South Lancashire Fisheries Advisory Committee 28th June, 1978
Item Type monograph
Publisher North West Water Authority
Download date 30/09/2021 03:11:41
Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/1834/27011 North West Water
Dawson House, Great Sankey Warrington WA5 3LW Telephone Penketh 4321
,21st June,, 1*9 7B .
To: Members of the South Lancashire Fisheries Advisory .Committee (Messrs. R. D. 'Houghton [Chairman]; T. A. Blackledge; A,. G,. R. Brown; J,. Clegg; J. Johnson; R. -H.. Wiseman; Dr. R. B. Broughton; Professor W. E,. Kershaw; and the Chairman of the Authority [P. J. Liddell]; the Vice Chairman of the Authority [J. A. Foster] and the Chairman of the Regional Fisheries Advisory Committee .[T,. A. F. Barnes’] [ex officio]).
Dear Sir,
A meeting of ±he SOUTH LANCASHIRE FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE will he held at 2.30 p.m. on WEDNESDAY, 28TH JUNE, 1978, at the ’LANCASHIRE AREA OFFICE of the RIVERS DIVISION, 48 WEST CLIFF, IPHESTON, for consideration of the following business.
Yours faithfully,
G. W. SHAW,
Director of Administration,.
A G E N D A
1 Apologies for absence.
2. Minutes of the last meeting (enclosed herewith along with the Minutes of the Regional Advisory Committee meeting of 2nd May, 1978).
3. Monitoring of level's of radioactivity in migratory fish.
4. Fishing offences and prosecutions 1977-78.
5. Income from sale of rod and line licences 1977.
6. Review of discharge consent conditions.
7. Illegal net ting - offshore patrol boat.
8. Worthington Reservoir, Future Development Policy for the Fishery. - 2 -
9. Stocks Reservoir - Ribble Division - Public Access and Conservation.
10. Report by the Area Fisheries Officer on fishing activities.
11. Any other business. F1/A8 NORTH WEST WATER AUTHORITY
SOUTH LANCASHIRE FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE
28TH JUNE 1978
MONITORING OF LEVELS OF RADIOACTIVITY IN MIGRATORY FISH
1. On 18th January, 1978, (Minute No. 16) the Committee received a report on the possible effects on migratory fish of radioactivity in the sea in the west coast regions, and the monitoring procedures in relation thereto. A final report on the sea-trout samples collected during 1977 has now been received from the Radiobiological Laboratory of the M inistry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
2. The only gamma-emitting radionucleides detected were Caesium-137 and Caesium-134, plus the naturally occurring Potassium-40. A complete list of all the results obtained is given in the Appendix. The Radiobiological Laboratory commented on the results as follows:
"To put the results in radiological perspective, the acceptable daily intake (International Commission on Radiological Protection) is 30,000 pCi for Caesium-137 and 13,000 pCi for Caesium-134. Therefore assuming that a member of the public eats 21bs of trout flesh every week of the year at the concentration of fish from the Duddon then the estimated radiation dose he/she receives is approximately 10% of that con sidered acceptable by International Authorities."
