Coarse fish In Falklands

As many regulars know I spend my working time in Falkalnd Islands maintaining the SAR helicopters there.

While there I have been out with a rod on a number of occassions and been quite successful catching Sea trout (my first ever), Brown trout and Atlantic Bass, locally called Mullet.

Does anyone have any idea why there are no coarse fish present in Falklands? I know the rivers are quite short by comparison to UK and the Islands are much smaller, but I would have thought that there would be some fish present with all the visiting birds we get, fish eggs sticking to their legs etc?

The only fish that are present are the Sea/Brown trout that were introduced along with Salmon (which do not return in any numbers) and an indigenous Zebra trout that it is illegal to fish for, any caught to be returned immediately. The only sea fish seem to be the "Mullet" though there must be other fish there, I have never caught any other sea fish or even seen any caught. The majority of the commercial fishing in FI is for squid which are present in huge numbers and apart from for human consumption capable of sustaining the penguin colonies that dine on them almost exclusively.

Any ideas why the Falklands is barren of Coarse fish?

Let's take a look at a map first -

http://www.listsergeant.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/falkland_islands.gif

Southern Atlantic. Next stop Antarctica (which tends, even now, to be full of ice and rather cold). Not exactly conducive to the survival and evolution of resident freshwater fish.

Even the part of mainland South America - southern Argentina and Chile (in which I have many months over several years sea-trout and trout fishing) - that lies "opposite" the Falklands is largely devoid of "coarse" or native fish - just "perca" (a spikey black-bassy creature but lacking the bass's fight) and "pejerrey" (a small, slim, silvery job), most of which have been eaten out by the trout that were introduced from the 1890s onwards.

You know, if I were you, I'd get out and do some sea-trout fishing.......

During the Falklands war era I have recollections of there being reports on the excellent and very fertile sea fishing grounds betwixt the Falklands and Argentina the biggest problem was the catching and returning to the UK. I would imagine those streams that are present would freeze up solid during their prolonged winter but still be a breeding ground for trout and other shore hugging seafish when they aren't.

Emmo

When I mentioned sea-trout last night, I was talking "serious" sea-trout, fish to well over 20 pounds and some of the best fighters in freshwater. I have had around two hundred double-figure sea-trout in Patagonia and on the island of Tierra del Fuego, on fly and up to 29.5 pounds. Now, the Falklands doesn't have fishing quite as good as that, but it has produced fish to over twenty. As I said, I'd find a spinning rod if I were you and get out in the Falklands "camp".

..........

Many thanks for the replies.

Paul, I will be out and about in the "camp" as soon as I get back there. Not seen any fish quite as big as those you have had, but a 12.5 lb Sea traout came out first day of season this year at one of my favourite spots on the Fitzroy river, not to my rod unfortunately.

Harvey, what a cracking idea for the trout closed season!

Emmo (Angling Trust) said:

Does anyone have any idea why there are no coarse fish present in Falklands?

Click to expand...

By coarse fish do you mean freshwater fish in general? Main reason is that during recent glacial periods, the Falklands would've been just frozen rocks, no available habitat for freshwater fish even if they'd got there by some method to start with (no-one has ever proven that birds' feet are effective vectors for fish embryos).
All you'd get are diadromous (migratory) and euryhaline (not fussy about salinity) species which can make it there by a marine route.