We are pleased to announce that more Barbel have been stocked into the River Aire as part of the Environment Agencys river restocking programme.
Last Week 3,000 Barbel were stocked in the river between Keighley, Bingley, Saltaire and Leeds. The Bingley stretch recieved in excess of 500 fish, stocked at Myrtle Park, Bingley.
The fish from the Environment Agency’s fish farm at Calverton in Nottinghamshire have been introduced for the 3rd time in recent years – with fish previously stocked now beginning to show on various local stretches to 3lb plus.
[quote]“These fish introductions continue to reflect the great improvements in water quality in the river,” said fisheries officer Peter Mischenko.
“The work is part of the Environment Agency’s river restocking programme, which is intended to develop a sustainable fish population.
“We will continue our other work, including managing obstructions such as weirs to ease the passage of fish, so our rivers can continue to improve for all users of our watercourses.”[/quote]
Stocking the fish at this time of year is better for the juveniles as they will travel better in cold water which contains more oxygen in winter.
The barbel have been marked with a harmless dye at the top of the head – see pic below – any members catching marked Barbel are asked to report their catches to the club for monitoring purposes.
The region’s rivers are the healthiest that they have been for 20 years and the restocking programme is part of the ongoing campaign to bring further improvements.
i have been geting barbel of late on the 21st i had 15 barbell .rangeing from 10oz to 1lb harf .iv had them ar 2lb 3lb harf & 6lb 4oz wich wos not veryified or photographed unfortunately .so the barbell are thriving .i had these on saltaire strech fom boat house to baildon cricket club