3. As a comparison, the Radiobiological Laboratory also provided figures for radioactivity levels in flounders taken from the Flookburgh area of Morecambe Bay in 1976. For muscle tissue these were:
Casesium-137 15.8 +3.5 pCi per g wet weight
1 Caseisum-134 2.0 +0.5 pCi per g wet weight
4. The Radiobiological Laboratory would like to have more samples this year, covering the same overall area although on a reduced sampling scale with perhaps one sample close to Windscale, one from the North Solway and another from a Lancashire river. Arrangements are there fore being made for collecting fish from these areas. F1/A9 NORTH WEST WATER AUTHORITY APPENDIX
SOUTH LANCASHIRE FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE
28TH JUNE 1978
Concentrations of radionucleides River Tissue in picro Curies per g wet weight Caesium-137 Caesium-134 Potassium-40**
Border Esk Muscle 9.9 1.2 Bone 5.3 * Skin 5.9 * Gut Cavity 7.8 0.8
Cocker Muscle 7.5 0.8 Bone 7.7 0.5 Skin 4.1 *
Ehen Muscle 20.1 2.4 Bone 8.3 * Skin 6.2 0.7 Gut Cavity 11.9 1.3
Calder Muscle 16.4 1.7 Bone 13.3 1.0 Skin 6.1 * Gut Cavity 9.6 1.3
Duddon Estuary Muscle 19.9 1.7 3.1 Bone 10.2 1.1 3.5 Skin 9.1 1.0 2.2 Gut Cavity 8.2 0.9
Kent Estuary Muscle 12.7 1.2 3.3 Bone 9.9 1.0 3.0 Skin 12.1 1.2 2.6 Gut Cavity 12.9 1.4 2.0
Lune Muscle 13.9 1.7 Bone 16.4 * Skin 11.1 * Gut Cavity 9 9 1.5
Ribble Muscle 19.3 2.1 Bone 7.3 1.2 Skin 8.1 1.2 Gut Cavity 10.3 1.1
* Caesium-134 present but below level of accurate measurement ** Potassium-40 levels measured only in Duddon and Kent fish F1/A14 NORTH WEST WATER AUTHORITY
SOUTH LANCASHIRE FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE
28TH JUNE 1978
FISHING OFFENCES AND PROSECUTIONS 1977/78
1. The total number of persons prosecuted by the Authority for fishing offences during 1977/78 rose to 778 compared with 362 in 1976/77, and due to the consequent considerable increase in the volume of work in processing prosecutions, adm inistrative procedures have been streamlined to ensure that the more serious offences are brought promptly before the M agistrates.
It is the policy for straightforward licensing offences to be dealt with under the M agistrates' Courts Act procedure whilst in the more involved cases, Solicitors are employed to appear on behalf of the Authority at the various local Courts.
2. During 1976 in the Mersey and Weaver area, the Authority carried out a policy of issuing warnings to anglers found to be contravening the provisions of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 this being the first year in which anglers in this area were required to take out a rod and line licence, and it was considered that they might not be fully aware of the provisions of the Act and the Authority's Fishery Byelaws.
3. With the increased B ailiffing force operating in the Mersey and Weaver area in 1977, the Authority's normal policy of prosecution of alleged offenders was implemented and by the end of the season there was a marked reduction in the number of anglers found to be committing o f f e n c e s .
It is felt that the publicity given to Court hearings by the Press and Angling Associations, has proved to be very helpful, resulting in a substantial increase in income from licences sales.
4. The appendix to this report summarises for the information of members, the offences and prosecutions within the South and West Cumberland area for 1977/78 in two categories:
(i) Those offences relating to the use of illegal instruments and bait; the passage of fish; close seasons and contravention of the Fishery Byelaws.
(ii) Licensing offences.
In addition other action taken in connection with incidents which did not result in Court actions is also summarised and Members will appreciate that the work involved concerning the 37 alleged offenders against whom no legal action was ultim ately taken, although abortive, is extremely time consuming. F1/A22 APPENDIX FISHING OFFENCES AND PROSECUTIONS
SOUTH LANCASHIRE AREA
1ST APRIL f 1977 - 31ST MARCH, 1978
COURT PROCEEDINGS
O ffen c e s Illegal Instruments and L ic e n s in g T o ta l baits; passage of fish; O ffe n c e s close season & Byelaws
Number of Defendants 28 54 82*
Number of Charges 60 54 114
Total Fines Imposed £827 £396 £1,223
2 . OTHER ACTION
O ffen c e s Illegal Instruments and L ic e n s in g T o ta l baits; passage of fish; O ffe n c e s close season & Byelaws
Warning Letters 5 17 22*
Other cases not taken to Court due to lack of evidence;' serious illness or being unable to trace the alleged offender 11 26 37*
* The Authority therefore took action involving 141 persons for contravening the provisions of the Act and the Byelaws during 1977-78 within the Committee's area. F l/A l NORTH WEST WATER AUTHORITY
