Bob Nudd denies he wanted pike killed
Anger erupted across the predator world when the News of the World quoted Nudd calling for a pike cull on three Midlands rivers.
The article said pike needed thinning out in the Warwickshire Avon, Soar and Nene.
The PAC reacted with horror to the piece, saying it undermined three decades of campaigning for conservation and for the role pike play in balanced fisheries to be acknowledged.
A statement posted on his website last night says:
"There has been a considerable discussion on websites across the internet relating to an article that appeared last Sunday in the News of the World.
"Bob did not suggest killing any fish - pike or otherwise. Bob suggested that thinning out the pike may be an answer.
"Having discussed the article with Bob it is clear that his intention was to open discussion on the problem he has seen for himself for the first time in his fishing career, the problem is that nearly every fish he caught on those venues recently was chased or snatched by a pike.
"There is clearly an issue here and it needs investigating, why are there so many small pike? Is there an imbalance? Angling bodies need to investigate, once we have the answers, then we can determine if there is a significant issue that requires attention.
"Regarding his suggestion of “thinning out” Bob was suggesting that some of the smaller pike, say up to 4lb be selectively collected and removed to other venues, perhaps specialist predator lakes, where an increase in the number of pike would be appreciated.
"Conservation is important to Bob; the senseless destruction of any species of fish is abhorrent to him."
The PAC is writing to controlling clubs on the rivers Nudd named in his column. We're sending them a copy of Pike in Your Waters, which explains the pike's importance in maintaining a natural balance and why culls invariably fail.
Adrian Nicholas
