We speak to the EA about otters...

In years gone by, disease was seen as the biggest threat to carp fishing. Of course it's still a major issue – but during the last decade Koi Herpes Virus has developed a nemesis: the otter. From the late 50's to the 70's, otters in the UK were almost wiped out due to pesticide pollution, however, in 2013 they're back – and rapidly spreading throughout the country with no fishery now being safe – well, unless you otter fence it of course, but that's either (a) totally impossible due to the shape and/or size of the fishery or (b) the substantial cost and time which is involved.

So where does this leave us and our beloved fish and pastime? Good question – and the only people who could give us the answers is the organisation who we, anglers, pay millions of pounds to each year via our rod licence fees: The Environment Agency. We managed to secure an interview with their Fisheries Manager, Adrian Taylor and here's what he said to me...

Adrian, what is the estimated population of otters in the UK; what evidence have you got to verify this and how accurate do you think this is?
Direct counting of otters is impossible due to their mobility and often secretive nocturnal behaviour. Otter surveys are therefore based on presence and absence of otter faeces and footprints to produce an estimated figure. It is not possible to use these clues to calculate exact numbers, given the flexibility in the size of otter territories and the inability to distinguish between individuals but the distribution and frequency of field signs is used as an indicator of the health of the population locally.

When will the next otter survey be carried out? Bearing in mind the significant explosion of population over the last few years.
It is important to state that there is no evidence of a sudden significant increase in the otter population. National surveys have tracked a slow but steady recovery of numbers following severe declines from the late 1950's to 1970's due to pesticide pollution. Otters are, however, found over a larger proportion of the country now than they have been for 50 years due to improvements in water quality so they are being observed (or signs of their presence being seen) much more often. At the moment there are no plans for another otter survey.

Who is responsible for the rehabilitation or introduction of otters?
No captive-bred otters have been released since 1999 after the now-disbanded Otter Trust ended its reintroduction programme. There are some animal welfare charities and zoos who release a small number of injured wild otters and orphaned cubs back to where they found them after suitable rehabilitation.

Are licences required to keep otters and how many have been granted and what regulation governs the people that keep them/release them?
Licences are only needed when keeping a wild otter in captivity. Captive-bred animals do not require licences if they are kept in captivity, although if they are traded between countries they may need licensing under CITES (Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species). There are relatively few institutions with European otters in the UK as they can be difficult to breed in captivity.

Bearing in mind the Water Framework Directive and the legislation applicable can the EA confirm what notice is required to be given to riparian owners of sporting rights, landowners, local fishing clubs and angling amenities in relation to the release/rehabilitation of otters, the sitting of artificial holts and also the designation of areas of protection for otters?
The EA advises that the release of rehabilitated otters should take account of fisheries, but our consent is not required, and in reality wherever an otter is released back to the wild it will be somewhere where there are fish populations. The normal protocol is also to release an otter back as close as possible to where it was found.

This doesn't mean that the release is locally increasing numbers, as otters are very territorial and any released animal will have to find a vacant territory, fight to defend it or move on.

Artificial otter holts can be built by a wide range of charitable bodies and the EA does not control these activities. We have generally advised that they should be sensitively placed and preferably consideration given to undertaking other conservation activities. There is no evidence that artificial otter holts make any real difference to the numbers of otters that catchments can support, mainly because otters are very good at finding their own refuge areas and they limit numbers through their own territoriality.

Areas designated for otters are generally those identified under the European Habitats Directive as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs). The otter is usually one of a number of 'features' for which these sites are chosen. Most of these designations were done many years ago, and all of these sites had to be designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) beforehand. Whenever a SSSI is designated (by Natural England in England) there is an extensive consultation with interested parties.

When does an artificial otter holt gain legally protected status?
As soon as there is evidence that it is in use by otters.

Why is the procedure for applying for grant funding to otter fence so difficult?
We need to ensure that rod licence money is used effectively so have to make sure that the proposed fence will keep otters out and can be maintained, and will benefit as many anglers as possible, rather than just a privileged few. Your local Environment Agency Fisheries Officers or Local Wildlife Trust can offer help and advice on other ways to protect your fishery when an otter fence is not the most appropriate method.

The grants available are so small they would just about fund a two-acre lake, what if you own a 20-acre lake?
We have a limited amount of funds for a wide range of worthy angling partnership projects; otter fencing is just one part of this and we have again set aside a £50k budget this year.

What does the Environment Agency suggest is the solution to stillwaters that are un-fenceable and rivers?
We have funded research into the use of acoustic seal-scarers, but so far their effectiveness has not been proven. If funds are available it may be possible to look into this further. We do not believe it is acceptable or possible to keep otters away from rivers. There are no easy solutions for stillwaters that are not suitable for fencing, but we do advocate that the use of submerged woody debris and artificial fish refuges are of great value for smaller fish.

