Approx 700m of the brook was electrofished between Thornhill Way and Hanmore Road, Chineham on the 3rd February 2025. Thanks must go to the South East Rivers Trust for providing the survey and the publishing of the results.
Species Caught:
8 Brown Trout, 10 Chub, nearly 700 Minnows, 10 Stone Loach, 49 Bullheads, 51 Three-spined Sticklebacks
The bulk of the fish were present in the deeper water (up to nearly .5m) occurring downstream of the footbridge at SU 66154 55718. Fish were using available cover offered by bankside scrub and pinch points resulting from silt banks or woody debris. Very little instream gravel was present and that was of poor quality. Minnows were generally well dispersed, but there were significant concentrations at debris accumulations. The trout (especially the larger ones) may be part of a seasonal spawning migration. The smaller individuals may be reident from previous spawnings. The establishment of some pool riffle sequences could be very beneficial, especially in the upstream sections where the current concrete bed offers very little favourable habitat. Any habitat improvements would hopefully have wider benefits than simply to the fish population. There was some indication that the water may have recently come out of channel d/s of the footbridge at SU 66438 55589 where the gravel footpath appeared to have been 'cleaned'. The size range in chub and brown trout would suggest that some limited recruitment is taking place, despite the lack of good quality gravel. Water quality may be an issue and ways to improve the quality of run off through side culverts could be considered. These are inevitably a potential source of acute pollution incidents. (One resident reported that oil had been seen on the water surface.. This was unverified and its nature, motor or cooking, was unclear. An outfall safari and raising local awareness could be helpful. Are there any potential sources of pollution such as industrial units in the vicinity? One of the outfalls did appear to come from local housing). Could any opportunities for NFM measures be considered? The lower section may be more suitable.
Some of the sticklebacks (5-10%) were infected with the microsporidian parasite Glugea anomala.