Otters force Waveney angling club to give up lease

Members of Bungay Cherry Tree Angling Club can no longer fish the Ditchingham Club Pit because it has suffered so heavily from otter predation.

VICTORIA NICHOLLS

13 January 2010

An angling club in Waveney has been forced to give up the lease on a stretch of water it has held for 65 years, claiming that otters have eaten it out of fish.

Members of Bungay Cherry Tree Angling Club can no longer fish the Ditchingham Club Pit because it has suffered so heavily from otter predation.

Club secretary Mark Casto said the problem of increasing otter numbers in still waters in the River Waveney area started about 10 years ago but has magnified since 2006. An otter-release programme was undertaken in the 1980s and 1990s to boost numbers.

Mr Casto said club officials came to the decision after being unable to raise funds for expensive otter-proof fencing that would have enabled fish numbers to recover. Despite hard work over recent years from members in preparing the ground at the venue at Ditchingham, near Bungay, the club could not secure funding for the £18,000 needed.

“We got to the point where we say we are going to have to let it go,” he said. “It was a very sad day.”

Mr Casto stressed that he supported wildlife being returned to its natural habitat and was not in favour of culling otters, but said more action should have been taken to assess the impact of a rising otter population.

He said: “If you are going to release a major predator into the wild that is fully protected by the law then there needs to be in place stringent measures so that we are monitoring it very closely and so that it's going to have a good effect on the place it is released.”

He added: “It's irresponsible to release a creature into the wild without closely monitoring its progress.”

He estimated that over £40,000 worth of fish, including carp, had been killed by otters since they arrived in the area, and added that the issue of sustainability of otters and fish needed to be explored.

Mr Casto said members were being urged to join the Angling Trust, which is tackling the issue head-on, and collaborating with the Environment Agency, Natural England and Defra.

A spokesman for the Environment Agency (EA) said it recognised the problem of otter predation.

He said: “The otter reintroduction programme ran between 1983 and 1999 in order to re-establish an otter population into the region following the dramatic decline of the species largely due to pesticide poisoning, habitat loss and persecution throughout the twentieth century.

“Since 1999 no otters have been released and the current otter population is expanding due to a reduction in persecution and improved habitat conditions and water quality.”

The spokesman said the EA has a budget £100,000 for otter fencing and encouraged clubs, including Bungay Cherry Tree, to submit bids. He added that some of that budget was still available, and that the EA would consider repeating the initiative in the next financial year.

Mr Casto said he would welcome more EA funding, which requires part-funding from clubs, but said it was “all too late” for his and other clubs. He added that Bungay Cherry Tree would put its efforts into its lay by pit at Bungay Common.