I
Ian Cloke
Guest
Measures to protect Britain?s rarest fish in Bassenthwaite Lake may not be fast enough to safeguard a species dating back to the Ice Age.
Surveys of the country?s last two remaining vendace populations in the Lake District, Northern England reveal a raft of recovery actions might not save the striking fish in Bassenthwaite.
But a Scottish loch could signal the breed?s survival and ultimately provide a new generation of stock, once conditions improve in the national park?s fourth longest stretch of water.
Although Derwent Water is still sporting a thriving number of vendace, silting around inshore spawning grounds is largely to blame for the ?poor status of the species? in Bassenthwaite.
Dr Ian Winfield, of the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology in Lancaster, says there is a ?great threat to vendace?s dwindling numbers in Bassenthwaite?.
Using state-of-the-art hydroacoustic systems and netting, the centre has monitored the two lakes annually since the mid 1990s.
?Bassenthwaite?s vendace face a number of environmental problems, including silting, low oxygen levels and competition from other fish,? said Dr Winfield. ?Roach eat their food and ruffe take their eggs. Climate change will also have an impact.?
He paid tribute to Bassenthwaite Lake Restoration Programme (BLRP) initiatives - aimed at improving water quality - and better sewage treatment and said recent radical step to take some of the endangered fish to south west Scotland was paying dividends.
?Now, even if vendace are temporarily lost from Bassenthwaite, they can be reintroduced at a later date, using fish from Loch Skene. Also, field trials are being conducted into a range of artificial spawning methods to keep eggs free from excessive silting.?
Manager of BLRP John Pinder said the surveys had provided invaluable information.
?Protecting wildlife is paramount in our mission to improve water quality and obviously the very fragile state of vendace is of great concern.
?However, knowing the Loch Skene vendace population is doing well and can one day be returned to their Bassenthwaite home is a trump card for us.?
Dr Winfield added management of the ?magnificent species and its environment? was rightly receiving considerable attention from a range of organisations.
?We can be confident that one day vendace will again thrive in a restored Bassenthwaite Lake, he said.?
Surveys of the country?s last two remaining vendace populations in the Lake District, Northern England reveal a raft of recovery actions might not save the striking fish in Bassenthwaite.
But a Scottish loch could signal the breed?s survival and ultimately provide a new generation of stock, once conditions improve in the national park?s fourth longest stretch of water.
Although Derwent Water is still sporting a thriving number of vendace, silting around inshore spawning grounds is largely to blame for the ?poor status of the species? in Bassenthwaite.
Dr Ian Winfield, of the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology in Lancaster, says there is a ?great threat to vendace?s dwindling numbers in Bassenthwaite?.
Using state-of-the-art hydroacoustic systems and netting, the centre has monitored the two lakes annually since the mid 1990s.
?Bassenthwaite?s vendace face a number of environmental problems, including silting, low oxygen levels and competition from other fish,? said Dr Winfield. ?Roach eat their food and ruffe take their eggs. Climate change will also have an impact.?
He paid tribute to Bassenthwaite Lake Restoration Programme (BLRP) initiatives - aimed at improving water quality - and better sewage treatment and said recent radical step to take some of the endangered fish to south west Scotland was paying dividends.
?Now, even if vendace are temporarily lost from Bassenthwaite, they can be reintroduced at a later date, using fish from Loch Skene. Also, field trials are being conducted into a range of artificial spawning methods to keep eggs free from excessive silting.?
Manager of BLRP John Pinder said the surveys had provided invaluable information.
?Protecting wildlife is paramount in our mission to improve water quality and obviously the very fragile state of vendace is of great concern.
?However, knowing the Loch Skene vendace population is doing well and can one day be returned to their Bassenthwaite home is a trump card for us.?
Dr Winfield added management of the ?magnificent species and its environment? was rightly receiving considerable attention from a range of organisations.
?We can be confident that one day vendace will again thrive in a restored Bassenthwaite Lake, he said.?