SOUTH LANCASHIRE FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE
28TH JUNE 1978
INCOME FROM SALE OF ROD AND LINE LICENCES 1977
1. A summary of income from the sale of rod and line licences is attached as an appendix for the information of members.
2. The summary compares details of licences sold during 1977 with those for 1976. The actual number sold shows an increase of 18.95% and an increase in the amount of income of 12.98% for the same period. Whilst the numbers sold have increased, for all groups of licences the greatest increase is in Freshwater Fish licences (whole area 32.89%; former Mersey and Weaver River Authority area 33.96%).
3. It would appear that the concentrated licence checking effort by the bailiffing force in the Mersey and Weaver area is resulting in anglers in that area recognising the need to hold an appropriate licence. F1/A2 NORTH WEST WATER AUTHORITY
SOUTH LANCASHIRE FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE
28TH JUNE 1978
ROD AND LINE LICENCE SALES 1977
1976 1977 Whole Area Value No. Amount No. Amount £ £ £
Salmon - Season 12 1,908 22,896.00 1,799 21,588.00 Salmon to 31st May 6 65 390.00 29 174.00 Salmon from 1st June 7 2,318 16,226.00 2,751 19,257.00 Salmon - Season, Reduced duty 5 612 3,060.00 611 3,055.00 Salmon to 31st May Reduced duty 2.50 15 37.50 4 10.00 Salmon From 1st June Reduced duty 3 409 1,227.00 511 1,533.00 Salmon 7 day 2 1,880 3,760.00 2,131 4,262.00
Total Salmon and 7,207 47,596.50 7,836 49,879.00 Migratory Trout
Non-Migratory Trout Season 2 19,871 39,742.00 22,002 44,004.00 Non-Migratory Trout Reduced Duty Season 1 3,705 3,705.00 3,923 3,923.00 Non-Migratory Trout - 7 day 0.50 12,091 6,045.50 12,163 6,081.50
Total Non-Migratory 35,667 49,492.50 38,088 54,008;50 Trout
Freshwater Fish and Eels, Season 1 18,097 18,097.00 25,179 25,179.00 Freshwater Fish and Eels, Season, Reduced duty 0.50 4,018 2,009.00 4,776 2,388.00 Freshwater Fish and Eels, 7 day 0.25 3,456 864.00 4,027 1,006.75
Total Whole Area 25,571 20,970.00 33,982 28,573.75 Freshwater Fish
Former Mersey & Weaver River Authority area
Freshwater Fish and Eels, Season 0.50 7,993 3,996.50 10,610 5,305.00 Freshwater Fish and Eels, Reduced duty 0.25 2,037 509.25 2,827 706.75
Total M & W Area 10,030 4,505.75 13,437 6,011.75 Freshwater Fish TOTAL 78,475 122,564.75 93,343 138,473.00 F l /B l NORTH WEST WATER AUTHORITY
SOUTH LANCASHIRE FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE
28TH JUNE 1978
REVIEW OF DISCHARGE CONSENT CONDITIONS
1. On 8th May, 1978, the Water Quality Panel received the formal document produced by the National Water Council and entitled "River Water Quality: The Next Stage".
A copy of the document, which contains a foreword by the Chairman of the Council and a statement by the Rt. Hon. Denis Howell, MP, M inister of State, Department of the Environment, is attached hereto.
2. Paragraph 32 on page 7, contains the Council's recommendations that water authorities should put in hand a review of the present discharge consent conditions and details the suggested lines of such a review, and in this connection it is hoped to submit to the Water Quality Panel at the September meeting, a paper dealing with the question of long-term objectives for river water quality.
3. Arrangements have recently been made to involve representatives of the Confederation of British Industry, the National Farmers' Union and the Country Landowners' Association in discussions to assist in formulat ing proposals for such long-term objectives.
