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Anglers could take legal action to protect famous roach fishery of the River Welland in Spalding




Anglers are looking to take legal action to try to protect one of the best roach fisheries in the country over concerns that a river’s low levels could impact on wildlife.

Fears that fish and plants could be decimated in The River Welland, in Spalding have been expressed by Peterborough and District Angling Association after the waterway has been running at low levels for months.

The Environment Agency (EA) has previously told this website that it is keeping the river low to help flooded Cowbit and Crowland Washes recover after one of banks breached during Storm Henk. While the river bed could be seen through extremely low water levels on Tuesday morning, the EA has increased the amount of water in the last couple of days and plans to start repairs later this month.

The River Welland in Spalding on Tuesday, April 2.
The River Welland in Spalding on Tuesday, April 2.

Anglers feel that the EA should have taken action sooner to complete a temporary repair of the breached bank near Crowland - and are also waiting for the results of a sonar survey to confirm if the fish population is now in the tidal section of the river.

Association chairman Rob Harris said that world champions have fished on the River Welland and says it is ‘not acceptable’ for repairs not to have been started in four months. He also said that a solicitor had compiled a Freedom of Information request over the breach in a bid to step up the fight against the EA.

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He said: “It breached in January and it is now April and no repair has been attempted. The reason they say they can’t repair the breach is too much water. They need a new methodology. There doesn’t seem to be a viable reason not to breach the gap with a temporary fix.

“There doesn’t seem to be much joined up thinking of the water management side and the fisheries side.

“The first thing we have always said is that people’s livelihoods and lives come first.

“There is the potential to decimate fish stocks.”

Rob Harris, chairman of Peterborough and District Angling Association, responds to an incident where a number of fish had died. PHOTO: SUBMITTED
Rob Harris, chairman of Peterborough and District Angling Association, responds to an incident where a number of fish had died. PHOTO: SUBMITTED

The association is waiting for a sonar survey to show if the fish are in the tidal section near Spalding Lock, which is close to Warden Tree Lane – where dolphins were recently spotted.

Mr Harris said: “With the water so low and weather warming up, there’s an increased chance of losing plant and invertebrates life. If we lose invertebrates and plant life then it become an inhospitable area for fish to return to. They are in this area for a reason.

“There is a potential at this point now that it will affect spawning and that will affect the future population.

“Those roach are head to head with marine predators. Dolphins are not natural predators of roach. Roach are freshwater fish so they should never have met. They will have no defence against those things as it is something they have dealt with before. When a new predator is introduced to an environment it is much more damaging. There’s potential for all sorts of things happening here which are causing a problem.

“There are hundreds of thousands - and potentially millions - of fish in the Welland.”

The association took control of the river recently and has undertaken work to clamp down on poaching along with helping to care for the waterway.

It was hoped to include the Welland within its general membership fees but with the current low levels it is not going to be seen to be attractive to anglers – and this could cost the association thousands.

Mr Harris said: “This could destroy a vibrant river.

“It is going to be a hard sell with no water or fish so it has a commercial impact on us. We are not for profit organisation but we need money to develop the fishery and invest in junior members.

“We had potentially taken on one of the best roach fishers in England. It is going to be a very long journey back to it being seen as a viable fishery next year.”

He said the sport had an impact on mental and physical health and that the issues would have an impact on those too.

The River Welland in Spalding on Wednesday, April 3
The River Welland in Spalding on Wednesday, April 3

A spokesman for the EA said: “The draining of the Crowland and Cowbit washes has been going well and significant progress has been made.

“We have now completed the discharge of water from the washes via Locks Mill Sluice. This has allowed us to increase the water levels by 300mm so far. We have also commenced pumping into the River Welland to remove water from the washlands and flooded land. Over the coming weeks we plan to gradually increase river levels in the River Welland and will restore the river to normal levels once the repairs have been completed.

“Our contractors are planning to begin the repairs to the breaches on the banks of the Crowland and Cowbit washes on April 22. This work is scheduled to take around ten weeks to complete.

“We have been actively monitoring wildlife within the River Welland while work is carried out. We believe the impact on wildlife has been minimal at this time. Nevertheless, we will continue to monitor the river as work continues.”

What do you think? Is the river being managed well enough? Let us know your views in the comments below…



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