Should Catfish be culled

steve2 · Sep 1, 2015

Following recent increase in captures of Catfish in a number of rivers and lakes where no legal stocking have taken place should we be returning these fish back to the water.
We complain about otters, cormorants, signal crayfish etc, but seem to welcome a predator that can easily swallow the carp, barbel, etc, that some say are going missing.
How can we moan about Otters,etc, then release these predators into our waterways.

tigger · Sep 1, 2015

If a catfish is ever unlucky enough to be caught by me it won't be going back in the water, unless it's a purpose built water to hold them. Imo they shouldn't be anywhere else anyhow. These so called anglers who release the cats into ponds, rivers etc are complete idiots and obviously don't care about the ramifications of their actions....so long as they can catch an effin' catfish !

john step · Sep 1, 2015

I think anyone who releases them into rivers is as daft as the otter, beaver, crayfish releasers along with those that have discharged the foreign mussels and shrimps from aquariums etc. and those who would release wolves.

In a perfect world with no pollution, abstraction and perfect water in rivers a natural balance would be restored given enough time.

Unfortunately that is not going to happen. Certainly not in my lifetime.

greenie62 · Sep 1, 2015

john step said:
...In a perfect world with no pollution, abstraction and perfect water in rivers a natural balance would be restored given enough time...

Perhaps we should re-assert our role as apex-predator to restore the balance more speedily! - before the wolves beat us to it!

Anyone got any good recipes for beaver, otter, crays, catfish, etc?

sam vimes · Sep 1, 2015

We already do have culls. The EA have enforced removal orders, and significant financial penalties for delays, on stillwaters where they've been illegally stocked.

on waters where they've been illegally or accidentally stocked, an angling captor is technically obliged to kill them. However, for the vast majority, this is never likely to happen. The vast majority will never put one on the bank. Of the tiny number that do, only a handfull would actually kill them.

In the unlikely event of me catching one, I'd not attempt to kill it. I don't have any particular objection to the prospect, but I wouldn't even attempt it unless I knew it was going to be quick. I don't carry anything that would ensure that and I'm not familiar enough with catfish to know exactly how anyway.

However, I don't moan about otters. At the same time I don't particularly want the likes of catfish, zander and ide in our waters.

S-Kippy · Sep 1, 2015

Agree with all that apart from the bit about zander which, as you know, are very dear to me. I have no strong views on otters as I dont live or fish in an area where they are having a significant impact. I see them regularly on my Welsh trips and though they are a bit of a PITA they dont seem to be having a major impact on fish stocks....probably because they are proper wild otters & not captive bred releases. I've never even seen a cat let alone caught one so I have no real view on them other than wondering how the hell you deal with a big one in the dark. Not for me thank you !

Now canoeists are a different matter entirely. I'd happily cull them !

thecrow · Sep 1, 2015

How do you tell if a catfish or any other species such as carp or sturgeon have been stocked illegally or have got into a river by accident during floods?

Do we extend any cull of fish that are foreign to a river to rainbow trout or even barbel that are not indigenous to a particular river, how do you know that the last nice roach that you caught was not an escapee from a Stillwater during a flood? do we extend any cull to chub in still waters or do we accept that they are in there and no matter how many anglers knock on the head they are there to stay, if I caught one there is no way I would kill it.

Does anyone know of any club that has a rule that no fish are to be removed but that catfish should be? I don't.

sam vimes · Sep 1, 2015

thecrow said:
How do you tell if a catfish or any other species such as carp or sturgeon have been stocked illegally or have got into a river by accident during floods?

Any catfish in a river has got there illegally, or by accident due to flooding. Catfish in stillwaters are a bit more difficult. The EA has allowed them to be stocked in some stillwaters. However, they are present in many more stillwaters where they never got the correct EA permissions. The stillwaters where they have been legally stocked are usually a long way from other watercourses to minimize the risk of accidental escapes due to flooding. Similar applies to the foreign sturgeon varieties and sterlets.

Whether we agree or not, and whether or not they are indigenous to a specific water, carp and barbel are not deemed to be invasive species by the EA and law of the land.

thecrow · Sep 1, 2015

sam vimes said:
Any catfish in a river has got there illegally, or by accident due to flooding. Catfish in stillwaters are a bit more difficult. The EA has allowed them to be stocked in some stillwaters. However, they are present in many more stillwaters where they never got the correct EA permissions. The stillwaters where they have been legally stocked are usually a long way from other watercourses to minimize the risk of accidental escapes due to flooding. Similar applies to the foreign sturgeon varieties and sterlets.

Whether we agree or not, and whether or not they are indigenous to a specific water, carp and barbel are not deemed to be invasive species by the EA and law of the land.

There is a water very near to where I live that is connected to other waters, it contains illegally stocked catfish.

sam vimes · Sep 1, 2015

thecrow said:
There is a water very near to where I live that is connected to other waters, it contains illegally stocked catfish.