4. This report is submitted for the information of members and the outcome of the Water Quality Panel's deliberations in September w ill be reported to the following meeting of this Committee. F1/A19 NORTH WEST WATER AUTHORITY
SOUTH LANCASHIRE FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE
28TH JUNE, 1978
ILLEGAL NETTING - OFF-SHORE PATROL BOAT
1. In 1977 the Committee asked the Officers to consider the question of Bailiffs carrying out sea patrols where illegal salmon netting was believed to be taking place.
2. The Officers considered that such patrols would be justified, on the basis of reports received alleging illegal netting but none of the boats owned by the Authority were suitable for the purpose. The possibility of hiring a boat was, therefore, considered but this did not prove to be feasible and enquiries were therefore made into the most suitable boat which could be purchased for this purpose. The boat which meets most closely the requirements of the Authority is the Task Force Q18 which is an eighteen foot fibre-glass boat with a covered cockpit and a 55 hp Johnson outboard engine. Sea trials were carried out recently and it was found to be extremely stable and sea worthy, under what were considered to be average conditions for the North-West c o a s t .
3. The purchase has now been completed and it is expected that sea patrols w ill commence towards the end of June subject to the avail ability of certain items of radio and emergency equipment. F1/A 17 NORTH WEST WATER AUTHORITY
SOUTH LANCASHIRE FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE
28TH JUNE 1978
WORTHINGTON RESERVOIR - FUTURE DEVELOPMENT POLICY FOR THE FISHERY WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO TROUT FISHING
1. Experience during the first eight months' operation of this fishery has indicated that some amendment of the regulations is desirable to improve regulation of the fishing.
2. The Appendix to Minute No. 16 of the Committee's meeting held on 11th January, 1978, set out the arrangements for the operation of the fishery and paragraph 3 thereof included the following regulations:
(1) Any angler wishing to fish in Worthing Reservoir at any time must be in possession of a licence to fish for non-migratory trout.
(2) A surcharge on the coarse fishing permit (to cover trout fishing) is payable by any angler wishing to fish in Worthington Reservoir.
3. These requirements are desirable during the trout fishing season (15th March to 30th September inclusive) in view of the fact that, during the coarse fish close season (15th March to 15th June inclu sive) fly fishing for trout is permitted on the- reservoir, whilst after 15th June normal coarse fishing techniques w ill undoubtedly take trout also, as demonstrated by the experimental fishing carried out prior to the opening of the fishery. After 30th September, however, and up to 15th March following, trout cannot legally be taken, although coarse fishing will be going on and trout are likely to be caught in addition to coarse fish.
4. It is therefore recommended that the following amendments be to the regulations became operative wef 1st October, 1978:
(1) the requirement to hold a trout licence and to pay a surcharge when fishing Worthington Reservoir should apply only during the period 15th March to 30th September inclusive;
(2) a condition should be added to the permits stating that from 1st October to the following 14th March inclusive all trout caught (whether brown or rainbow) must be returned immediately to the water with as little damage as possible;
(3) a note should be printed on all permits to the effect that the Warden w ill carry out checks on baskets, bags or other containers belonging to anglers leaving the site.
5. in the light of present thinking, it is likely that management of the fishery will need some revision in 1979 with a view to providing the best possible trout fishing between mid-March and mid-June, while interfering as little as possible with coarse fishing activities during the remainder of the year. Fl/B14 NORTH WEST WATER AUTHORITY
SOUTH LANCASHIRE FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE
28TH JUNE, 1978
STOCKS RESERVOIR, RIBBLE DIVISION - PUBLIC ACCESS AND CONSERVATION
1. On 2nd May, 1978, the Regional Fisheries Advisory Committee con sidered a report in connection with recreational activities at Stocks Reservoir, which had been submitted to the Recreation Sub-Committee on 17th April, 1978, and expressed their concern at the proposed restriction of angling to approximately 1 mile only out of a total of six miles of reservoir banking.