Licensing is available to shoot/trap/remove otters that are causing serious damage to fisheries. Will the EA oppose applications to shoot/trap/remove and on what grounds?
Otters cannot be killed, harmed or disturbed without a licence from Natural England. Licensing for trapping and removal of a protected species has to meet a series of tests to be justified. These tests relate to the removal, if possible, the impact of trapping/killing/removal on the local status of the species, and likelihood that the measure will prove effective. For highly territorial species living together in low numbers, it is likely that trapping or removal will be ineffective because the removed animal is likely to be replaced by another, which is not a sustainable way of dealing with a predator.

Graham Scholey is the head of the Otter Biodiversity Action Plan working on behalf of the EA. He has stated in the past that, "Shooting/trapping/removing is not a sustainable solution, and that anglers should live with it' and that 'angler's have unrealistic expectations." What is the EA's response to that?
Graham Scholey is the Environment Agency lead on otter conservation. Without context to the above quotes, it's not possible to elaborate.

He also categorises stillwaters as artificial, can he clarify what he means by this and why that should effect their status when it comes to Otter predation?
Most still waters in England are man-made. It doesn't really affect their status when it comes to otter predation, other than that it is more likely that they will contain an artificially stocked fishery for which there is more justification in considering excluding otters, rather than accepting it as a natural hazard wild fish face.

Graham Scholey states, "The balance of fisheries will be improved by the inclusion of otters, specimen fish will be a rarity." Would he like to expand on this?
This slightly incorrect quote refers to the fact that fish on some rivers (to which this statement referred) have become skewed towards a greater dominance of specimen fish, in the absence of otters. These rivers often have poor recruitment and representation of younger age-classes, a phenomenon that has become more marked recently. This is not a healthy situation for a river – which won't meet its Water Framework Directive targets until they have a more balanced fish population with better diversity of age and recruitment. 

As a consequence we would expect specimen fish to be less abundant than they currently are in some of these fisheries, as they are present in unusual numbers and have been repeatedly breaking size records (e.g. barbel and chub).

We get few complaints about otter predation from rivers which never lost otters, and the fish populations there often seem to be much more healthy and diverse in terms of age structure.

Graham Scholey stated. "A very determined otter is very difficult to keep out", how does he suggest we do that?
Otter fences must be robust and well installed to keep otters out. Your local Environment Agency Fisheries Officers or Local Wildlife Trust can offer help and advice on other ways to protect your fishery when an otter fence is not the most appropriate method.

Bearing in mind the significant increase in otter population and the significant damage both environmentally and financially, which has been well documented, what does the EA see as the future of angling and what are they planning to do about the problem, bearing in mind their responsibilities bothmorally to the licence payer and legally to the government under applicable legislation and their duties to protect fisheries and fishing?
We continue to look at ways to address the concerns of anglers, working with the Angling Trust and Natural England. It is important to understand how we arrived at the current situation with otter predation before we look at the future of angling. Otters were widespread throughout England up until the 1950's and it seems there was no great conflict with coarse fisheries. Pesticide pollution brought about the otter decline and it was the banning of certain dangerous chemicals that allowed the otter population to recover. Otters were never extinct in England and the population would have recovered regardless of the Otter Trust's breeding programme. But during the otter's near-absence, coarse fisheries developed in two important ways. First the emergence of specimen fishing, and the development of fisheries managed to cater for this, in particular specimen carp stillwaters. The second important development, was the rise of heavily stocked stillwaters. Neither of these situations are natural. That does not mean that they are wrong, but simply to recognise that they are managed in particular ways to support either a top-heavy population of large fish or an unnaturally high stock level sustained by anglers' bait – or in some cases combining both large fish and large numbers.

So the otter returned to a very different world with easy pickings of large fish and abundant stocks in many stillwaters. For many waters, fish stocks may achieve a more natural balance with more, smaller fish and fewer very large fish. That may suit some anglers but is not an easy message for specimen carp anglers and those involved in running and managing specimen carp waters.

The bottom line is that otters are back and we as anglers need to reconsider our expectations and adapt. For specimen carp fishing the choice will be to fence your water, or to accept predation losses as part of the natural environment that we enjoy."

Note from the editor
The response that we have got from the Environment Agency seems to raise almost as many questions as it gives us answers and we have spoken to the EA about some further points that we would like to put to them. They have agreed to continue the dialogue on this most emotive and important subject but what seems to be clear and also most worrying is that the current standpoint of the EA is that the otter is here to stay and that we have to either fence our waters or potentially lose our fish. With the enormous number of waters that are impossible to fence and the prohibitive cost of fencing for those that can this view has massive ramifications for the future of carp angling and is something that we all as specimen anglers need to be aware of. To be continued... 

This article was taken from issue 112 of CARPology magazine. For the very latest articles and best deals subscribe to CARPology magazine.