I grew up on.

So what can we do? How do we make a difference? Some of this is easy: I donate to non-profits that fight pollution and support research into catchment management and the such like. This does some good. Over the past 4 decades, I have also written scores of articles and filed dozens of TV reports on the increasingly dire state of our rivers. I repeat: the increasingly dire state of our rivers. Except for an occasional break-out story, reporting rarely has a discernable impact and it all goes from bad to worse. So I’ll keep writing the cheques.

Not all the news is bad and there have even been some improvements. Remember acid rain? Nobody frets much about the acidification of our upland streams anymore, mostly because the heavy industry that caused it has collapsed into a land of uniformly bland shopping centres, car parks, cinemas and junk-food outlets where the grotesquely obese wobble short distances from car to sugar fix. Gimme a ‘shake with double sprinkles, syrup and chocolate sauce. And cake.

Meanwhile, back in the hills, there’s a winner and the insect life in our headwaters is recovering. So, provided they’re nowhere near over-stocked cattle or a village, there are aquatic insects and fry for their dependent birds, the dippers and kingfishers, to hunt. Ah … did someone say climate change? Well, you can’t have everything.

Here’s the grown-up bit: It’s important to understand that the high and mighty in politics and industry who decide the fate of our rivers don’t see them in the same way as us mortals. To them rivers are economic entities carrying trade, providing water and getting very expensive when they flood. It is entirely predictable that floods always happen before adequate (for which read ‘expensive’) defences have been planned, approved and constructed. Ideally, this would be done by restoring the wetlands upstream. Unfortunately, this memo has not reached the management. So our rivers remain part-asset, part-liability, wrapped in concrete and always an economic opportunity (bargain-basement waste disposal, for example).

I have heard this best explained, reductio ad absurdum, by a small-cog employee in the big wheel of water management. Early in my time as the BBC’s Environment Correspondent I was asked by a pollution control officer if I knew how drinking water from the many reservoirs in Wales, in the wet west, reached taps in towns in the drier east of England. There is no pipeline, no shared catchment and no visible way for plentiful Welsh water to get from wet A to needy B. The answer, he said with a twinkle, is that people in Birmingham drink a glass of water and then flush their toilets. Birmingham drinks Welsh water and drains eastwards, via decrepit sewage works. Like all good stories, this stuck in my mind for the ludicrous nature of its central proposition and the awful realisation that it could easily be true (it is). I wonder how many millions of gallons of waste-water the 4.3m people of Birmingham and its surroundings generate every day.

The times they are a’changing and, I fear, not for the better. I like being on rivers, but not nearly enough to swim in most of them. Meanwhile, they need all the friends they can get from the most humble of anglers and wild swimmers to the rich and politically powerful. And as for the Salmon? I wish I knew, but I fear the worst.

11 Nov 2024

Combe Martin Community Centre – Riverwoods – Showing Number 10

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Articles, Conservation, Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

I joined with Adrian Bryant and the National Trust at Combe Martin Community Centre to show the acclaimed film Riverwoods to close to fifty attendees. The film was followed by a short presentation by myself on the dramatic decline of salmon in the West Country. National Trust Wetlands Ranger James Thomas lifted sprits with an inspiring presentation on work being undertaken across North Devon to improve wetland habitat and reduce flooding.

The Community Centre was previously the Primary School that I attended as a child back in the late 1960’s. Less than fifty yards from this building the River Umber flows on its journey through the village to the sea. It sad that in those fifty years, (a very short time in the grand scale of nature) the wild brown trout have dwindled dramatically and sea trout are perhaps no longer present. The eels that thrived in the river have also declined alarmingly as they have across the whole of the UK. It is tragic that our generation have overseen this trashing of the natural world.

This was the tenth showing of the Riverwoods Film to audiences across North Devon with over 300 watching the film at various venues. It is to be hoped that our efforts have helped put the health of local rivers higher on the public and political agenda. Keep up to date on North Devon Angling News for future events

2 Nov 2024

Salmon is it too late?

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: At the Waters Edge, Conservation, Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

Join the National Trust and myself at Combe Martin Community Centre on Wednesday November 6th to watch the acclaimed Riverwoods Film and hear about efforts to restore our rivers.

Senior Fisheries Scientist Dr Dan Osmond

“When a species heads towards extinction, you might expect public outcry. But as our Senior Fisheries Scientist Dr Dan Osmond suggests in his article about a keystone fish, this is not quite the case for the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar).

But all is not lost, as Dan shares not only details of how our charity is working hard to remedy the decline, but how others are too, including short and long-term solutions.

We know how important the Atlantic salmon is and how crucial to the overall structure and functioning of an ecosystem they are – we will continue to do all we can to turn the tide on their predicament.”

Read article link below :-

https://wrt.org.uk/the-fading-away-of-westcountry-salmon/