annual threat to silverfish spawn

between richmond and teddington there is a lake called Thames Young Mariners, this lake is attached to the Thames via lock gates, every spring the silverfish enter the lake at high water to spawn, unfortunately every year the operators of the lake allow the water level to drop, thereby causing the spawn to be left high and dry, what can we do, who do we call

Do the EA know about this? What about a letter to the operators explaining the plight of the fish, maybe they may change the timings of draining down. At least making them aware of the problem in the first instance, then depending on the response take it further.

nice one dude, I am led to believe that in previous years both the EA and operators have been contacted, however only by a single individual, this has made no difference, perhaps our conservancy will bring about a change, we will certainly be contacting the relevant authorities for an explanation, over to cass I think

i thought the Mariners was up and down all the time due to it being tidal? or do they just let out more water after low tide in the spring?

cheers

it is indeed on the tidal section, the lock gates are opened to allow water to enter, and over a period of days the level decreases as water slowly seeps through the lock gates, when high tide arrives the gates are opened again, sadly the levels werent maintained last year or the previous year either, in an ideal world the gates would open at high water throughout the time that the spawn needs to be submerged thus keeping the levels sufficient for successful spawning,
here's an example of the ignorance around; last year it was deliberately drained to its lowest level, so that an instructor could search for his watch[given to him by his grandfather] that he had lost, and no thats not make believe

bear in mind that between richmond and teddington spawning areas are few and far between

right with you now...

Draining it around spawning time to find a watch is completly out of the question and i belive seeing as the fish spawn here and your right i know of a few places they spawn in the tidal but theres not many.

Some type of low level guide line seems like it has to be put in place at the Mariners to stop this happening in future , as this spawn is our future...

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good post Cass and amazing that it was being considered for angling...

Glad that the issue has been made aware of by James.

just on another note i have seen carp/bream spawning on hide tides in areas that as soon as the tide goes down there spawn is most definatly dried up as the tide goes out, i feel its quite a hard place for the survial of spawned species along the Tidal due to its nature...The mariners is probally one of the best places for them to spawn along the semi tidal.

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Hi All

By the sounds of it, the area is vitally important with regard to future stocks to the river. Could the pond become a designated spawning area/reserve. If some sort of protection order was in place then surely this would prevent future activities. Allowing it to be policed/regulated. It could be deemed a safe haven.
Perhaps a bit of management such as spawning mats and instream refuges etc will enhance more spawning. I don't know as i am too far away and have never seen it. Just a few thoughts off the top of my head.

Chris

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cassedwards wrote:

Hi Ben

The main reason for the TYM considering allowing angling in the lake was to try and manage the illegal fishing that goes on there. While many people fish there and cause no problems, there are a number of idiots that leave rubbish and all sorts of litter behind. Hence it was an attempt to stop this by regulating who fishes there.

The mariners is indeed a very important refuge and spawning habitat. I have now spoken to the centre, who are concerned about this problem, and I will be meeting the Estates Officer in due course. An email has also been sent to the EA.

Let's hope that something can be done about this.

Cass

Your not wrong about the illegal fishing, and undertsand why they might allow regulated angling to prevent idiots from ruining it, lets see what the estates officer and EA have to say...

There are a number of things that can be done to improve habitats, even pyramids constructed of tyres will form artificial reefs and create cover for juvenile fish. Refuges like floating islands can be constructed etc to provide cover from predatory birds.
This could be good choice for a community based project especially if there are a number of different users, all working together for the common good, involving the nature reserve etc and the other users may be a big plus.

ON a different tack, just as an example of artificial spawning areas. I was involved in the creation of an old river channel that had been filled in and given over to conofer planting. This was the site of an old alder woodland. The channel was redug and local stone from a neighbouring field was placed in the channel, this was then rewatered. After 2 years Salmon spawn naturally, other fish present include 3 species of lamprey, Trout, Eels and flounder. The banks are densely vegetated, kingfishers are present and Sand Martins nest in the banks. This channel has now been extended and others have been made. This has increased the biodiversity immensely.

Chris

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can you update us please chaps

its taken a while, but we are still beavering away folks
earlier in the week we met one of the engineers who installed the lock gates 20 years ago
and this shows how ignorant we are;
he said that as its the draw off, there will only be about 12 inches of water on the sill, meaning the rubber seals could be visibly inspected, why didn't we think of that
anyways its the end of the draw off, so time was the enemy
we got everyone communicating, but sadly due to the centre being booked, we couldn't arrange for the gates to be open within the time allowed

next stop is to try to get an underwater camera, if that fails its back to the diver, or wait another year