Graham Elliott
Senior Member & Supporter
There are some fantastic responses on the Survey thread.
I have a theory...shoot it down!
Now. My own personal theory.
Any notable decline, apart from natural events such as flooding, poisoning will have a time lag before it becomes evident.
One of the key factors in most observations are the lack of year classes that are coming through to re-establish populations. Aligned with this is the fact that barbel being caught are now reaching unprecedented weights. some rivers appear to have more double figure fish than smaller ones. Age will see their decline.
So.
Here's my theory.
In any breeding for profit one of the key facts is that to gain maximun weight it is normal for the animals to be de sexed. an example is bred Turkeys and capons. there are many others.
It is common practice for example for cats to be "done" to avoid fighting. This encourages weight growth at the same time.
The initial stocks of pellets that were used for fishing all came directly from the fish farming industry. In fact they were the only ones that were available for a number of years. They supplied companies like Hinders for the Elips product.
It was some years later that "fish friendly" baits were being produced by bait manufacturers. I have no idea if the same constituents are being used in their production but perhaps less oil content.
Now, if you ran a fish farm. If you wanted the fish to gain maximum weight, to prevent spawning and agressive behaviour, what would you seek to be added to your feed products? Possibly inadvertantly?
The time lags are correct, the current outcomes are correct, and if true would lead to the exact scenario we are experiencing. I would put this as potentially the greatest cause of the decline of barbel in our rivers......
Graham
I have a theory...shoot it down!
Now. My own personal theory.
Any notable decline, apart from natural events such as flooding, poisoning will have a time lag before it becomes evident.
One of the key factors in most observations are the lack of year classes that are coming through to re-establish populations. Aligned with this is the fact that barbel being caught are now reaching unprecedented weights. some rivers appear to have more double figure fish than smaller ones. Age will see their decline.
So.
Here's my theory.
In any breeding for profit one of the key facts is that to gain maximun weight it is normal for the animals to be de sexed. an example is bred Turkeys and capons. there are many others.
It is common practice for example for cats to be "done" to avoid fighting. This encourages weight growth at the same time.
The initial stocks of pellets that were used for fishing all came directly from the fish farming industry. In fact they were the only ones that were available for a number of years. They supplied companies like Hinders for the Elips product.
It was some years later that "fish friendly" baits were being produced by bait manufacturers. I have no idea if the same constituents are being used in their production but perhaps less oil content.
Now, if you ran a fish farm. If you wanted the fish to gain maximum weight, to prevent spawning and agressive behaviour, what would you seek to be added to your feed products? Possibly inadvertantly?
The time lags are correct, the current outcomes are correct, and if true would lead to the exact scenario we are experiencing. I would put this as potentially the greatest cause of the decline of barbel in our rivers......
Graham
