Fish population survey report

Transcription

1 Fish population survey report River Teme 2016 This report provides a summary of results from recent coarse fish population surveys on the River Teme between Tenbury Wells and Powick. The surveys were carried out to assess the health of the river and enable successful management of our principal fisheries. The Kyrewood (Tenbury) electrofishing site Originating team Author(s) Date Checked by West Midlands Analysis & Reporting team Katie Gunning 21-Mar-2017 Martin Fenn Sign-off date 30/3/2017

2 Summary Three fry sites on the Teme were surveyed by seine netting between 22 nd and 23 rd of September 2016; Seven species of fish were recorded and a total of 1416 fish were captured; Chub and minnow were the most widespread species, being recorded at all three sites and minnow were the most numerous species. Dace were the most numerous fish species of angling interest. The 2015 fry surveys have been included in this report and were carried out at the same 3 sites using seine netting on the 28/09/2015. Nine species of fish were recorded and a total of 1619 fish were captured; Chub, dace, barbel and minnow were the most widespread species, being recorded at all three sites and minnow were the most numerous species. Dace were the most numerous fish species of angling interest. The 2015 principal coarse fish electrofishing survey results have been included in this report. A site at Kyrewood (Tenbury) was electrofished with multiple runs on the 29/07/2015. Twelve species of fish were recorded and a total of 194 fish were captured; A total density estimate of 8.35 fish per 100m² and biomass estimate of grams per 100m² were recorded at Kyrewood (Tenbury). Minnow were the most numerous species, while chub had the highest biomass and were the most numerous fish species of angling interest. Site locations Figure 1. A map showing the locations of the coarse fish monitoring sites in the Teme conf R Onny to conf R Severn WFD waterbody (GB ).

3 Survey results The River Teme fry surveys involved netting an area of the river. Due to the practicalities of setting the net the area netting is never a perfect rectangle in shape and therefore the area can vary slightly between nettings in different sites and years. Due to this variation in the area netted it is inappropriate to use density to describe the fry populations. The conditions during the 2016 fry surveys were ideal, the river levels were particularly low meaning the water velocity at the sites was lower allowing efficient fish capture by seine netting. Table 1. The number of fish caught and size range (min max, mm) recorded during the 2016 fry surveys for key species. Stanford Bridge Fry Site DS Powick Weir Fry Site Chub Number of fish Bransford Fry Site Size range Dace Number of fish Size range Gudgeon Number of fish Size range Barbel Number of fish Size range Bullhead Number of fish Size range Minnow Number of fish Size range Stoneloach Number of fish Size range In 2015 a principal coarse fish electrofishing survey was carried out at Kyrewood (Tenbury). The results are included to provide additional information on the coarse fish populations present in the River Teme. The 2015 fry survey results have also been included in this report.

4 Table 2. The number of fish caught and size range (min max, mm) recorded during the 2015 fry surveys and the Kyrewood (Tenbury) quantitative electrofishing site (density=number per 100m 2 ). Stanford Bridge Fry Site DS Powick Weir Fry Site Bransford Fry Site Chub No of fish Density 1.54 Kyrewood (Tenbury) electrofishing site Size range Size range Dace No of fish Density 0.08 Size range Size range Roach No of fish Density 0 Size range Size range - Gudgeon No of fish Density 0.46 Size range Size range Barbel No of fish Density 1.08 Size range Size range Grayling No of fish Density 0.77 Size range Size range Salmon No of fish Density 0.35 Size range Size range Trout No of fish Density 0.04 Size range Size range 292 Eel No of fish Density Spined Stickleback Size range Size range No of fish Density 0.08 Size range Size range Bullhead No of fish Density 0.85 Size range Size range Minnow No of fish Density 2.19 Size range Size range Stoneloach No of fish Density 0.54 Size range Size range 20-73

5 Number of fish Number of fish Stanford Bridge DS Powick Weir Brandsford Chub Dace Gudgeon Barbel Figure 2. Number of fish caught in the 2016 River Teme fry surveys discounting minor species Stanford Bridge DS Powick Weir Brandsford Chub Dace Gudgeon Barbel Roach Figure 3. Number of fish caught in the 2015 River Teme fry surveys discounting minor species.

6 Grams of fish per 100m² Number of fish per 100m² Kyrewood (Tenbury) Chub Dace Gudgeon Barbel Roach Brown / sea trout Atlantic salmon Grayling European eels > elvers Figure 4. Population density estimates (number of fish per 100m 2 ) at the Kyrewood (Tenbury) site Kyrewood (Tenbury) Chub Dace Gudgeon Barbel Roach Brown / sea trout Atlantic salmon Grayling European eels > elvers Figure 5. Population biomass estimates (grams of fish per 100m 2 ) at the Kyrewood (Tenbury) site.