2. As a result of this concern, the Regional Fisheries Advisory Committee recommended to the Water Management Committee that, because of the problems which could ensue should the reservoir be opened to a multi plicity of recreational activities which might conflict, primary considerations should be given to its development as a trout fishery in 1979, further compatible recreational activities being considered at a later date.
3. The Water Management Committee at their meeting on 15th May noted the recommendation of the Regional Fisheries Advisory Committee. F1/B3 NORTH WEST WATER AUTHORITY
SOUTH LANCASHIRE FISHERIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE
28TH JUNE, 1978
REPORT OF THE AREA FISHERIES OFFICER ON FISHERIES ACTIVITIES
1 . RIVER CONDITIONS AND FISHING
River levels were maintained well above normal during March and the early part of April but flows decreased progressively after the first 10 days in April. Water temperatures were generally low for the time of year (5-6 C) but despite the cold conditions 18 salmon are known to have been caught on the River Ribble between Samlesbury and Clitheroe the largest of which weighed 281bs.
River levels were generally low during May with water temperatures up to 15 C during the daytime. A run of salmon entered the River Ribble at the beg inning of the month and 25 of these fish have been caught from pools in the Samlesbury area. Although a few sea trout have been observed in the lower Ribble there have been no reports of c a tc h e s .
Catches of trout have been quite good throughout the season with most of the fish in good condition. As usual the best takes came from sections of the river where stocking had taken place. The lower Ribble has fished well this season and brown trout up to 2lbs have been taken. Reservoir fishing produced good catches early in the season particularly Stocks Reservoir (brown trout to 3lbs) Horton Tarn (brown trout to 21bs) and Barrow Lodges near Clitheroe (rainbow trout to 5.5 bs).
The lower Ribble fished very well for coarse fish during early March and many anglers took between 241bs and 641bs of chub and dace in the Samlesbury area. Shoaling dace, roach and chub were observed in May at various points on the Ribble between Alston and Clitheroe. Shoals were much larger than normal and were probably made up of collections of pre-spawning fish.
2 . MIGRATORY FISH MOVEMENT
MONTH NUMBER OF FISH OVER 4LBS
Waddow W eir J a n u a ry 0 R ib b le F e b ru a ry 8 March 2 A p r il 3 May 8
Winckley Hall J a n u a ry 0 Hodder F e b ru a ry 1 March 2 A p r il 4 May 12 2
MONTH NUMBER OF FISH OVER 4LBS
Locks Weir January 0 Ribble February O March O April 0 May O
3. LANGCLIFFE HATCHERY
Approximately 120,500 salmon eggs were laid down in the hatchery troughs during November and December of 1977. In addition, 45,000 eyed sea trout ova were obtained from the Yorkshire Water Authority and taken to Middleton hatchery for incubation. During January, February and March, mortalities remained low and the total figure was estimated at 2,000. On 27th March, seven thousand of the eyed salmon ova were transferred to Middleton Hatchery. The subsequent progress of the salmon eggs/fry at Langcliffe is summarised below:
Week Ending Estimated Ova/Fry Weekly Mortalities on % present at start Mortality present at the st of week of the week
(approx 2,000 up to week ending 24/3/78)
31/3/78 118,492 448 0.4 (7,000 taken to Middleton on 27/3/78) 7/4/78 111,044 4,508 4.1 14/4/78 106,536 844 0.8 21/4/78 105,692 498 0.5 28/4/78 105,194 1,585 1.5 5/5/78 103,609 21,092 20.4 12/5/78 82,517 53,873 65.3 19/5/78 29,644 28,087 98.1 26/5/78 557 462 82.9 2/6/78 95 92 96.8
Fry started dying in large numbers on 28th April, these mortalities increased over the weekend 29th and 30th April. A sample of fry was examined. No signs of protozoan parasite were observed; the only unusual feature recorded was the presence of excess mucous on the gill filament. Water samples taken from the supply pipe did not show the presence of toxic chemicals. The large mortalities continued and on 3rd May samples of salmon fry were taken from the Hatchery for exami nation by the Fish Disease Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
Bacteriological and virological tests on these fry were negative. Histological examination of the gills shows slight hyperplasia, which could suggest the presence of some irritant. The cause of these large scale mortalities was not, however, determined and no evidence of disease was found. 3
The possibility that algae in Langcliffe Mill Lodge might be drasti cally reducing the level of oxygen in the supply water during the hours of darkness was also investigated. Dissolved oxygen samples were taken from the water inflow to the hatchery troughs at 30 minute intervals during the period 20.00 hours on 22nd May to 07.00 hours on 23rd May. The results of these tests shows that the concentration of oxygen never fell below 8 mgl. This indicates that the water was very well oxygenated during the hours of darkness. Virtually all the salmon fry had died by 31st May, 1978, and to date the cause is unknown.
