Lough Neagh suffers massive fish kill

One of Northern Ireland's premiser coarse fisheries has suffered a catastrophic fish kill.

"The shores of Lough Neagh were awash with the bodies of millions of small roach and bream after the chemical spillage which happened during the early hours of Friday, January 12," reports local paper the Lurgan Mail.

One witness said: "There have been millions of fish killed and that's no exaggeration."

Iron sulphate stored at a sewage works close to the lough is believed to have leaked into the lough.

For more click here.

Ireland - the killing goes on

News is breaking tonight that pike killing matches have been allowed to continue in Ireland, despite bylaws giving the pike legal protection which became law earlier this year.

A well-sourced story in Angling Times says a fisheries board authorised the slaughter. The PAC is tonight looking into these claims.

Illegal eel nets seized and netter nabbed

Illegal eel nets seized have been seized from a Hampshire nature reserve. Anglersnet has the story, click here.

In a seperate incident, AN is also reporting a court case in which an illegal netsman was fined £600 and ordered to pay £475 costs. Click here for this story.

Pike and other coarse fish can be caught in fyke nets, while otters can drown in nets set without special guards which stop them swimming in after the fish they contain.

Eels are also a much-loved summer quarry of many predator anglers, a fish which appears to be getting rarer and rarer.

Pike's popularity as food is "soaring".

The culinary status of pike is "soaring", says the Scottish Field magazine. Read it here.

Stock bigger trout to cut pike predation

Stocking larger trout at different times of year can reduce pike predation, say experts in Colorado, US. Article here.

Unfortunately, not everyone agrees and down in Big Fork, Montana, they're calling for a cull. Article here.

New NFA guidance on fish theft

The National Federation of Anglers (NFA) today issued guidance to anglers and those who run fisheries about fish theft.

It includes a helpful form you can use to log the kind of information which may be of use to the Environment Agency and other authorities in mounting a prosecution.

You can read and print of the form by clicking here.