WORK is
underway to remove a dangerous species of "alien" fish
from a Wirral fishery.
The
Environment Agency decided to act after thousands of Topmouth Gudgeon were
found in the pond at Larton Livery Fishery in Frankby.
Measuring
between eight to 10 centimetres when fully grown, they are members of the carp
family and appeared in mainland Europe in the 1960s.
The
Environment Agency says the fish are a threat to Larton’s native fish stock.
Today
specialist teams will remove the native stock and treat the gudgeon
with a poison known as piscicide.
The
native fish will be stored at its the Environment Agency's depot in
Winsford while the work is carried and will be returned to Larton.
Steve
Powell, the Environment Agency's Strategic Fisheries Specialist, said
Topmouth Gudgeons increase the risk of diseases for native fish and are known
to eat their eggs and larvae.
He told
the Globe this morning: "There are large numbers of these things. They are
not very big, anywhere between eight and 10 centimetres when a fully grown
adult, but they’re prolific and that's where the problem is.
"They
outcompete native species and will very quickly take over a water body.
"They
breed up to four times a year, and very quickly outcompete native species for
food and habitat.
"When
the females lay their eggs, males then guard them and egg survival rates are
very high.
"They
potential carry parasites that native fish would not be able to survive
against.
"The
main thing is they are very successful in UK waters and can go from nothing at
all to being prolific pest species.
"We
are here to get them out and reduce the risk to the environment.
"We
gave Larton Livery's owner some fishery management advice last
summer when we noticed stocks of this particular breed were high and
began to plan the operation."
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