New WTT videos on trout stocking aimed at fishing clubs

Posted on May 08, 2013

Two new videos with WTT Conservation Officer Paul Gaskell, aimed at fishing clubs and syndicates, are below (click refresh if the video frame does not appear).
For more advice on stocking farmed fish, please contact your local WTT Conservation Officer. Phone numbers and email addresses are here.
More information and advice on stocking is available on the website — click here.

The first film discusses how to manage your trout population in the river, to get the best value for money from the fish that you stock as well as helping your wild trout population.

Our advice to clubs who feel they need to stock farmed fish to overcome poor habitat or to support catch and kill angling is:

Make adult habitat as good as possible in order to retain stock fish on your reach
Use marked sterile (triploid) stock fish
Set realistic numbers for stocking – no more than 1 fish per 50 m² of total river area.
Stock small batches of fish frequent intervals.
Have designated stocked areas that cater for members who wish to catch and kill fish
Maintain catch and release, wild fish only reserve sections
Remove as many stock fish as possible at the end of the season. Do not feed fish over winter.
Team up with other clubs on your river and have a ‘joined up’ stocking policy

The second film explains why stocking your river with fertile farmed fish does not help to boost the population of wild trout, and how stopping stocking (even after hundreds of years) will help wild populations to recover.

Risks of fertile stock fish from Wild Trout Trust on Vimeo.