7 WFD Classification The River Teme WFD waterbody, Teme conf R Onny to conf R Severn (GB ) has a mixed coarse fish and salmonid fish population. The fish site used to derive the WFD fish classification is at Oakley Park. The fish population at Oakley Park is predominantly salmonid, with a few eels and minor species. The Teme conf R Onny to conf R Severn (GB ) waterbody is the only River Teme waterbody achieving WFD Good ecological status, see Table 3. The other two English River Teme WFD waterbodies, which have predominantly salmonid fish populations, are the Teme conf R Clun to conf R Onny (GB ) waterbody and the source to conf Ffwdwen Bk to conf R Clun (GB ) waterbody. They are both at Moderate WFD status due to fish and phosphate failures, see Table 3. Table 3. The WFD status for the waterbodies that make up the English River Teme. WFD waterbody Teme conf R Onny to conf R Severn (GB ) Teme conf R Clun to conf R Onny (GB ) Source to conf Ffwdwen Bk to conf R Clun (GB ) Health of fish population Latest (2016) Fish Classification Good Moderate Moderate Latest (2016) Overall Classification Good Moderate Moderate At all of the fry survey sites and in both years minnows are by far the most abundant fish species. The numbers of the minor species (bullhead, minnow, stoneloach, and 3-spined stickleback) have not been included in the graphs to focus the results on the coarse fish species, see Figures 2 and 3. In the 2016 and 2015 fry surveys the site where most coarse fish were caught is the DS Powick weir site. The dominant coarse fish species at this site for both years was dace. The coarse fish species captured at the Standford Bridge site differs between 2015 and In 2016 the majority of the coarse fish captured were chub and a small number of barbel. In 2015 dace were found and were the most abundant species captured. Gudgen were also found at the Standford Bridge site in 2015 and were not seen in the 2016 survey. At the Bransford site in 2016 the most abundant species was barbel with 35 juvenile barbel captured. In 2015 the most abundant species was Chub with 43 fry captured and only 3 juvenile barbell were captured. The electrofishing survey carried out in 2015 at the Kyrewood (Tenbury) site shows there is a mixed coarse and salmonid fish population at this site, see Figures 4 and 5. The site is positioned towards the top of the coarse fish range in the River Teme due to the difficulty in finding a suitable fish survey site in the lower reaches of the River Teme, see Figure 1. The fish species with the highest density at Kyrewood (Tenbury) are Chub. Chub also have the largest biomass estimate. Barbel were the second most frequent species captured with all of the barbel captured fry or juveniles. Only two adult dace were caught during the survey. Salmon and trout were also captured at the Kyrewood (Tenbury) site with salmon parr captured and an adult trout. The Kyrewood (Tenbury) site has previously been surveyed but the methods used have not been constant over the years. The previous survey data is not directly comparable to the 2015 results and therefore have not been presented in this report. The River Teme WFD waterbody that has a mixed fish population is the Teme conf R Onny to conf R Severn (GB ). The section of the river where coarse fish are present is difficult to survey due to the depth, gradient causing fast flows and difficult access due to high steep river banks, which is why fry surveys have been used. The Kyrewood (Tenbury) electrofishing site is close to the upstream extent of where coarse fish are found in the River Teme, but was selected as it is shallow enough in the summer months to be waded and access is possible, see Figure 1. It is evident from the Kyrewood (Tenbury) results that the fish population is a mixed coarse fish and salmonid population. It may be possible to carry out a principal coarse fish electrofishing survey downstream of the Bransford fry site, this will be investigated further.

8 The coarse fish in the River Teme are not impacted by water quality as dace have been found at each of the fry survey sites and are sensitive to poor water quality. The Kyrewood (Tenbury) site supports a population of salmon, trout and grayling which all require high water quality to thrive. Planned actions The Unlocking the River Severn Project has gained funding to re-open the Severn and lower reaches of the River Teme for fish passage. For more details please refer to the press release There is a possible new electrofishing site downstream of the Bransford fry site which could be used for assessing the coarse fish population on the River Teme. The Kyrewood (Tenbury) site should be used for future WFD fish classifications on the Teme conf R Onny to conf R Severn (GB ) waterbody. Next survey The next fry surveys are due autumn 2017 and the next Principal Coarse fish survey at Kyrewood (Tenbury) is due in 2018.

9 If you would like to discuss the information presented in this report, please contact: Katie Gunning Environmental Monitoring Officer, Analysis and Reporting If you would like to discuss future management of this fishery, please contact: Brecht Morris Fisheries Officer, Fisheries, Biodiversity and Geomorphology Before you go fishing don t forget: You must have a valid Environment Agency rod licence and permission from the fishery owner; You must comply with the fisheries byelaws; The coarse fish close season (15th March to 15th June inclusive) applies to all rivers, streams and drains in England and Wales but not most stillwaters. Stillwater fishery owners can still have their own close season and rules, so please check with them before setting out. Report illegal fishing: If you see any fishing, netting or trapping you think may be illegal, please do not tackle it yourself. Call us immediately on and tell us: Exactly where the alleged offence is taking place; What is happening; How many people are involved and their descriptions; The registration numbers of any vehicles involved. If you prefer to remain report an environmental crime anonymously call Crimestoppers on or