Petty's Brook Fish Survey Feb 25

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Category: Conservation

Published: 23 February 2025

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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.

LFCC Awarded Project Of The Year

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Category: Invasive Alien Speicies (IAS)

Published: 19 January 2025

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The Loddon Fisheries & Conservation Consultative has been gratefully recognised for its work fighting Floating Pennywort within the Loddon catchment. LFCC Chairman Martin Moore accepted the award on behalf of the LFCC. A big thank you must also go out to all those involved for their time and effort removing this invasive plant.

The Blackwater Valley Countryside Trust recently held their AGM and inaugural BVCT awards, celebrating success along the length of the Blackwater Valley!

Awards were presented to:

Conservation project of the year - Floating Pennywort eradication at sites along the Valley received by Martin and the team at the Loddon fisheries & conservation consultative
Access to Nature project - The Friends of Queen Elizabeth Park, Farnborough for their variety of well attended events
Species of the year - the Noctule, with the largest known colony in England residing in Wellesley Woodlands
Group of the year - friends of Brickfields Nature Reserve, for the work being done by a revitalised group to support the site
And finally there was a special, lifetime achievement award for our very own Bernard Baverstock, recognising many years of service to our valley!
Congratulations to all of the winners and thanks to the Deputy mayor of Sandhurst, Paul Widdowson and Adrian Collett, chairman of the Blackwater Valley countryside partnership for presenting the awards.

River Blackwater Pollution Incident 15/01/25

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Category: Pollution

Published: 16 January 2025

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Thames Water received a chemical discharge into their pumping station late on Wednesday 15th January which has impacted both Camberley and Sandhurst sewage treatment works (STW). The chemical discharge reduced the ability for the STW to effectively process their effluent. The resulting effluent that was discharged into the River Blackwater was high in ammonium. Both STW are now recovering. Environment Officers are out on site monitoring the impact on the River Blackwater. There are currently no reports of dead fish.

The Environment Agency number to report any further details is 0800 807060

Swallowfield Show - Donation To The LFCC

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Category: General

Published: 27 December 2024

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The Loddon Fisheries & Conservation Consultative are delighted to have been chosen to receive a donation from the organisers of the Swallowfield Show. The 2 day event held every August Bank Holiday is a not-for-profit, family friendly event run by volunteers and members of the Swallowfield Horticultural Society for the benefit of the community and to raise funds for local charities.

The LFCC will use the funds to support habitat improvement projects, water quality monitoring being undertaken by its members, and initiatives aimed at managing invasive species. These are already prime areas that are receiving their attention within the Loddon catchment with the aim to improving the local rivers not simply for the fish but also the wider environment.

Swallowfield Show committee members Barbara & Graham Stanley, meet LFCC Chairman Martin Moore and members of Gresham Angling Society on the banks of the River Lyde. Gresham AS are a founder member of the LFCC and have been active in improving habitat in the River Lyde by creating new gravel beds, intended to encourage typical chalkstream plants and providing additional spawning sites for brown trout.