At Middleton Hatchery 20,000 of the 45,000 fry developed from ova obtained from the Yorkshire Water Authority were lost on 22nd April. This mortality resulted from a failure in water supply caused by the blockage of a screen by debris from the feeder stream to the hatchery.
4. STOCKING BY ANGLING ASSOCIATIONS
Brown Trout
No. Date Receiving Water Association or Individual
500 14.3.78 River Hodder Padiham & District AA 700 15.3.78 Stocks Reservoir Stocks A C 947 16/3/78 River Ribble Clitheroe AA 500 17/3/78 River Hodder CWS Withgill 200 4/4/78 Grimsargh Reservoir Courtaulds AC 250 13/5/78 Parsonage Reservoir Blackburn & District AA 3097
Rainbow Trout
300 12/3/78 Dean Clough Lancashire Fly Reservoir fisheries AA
Coarse Fish
No. Species Date Receiving Water Assoqiation or Individual
100 Carp 12/3/78 Ball Grove Pendle Leisure Services 200 Bream 19/3/78 Ponds at Wrea Premium Bond AS Green 400 Rudd 30/3/78 Horns Dam TAF Barnes Esq. 300 Carp 9/5/78 Leeds-Liverpool Northern AA Canal 100 Carp 9/5/78 Grange Mill Platt Saco Lowell Reservoir Limited 4
STOCKING BY THE AUTHORITY
Brown Trout
No. Species Date Receiving Water Source 800 6 /4 /7 8 River Laneshaw Dunsop Trout Farm
Ra inbow T ro u t 200 8/4/78 Mitton Fishery Hollingworth Hatchery
C o arse F is h
3000 Roach 4 /4 /7 8 River Calder Sabden Lodge 184 Chub 17/4/78 Worthington Stock River Ribble P o o l 308 Chub 18/4/78 li It River Ribble 2000 Roach 2 /5 /7 8 Kearns Allens Foxhill Bank Reservoir Lodge 6000 P erch 22/5/78 River Calder Foxhill Bank Reservoir 30 Rudd 2 3 /5 /7 8 Upper Lodge Lower Lodge Cocker Chems Cocker Chemical Co.
11522
All the above were transfers carried out by Fisheries Staff.
FISH MORTALITIES
300 Brown 4.3.78 River Laneshaw Two miles of the River Laneshaw T ro u t were affected and the cause is believed to have originated from the filter house at the Laneshaw Reservoir. By way of compensation to the Colne Wake AA 800 brown trout have been introduced reported at item 5 abo v e.
350 Brown 1 6 .4 .7 8 Stock Pool, The incident occurred in the T ro u t Dunsop Valley Trout stock pool of the local AA. The River Dunsop has been diverted and the AA use the d isused channel wh ich is retained as a flood overflow for stock pool purposes. It is apparent that heavy rainfall entering an adjoining feeder stream caused agitation of solids in the pool which affected the fish
200 Brown 17.5.78 Sabden Brook Discharge of disinfectant to a gully in trade premises. It was assumed that the gully to wh ich the was te 1iqu id was discharged was connected to the foul sewer. 5
7. STAFF
Bailiff C.D. Kent resigned his appointment as estuary bailiff on the River Ribble and will leave the Authority's employment in mid June.