Nothing I've said suggests that can't be the case. I also know of waters with catfish or sturgeon present, some legally, some not. One of the illegal ones is within spitting distance of a river. No danger whatsoever of them being in there legally. Should the EA get wind of it, they can place removal orders. It's happened already and, as it has to be done at the expense of the owners, cost some clubs/owners small fortunes.

Environment Agency staff use internet to pinpoint illegal stockings of catfish | Coarse Fishing News | Angling Times | Gofishing UK

Catfish, sturgeon, zander and grass carp under threat | Coarse Fisheries News | Angling Times | Gofishing UK

Fishery Owners fined for keeping Invasive Species | Thames Anglers' Conservancy

peterjg · Sep 1, 2015

During the last couple of years I have caught several catfish to 38lbs 6ozs - they really do fight, better than an equivalent sized carp but not so fast. The lake in question has them in excess of 60lbs and it would appear that there are quite a few catfish in there.

However; I am told that 15 years ago the lake regularly produced 2lb roach! Well, there is no choice - the catfish have got to go! Catfish are fierce predators - yes I would cull them. We already have too many threats to our native fish.

terry m · Sep 1, 2015

I personally could not kill/cull a Wels, and I have caught a few. But I do understand the views of those that would take action.

As others have said, where does it stop? Rainbows, Zeds blah blah.

matty w · Sep 1, 2015

peterjg said:
During the last couple of years I have caught several catfish to 38lbs 6ozs - they really do fight, better than an equivalent sized carp but not so fast. The lake in question has them in excess of 60lbs and it would appear that there are quite a few catfish in there.

However; I am told that 15 years ago the lake regularly produced 2lb roach! Well, there is no choice - the catfish have got to go! Catfish are fierce predators - yes I would cull them. We already have too many threats to our native fish.

Ditto . . !!

smudger172 · Sep 1, 2015

Personally i would not kill any catfish that i caught. Its not the fault of the fish that its in there.
But if it became law to kill them i suppose i would have to carry a 10 foot scaffold pole around with me........

tincatim · Sep 2, 2015

Catfish. Bloody ugly things! But even so I wouldn't like to have to kill one. Like a few have said already where would you start when killing a 60lb cat? Baseball bat? Sword? Paving slab?

it wouldn't be pretty, especially if photographed by a dog walker! Even if you left it on the bank to suffocate, that's one hell of a corpse to leave rotting.

I think like most other foreign species they're here to stay, I just hope they don't come to dominate our river systems.

Keith M · Sep 2, 2015

Both of the clubs I belong to have Wells Catfish in them that some morons have decided to introduce with no regard to the damage they can do to existing stock and with no knowledge or permission from the Club and its other members whatsoever.

Both clubs now have a strict removal policy where anyone catching one can phone up and get it removed.

I have nothing against 'legally' stocking Catfish in a specialised venue where there is no chance of them spreading to other waters (if that's even possible).

I just can't get my head around the thoughtless total stupidity of these brain dead idiots who do this irresponsible illegal stocking and think it's OK. Doh!

Keith

law · Sep 2, 2015

Where does it stop? Do we cul pike, perch, trout etc?

I don't know how true it is, but I was told that cat fry don't tend to get eaten like other fish's fry. So they blom. And as a result, once they have been stocked, its almost impossible to remove them all without draining the lake. And even then, they will burry themselves in mud. We found some 2ft deep in silt, totally covered when we drained one of my clubs waters.

I think that too few get caught for a cul to have any effect. Or would it go the way of eels, and we almost wipe them out?

tigger · Sep 2, 2015

Keith M said:
Both of the clubs I belong to have Wells Catfish in them that some morons have decided to introduce with no regard the damage they can do to existing stock and with no knowledge or permission from the Club and its other members whatsoever.

Both clubs now have a strict removal policy where anyone catching one can phone up and get it removed.

I have nothing against 'legally' stocking Catfish in a specialised venue where there is no chance of them spreading to other waters (if that's even possible).

I just can't get my head around the thoughtless total stupidity of these braindead idiots who do this irresponsible illegal stocking and think it's OK. Doh!

Keith

Spot on Keith, I couldn't have put it better myself

.
At least your clubs committe's have got a bit of sense. I wish my clubs committee had got the same sense as your ones. One of their pools had some wels introduced (13) illegally by a total scrote as kittens several years ago and now they're being caught at 12lb and over ! The EA even granted the club a licence to keep the vermine and the water has an outlet that goes into a small brook which soon after flows into a river that is part of a major river network...beggers beleif !
EA...

mg:

dorsetandchub · Sep 2, 2015

A TB carrying badger deadbait....

nogoodboyo · Sep 2, 2015

You'll never catch a badger.
They're all hiding in Brian Mays hair.

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