At Last a sensible reply, and not just a dig at someone who thinks the re -introduction of the otter in huge numbers will affect the balance of the rivers in our country. Go into the tackle shop in Blandford and ask home many members they have now compared to a couple of seasons ago, all due to low fish stocks, as a result of otter predation, I am not saying the fish will not return,but the balance is not natural, due to the re-introduction, and David although illegal if you you do your research like I have you will find there have been otters introduced from abroad,And they have gone on since 1999. As for the ponds, if you look in our local paper, the Blackmore Vale Magazine, the otters took all the fish from the home of a local chap, in Blandford, who had kept Koi for 30 years in his pond, they have now all gone. Sad
John "quote"
I am unafraid: your lack of understanding of basic predator prey dynamics is breathtaking. Prey control predator numbers and not the other way round.
So when the Otters wipe out the fish in the rivers,they move on to local ponds, Have I got it now?
No you haven't. Listen this time.
Otters are native predators of fish in British waterways. For millenia before our ancestors got beyond banging rocks together Otters and fish evolved together. Otters then filled all available Otter habitat and the system was overall and over very long periods of time indeed, in balance. This doesn't mean populations of various species didn't fluctuate as conditions varied with climate, erosion, far-distant volcanic eruptions and so on.
Man eventually learnt how to control his environment and how to eliminate his competitors for all the resources he now regarded as "his". By the mid twentieth century this meant Britain no longer had wolves, bears, lynx, sea eagles, Ospreys and that Otters, which under natural conditions are active intermittently 24/7, were, wherever human fishing interests and elite anti-predator psychopathy existed, turned to rare, nocturnal and actually exterminated from huge areas.
Since then the rise of science-based conservation and, reluctantly whenever the tories hold power, science-based government policy and law, have reduced persecution and allowed remnant populations of Otters to expand in numbers and territory. Ospreys returned alone. Enlightened humans re-introduced Sea Eagles. NONE OF THEM can generate populations that outgrow the resources available to them, either in terms of territory or food quantity. Also, when all Otter territories are once again filled, Otters cannot "move on" as they will come into conflict with other territorial Otters. A crash in a waterway's fish population due to a release of pollution or epidemic disease will result in Otters starving and dying. They do not carry big fat reserves and depend on regular meals.
Of course your catches will reduce, as the balance of numbers and population structure of fish species returns towards a natural balance. But they will fall to a new level, not disappear altogether.
Of course, it is also well known that predators, always seeking the easiest kill, tend to attack the very young, the very old and the weak and the sick (a bit like tories). This leads to "healthier" prey populations. It may be, for instance, that the over-fed, obese, saggy-bellied carp that grinning fishermen hold on the covers of magazines are entirely unable to defend themselves against the quicksilver attack of an adult Otter, and that the days of nonsensical carp records are numbered. Oh dear.
Otters have been reintroduced to East Anglia, where rescued British stock was rehabilitated into new areas. South coast Otters derive from South-west populations.
Finally, and this you understand is just my opinion, Otters are native animals, depend on fish and have a right to the fish in the rivers etc. You fish for a hobby, do not depend on river fish and must make do with their leftovers.
Have you got it now?
John
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