North Bucks Grand Union

[SooperClooper]

Used to fish it fourty odd years ago for carp either stalking with floating crust during the day or legering paste baits at night, around 16lbs was the top weight, a friend has had several cats just recently, biggest a mid 50!!!!

[Duckett]

Sadly, reports I’ve read suggest the Catfish, including the Blue Catfish, are spreading in the Grand Union and linked canals such as the Regents. It’s a disaster waiting to happen in my opinion and people need to start killing them or efforts made to remove them.

Reports are so frequent now that I’m starting to think that there are reckless fools deliberately introducing them.

Phil

[Olly]

That introduction of Wels happened in the 1800's into Woburn and a few others waters! Along later with Walleye - North American equivalent of Zander.

I read a report in some French news a some years ago that all the fish in the canal section within the town had disappeared and the Mayor wanted to know why there was no waterfowl on the canal either! The canal was drained and only 2 fish were left - both silure weighing about 150 - 200lb each!

An exaggerated story perhaps - but they can and do grow to and over that size.

All English/Welsh waters that contain Wels must have EA permission to do so! I don't know about the rest of the UK though!

Blue catfish are a much smaller American catfish with '50 - 60 pound fish being rare'. Found in the Mississippi!

[Homer Simpson]

I assume that legally if we were to catch one (a catfish) we can’t return it to the water?

[Pickerel]

Cats from Marsworth have probably 'migrated' to the GUC which runs right beside it.

[EricW]

Tring reservoirs are used to directly top up the Grand union. Any fish introduced into Tring can migrate into the canal especially as fingerlings so it is no surprise. I was always under the impression that it is illegal to stock alien species into a water that is not land-locked, and that EA permissions to do so would not be granted on that basis. Given that the CRT spend so much allegedly trying to remove zander because it is the law, they ought to be putting as much effort into removing catfish. They are after all partly responsible for directly introducing them from their own reservoirs.

[Hovis]

You are right that some species can only be stocked into land-locked (fully enclosed waters) and that in England this is regulated by the EA. What that doesn't account for is introductions outside of the current legislation.
Regarding the CRT and Zander, not sure if thier aim is to protect thier silver fish fisheries or if they are complying with a specific requirments on permissions they hold.

[Olly]

I found this which is very interesting:-

BY ANGLING TIMES | POSTED ON27 04 2022
'An interesting conversation has sprung up after a fairly high-profile angler admitted catching a diamond back sturgeon and then returning it to a fishery. It had lived there happily for a while and seemingly wasn’t doing anyone any harm. He then added that the Environment Agency had been in touch, threatening to prosecute him for putting it back.

Releasing a ‘non-native fish’ into the wild is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981. It’s in place to protect our indigenous species from invasive ‘nasties’ and to try to prevent them from taking over our waters, in much the same way that grey squirrels have replaced the native reds in many of our woodland areas.

In the UK the species of fish officially deemed non-native include grass carp, catfish, pumpkinseed, zander, topmouth gudgeon and bitterling. Some of these smaller species can become very invasive, and the zander debate has raged for a long time. Fisheries are required to have a permit to confirm what they have in their waters. If they have fish not on the list, they can be told to remove them, hence why the CRT removes zander from the canals under its control.

However, some people have now raised the question of consistency, and rightly so too. Catfish aren’t allowed in many stillwaters, ignored in some (normally as it’s ‘too expensive’ to remove them), and actually permitted in others. The same can be said for zander, with Rutland Water, Grafham Water and Old Bury Hill being just three examples of venues where they’re present in big numbers. There are even a few grass carp lakes around too. The law is of course the law, and we should all abide by it, but this area in particular seems to be incredibly grey. Perhaps it’s time for a rethink?'

[Duckett]

That introduction of Wels happened in the 1800's into Woburn and a few others waters! Along later with Walleye - North American equivalent of Zander.

I read a report in some French news a some years ago that all the fish in the canal section within the town had disappeared and the Mayor wanted to know why there was no waterfowl on the canal either! The canal was drained and only 2 fish were left - both silure weighing about 150 - 200lb each!

An exaggerated story perhaps - but they can and do grow to and over that size.

All English/Welsh waters that contain Wels must have EA permission to do so! I don't know about the rest of the UK though!

Blue catfish are a much smaller American catfish with '50 - 60 pound fish being rare'. Found in the Mississippi!

Regarding the Blue Catfish …… an old friend of mine from the USA is a lure angler based in Virginia. Dan tells me that the introduction of the Blue Catfish to water systems it is not native to, such as the James River and Chesapeake Bay, has caused much damage and it is treated as an invasive species there. Quite how it got in the Regents Canal is another matter.

I appreciate the history behind the initial introduction of the Wels but they seem to be popping up in new places so often that I have become convinced that some people are deliberately spreading them. Let’s face it, this has happened with fish for ornamental or food reasons for hundreds of years and I know of at least one incidence of idiots moving Pike from one water to another next to it which is far too small, in order to supposedly protect Carp! In another club I am a member of, attempts are being made to remove all Carp from 3 small pits in order to introduce and preserve pure Crucian. There’s been at least one idiot taking Carp from another pit and putting them in the Crucian pits. Monomania in fishing is seriously destructive!

Phil

[Hovis]

Not sure a rethink is 100% needed. The legislation relating to the keeping of fish was overhauled a few years back and is very good. Strong legislation is nothing without enforcement and regulation though.
The wildlife and countryside act is enforced by the EA. I'd humbly suggest that the police have greater issues to deal with than anglers dropping zander back where they have come from.

The CRT and Zander. Link below. I think the decision to remove is theirs and theirs alone. The science is poor on this one. I've only ever seen a single paper looking at the impact of zander on turbid linear water (read canals). They eat a surprising number of bullhead! They might reduce the numbers but they'll NEVER eradicate them. Apparently they fetch a good price at billingsgate.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.anglin ... nal-match/