Otters: cause for concern
I welcome
the apparent success of recent attempts to reintroduce otters into our
English waterways, after they had been almost wiped out, not by hunting,
but by the pollution and destruction of their habitat.
Few if any anglers will begrudge the otters the fish that they kill and
eat, among other things like frogs and crayfish, though some recent happenings
do give cause for concern.
The most famous fish in British freshwaters is, or rather was, a barbel
weighing over 21lbs that lived in a certain length of the Great Ouse river.
The fish had been caught more than once and it was so famous among anglers
that it had been given a name, The Traveller.
Recently the fish was found dead beside the river and it bore marks that
suggested that it had been partly eaten by an otter.
The possibility that the famous fish had been killed by otters was a cause
for much concern among specimen-hunting anglers, but before we jump to
conclusions let us admit that the fish may have merely been fed off after
it died of another cause, or even partially eaten by those vicious mink
that are everywhere since they were mischievously released from mink farms
by the so-called animal rights people.
Perhaps of more concern is the claim that a couple of big carp (40-pounders)
were killed by otters on another fishery after the owner of the water
had stocked the two fish at a cost of £10,000.
Please believe me when I say that I like otters and have on two occasions
had my day at the waterside enhanced by the sight of these lovely creatures.
We must await future events before worrying too much about the otters.
l Let me put right a careless omission that I somehow didn’t mention
when I recently wrote about the only record fish that has stood the test
of time on our freshwater record lists.
I failed to mention that Miss Ballantyne’s fish was a salmon weighing
64lbs.